Water Gardens
Table of Contents
Introduction
These can be important for wildlife, providing hydration, food, protection from predators, and space for reproduction.
Pond gardens can range from the size of a pot to pretty much however big you can go.
Water Garden vs Rain Garden
The main difference between these is that a water or pond garden has a liner of some type to prevent water loss, while a rain garden is specifically designed to absorb water into the soil and provide an overflow in case of too much rain.
However, you can combine the two. You'll want clay or a pond liner to help keep the main part of the pond full year round, but you can also create a transitional zone with rain garden principles which will allow the pond to grow and shrink with rainfall.
Safety Features for Wildlife
Make sure water gardens are safe for wildlife by providing easy access points, including rocks, ledges, or even a ramp to help animals climb out if they can't swim.
Plant Variety
A variety of plants including partially submerged grasses or reeds, floating plants such as lilies, and fully submerged plants will provide wildlife with plenty of hiding space for species such as tadpoles and dragon fly larvae. These are both important predators who will help reduce the number of mosquitos and other problematic insects without the use of pesticides.
10:26 minute video shows English garden transformation with a very simple pond project.
Types of Water Garden
Pre-Fabricated
Pre-fabricated ponds are stiff synthetic ponds that come pre-made and ready to use. They can be above-ground or in-ground depending on your needs, abilities, and the space you have to work with.
You might buy a pre-fab pond with the intention of burying it in the ground, but find the earth to hard to dig in, or learn that you have utilities directly underneath. In which case setting the pond on the ground and building up around it with a flower bed and bricks or rocks may be the more sensible solution.
Above-Ground
Found-Item Ponds
8:08 minute video shows how easy it is to create a small pond from easily-found items. This demonstration uses a barrel, but explains even something as small as a hard-hat can become a wildlife pond.
In-Ground
Clay-Lined
Clay is a natural material found all over the world, though you may have to buy some or process your local soil to harvest and use the clay within.
Clay helps seal the bottom of a pond, but it can also leek. Spread and flatten out the clay then fill the pond and wait to see if the level goes back down. If it does, then you need to layer some more clay until the pond is water tight before adding plants or other features and refilling.
Pond Liner
Pond liner is flexible and looks like the black plastic used for trash bags. You can use just one piece, or combine several sheets with pond-safe epoxy (you may need to sand paper the edges first or similar steps to prepare the plastic), then glue the sections and allow them to properly cure before lining the bottom of you pond. Any extra plastic can be cut to shape before laying down rocks or other decorative edging.
Pond Pest Control
The Dangers of Chemical Control
Be very careful to keep pesticides away from water gardens, as the chemicals may be advertised as "safe" or "eco-friendly" yet kill frogs and other aquatic animals within moments of skin contact, or when those animals eat contaminated insects.
People worry about mosquitos being drawn to water sources, but we need to consider that mosquitoes are a natural part of the food web and using poisons to kill them has ramifications throughout the food chain. In places where mosquito trucks spray frequently, other beneficial species including butterflies and bees also suffer. When their predators come in contact with those chemicals, they can also be harmed, and when frogs are in short supply, pest numbers end up booming and require more chemical control after their natural predators have disappeared. This creates a problematic cycle!
Plant Your Repellants
Instead of chemicals, you might want to experiment with plants that naturally repel bugs, such as citronella and marigolds in the surrounding flower beds.
Support an Army!
By providing friendly habitat such as ramps, plants that predators can lay their eggs on, toad homes, and other such features, you will not only invite local predators, but help them reproduce to create a healthy "immune system" for your garden against overwhelming bug populations. By this we mean bats, frogs, toads, dragon flies, salamanders and all the other species who routinely consume abundant numbers of mosquitos and other "pest" species.
Click the Non-Lethal Pest Control button to learn about other ways you can protect your home and garden without poisons or other deadly measures.
Supported Species
Even a small pot of water can support dragonflies and tadpoles, but the bigger the better as larger bodies of water are better at maintaining a stable temperature and providing space for increase biodiversity.
The following are just some of the species your pond could support.
Amphibians
This is one of the most threatened animal groups because humans have impacted so many bodies of water, filling them in to build urban space, draining them for unsustainable water use, then spraying and dumping toxic chemicals which easily absorb through their skin.
Insects
Dragonflies are incredible hunters, who enjoy resting on sticks, clothes lines, and other tall objects before dashing around catching annoying bugs like mosquitoes. Dragon flies need a stable water source to reproduce, as their nymphs live underwater chomping on mosquito larvae for several years before transforming into their much more impressive adult forms.