In the past decade or so, backyard water gardening has become much easier thanks to prefabricated liners and integrated systems. Think you’re ready for a pond? While it’s easy to want to jump right into the planning (and planting) fun, it’s important to first learn the skills, materials, tools and equipment needed for building, planting, finishing and caring for a water garden.
The general components needed to install a water feature include (clockwise from top) rigid plastic liners, flexible PVC liners, sump pumps, submersible pumps, above-water pumps, flexible EPDM liners and hoses.
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Liners for ponds, pools and streams are commonly available in three forms: rigid preformed units (top right), EPDM flexible rubber (left) and PVC plastic (right).
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Pumps come in two types: submersible (left) and aboveground (right). Both types have models in a range of capacities, measured by their flow rate in gallons per hour (gph) and pressure of flow (head height, or the height to which they raise a column of water).
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Many finishing materials are appropriate for water gardens, whether formal, casual or natural in style. They include masonry block, brick, flagstone, fieldstone, cobble and gravel.
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Plan on a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter-protected (GFCI) A.C. electrical circuit and a plumbed water supply on a dedicated circuit. The electrical supply powers the recirculating pump and, with a transformer, 12-V. D.C. lights. The water supply is attached to an automatic refill float valve that operates in a manner similar to that of a household toilet, keeping the feature’s water level constant.
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Aquatic plants complete the garden. Choose a selection of floaters, shallow- and deep-depth marginals, deep-water submersibles and moist-soil shoreline plants.
Photo Credit: ©2001 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Skills and materials
Creating a pool or pond by installing a liner is easier than creating one with the traditional method of pouring concrete. Flexible liners mold to the excavated area and create a watertight seal. Rigid, preformed liners fit into precisely excavated holes made to their measurements. (Despite the ease liners provide, you’ll still need general masonry and carpentry skills, as well as a helper or two for measuring, lifting and setting the liners in place.)
Installing submersible recirculating pumps and filters is straightforward due to integral workings, sealed housings and simple installation kits available today. Installing a pump is a snap – actually, a clamp or screw – even for first-timers. It’s still helpful to understand basic electrical and plumbing tasks, specifically how to tie into existing systems and connect components. You’ll use familiar fastening tools and quickly become proficient. (If you’re ever in doubt, seek the help of a licensed professional.)
Most finishing materials and accessories are quite easy to install. While some require masonry or carpentry skills, most rely simply on your creativity in choosing a site for the installation and assembling the components.
Planting water gardens is best accomplished with an understanding of aquatic plants and a respect for their placement and care. The most important of these is recognizing the natural environment in which they originally grew.
You’ll also need to maintain optimum water quality. Some aquatic plants and helpful bacteria actually regulate the water, though you’ll also need to regularly test the water. (It’s easy to use a test kit, reading and following its instructions on a regular maintenance schedule.)
Finally, you’ll need to periodically clean the feature; repair liner leaks and pumps; manage your plants and their containers; and care for filters and other devices necessary to the water feature. For the most part, gentle handling of the varied components is the essential skill involved, although repairs may require gaining familiarity with patching compounds and sealants, piping and plumbing or becoming familiar with new skills, tools and materials.
Again, consider consulting a trade professional for their advice or assistance if your water garden is complicated or involves significant grade or utility adjustments. Regulations in some locales require a professional site evaluation before a building permit can be issued or construction can begin. Municipal or homeowner’s association inspections may be required before approval or use, too.
Tools and equipment
As you refine your water garden project’s scale and scope, and you evaluate your skills for performing the installation of a water feature, make a list of the various tools and equipment you’ll need. Some items, like shovels, trowels and basic carpentry tools, may already be in your shed or garage. Others may be new and unfamiliar, notably those used to move, test and condition water. Be sure to include them in the scope and budget for your project, even if you choose to borrow or rent them.
Mark the precise shape and dimensions of your feature before you start digging (in a process called layout), using a tape measure, wooden stakes, a string line and line level.
A sharp shovel or spade will ease excavation. You’ll also want a dry, straight piece of lumber long enough to span the breadth of any two points within the excavated area to use as a straightedge. It will balance a carpenter’s level as you dig, grade and shape the excavated area. A heavy-duty tarp is useful for piling removed turfgrass and topsoil.
When planning underwater shelves for submerged plants, you’ll need carpentry tools to create a plywood or cardboard template that profiles the shelves’ shape, depth and slope in relation to the bottom of the pond; as you excavate, gauge each section for accuracy by fitting the template into place.
You’ll also need tools to tamp and compact soil, creating a stable base for the liner. Other installation tools include wire and PVC pipe cutters, electrical and plumbing tools, and basic masonry tools like buckets, mixing tools and trowels for mortaring and finishing the feature’s edges and coping stones. Most aquatic plants can be installed using familiar garden hand tools.
Once your water garden is filled and operating, you’ll need an auxiliary pump, hose, buckets and sponges. Good work gloves, sun protection and some skid-resistant water shoes or hip waders will also come in handy when you have to enter the water to care for the plants or repair equipment.
Although most of the elements essential to water gardening are hidden in the finished feature, they all work together to create an incredible ecosystem that brings balance and beauty to the garden.
