Water Garden Design: How to Create a Beautiful Waterscape in the Garden

Adding both calm and style to your outdoor space, here’s how to create a water feature in your garden. Here’s how to create a beautiful waterscape in your garden.

Water is the mother of the vine, the nurse and fountain of fecundity, the adorner and the refresher of the world.

Charles Mackay was a 19th Century Scottish poet and yet, his words on the magical state and nature of water remain true today, nearly two centuries on. With water being so advantageous to humans and wildlife, it is no wonder that we seek to include a pond or water feature of some kind in the garden. And it seems that pond building has become a boredom buster during the recent lockdowns too. If you plan on joining the ranks of pond owners and water feature admirers, here’s how to do it.

Step by step guide to adding a water feature to your garden

Water features come in all shapes and sizes, from a deep pond to something simple in a watertight container. Here’s how to make the most of this feature:

#1 Deciding on how big your water feature will be

For some garden designs, water plays an integral part in the design. Japanese garden design, for example, is often based around water and the power it has to soothe and invigorate the soul.

For minimal styling, water plays a central role and is often the main feature around which the rest of the garden revolves. 

It’s important to get it right. In a family garden, a pond will need to have safety features around its perimeter. With clever design, this safety barrier is integral.

If budget and space are tight, however, a smaller water garden in a container may be a better fit all round. Easier to look after, and far easier for supervising with children enjoying the garden, the soothing beauty of water and the colour of water plants are not sacrificed.

#2 Siting and design

With an idea of which water feature will work best for your lifestyle and budget, you’ll need to pay some attention to where you will place your water feature.

• Ready-made water features such as plug-in-and-play fountains will bring the delicate sound of running water to a corner of your garden. Make sure that electrics are meant for the outdoors before plugging in and switching on. For waterfalls with deeper bottom containers, you can add a water plant or two that enjoys moving water, such as watercress. This plant, along with others, will also remove harmful nitrates for the water and any soil in the feature, keeping the water from clouding or turning green. 
• A water-tight container makes for a rustic water feature on the patio or decking area. Ideal for the small garden, a few inches of water in a tub with water plants enjoy the cool still water will bring all kinds of wildlife to your garden. The lily is a blousy water plant that favours still and deep water, with its blousy bloom drawing attention from many an insect, the petite damselfly included.
• Digging a pond is a bold move but one that yields fantastic results. A natural-looking water feature will have sloped sides and water terraces beneath the gently lapping surface for marginals and plants that enjoy sitting deeper into the pond. As well as creating your own pond base with a thick liner, there are also plenty of pre-formed pond liners that make the job of establishing a pond much easier. You’ll need to make sure that the water is at a depth of at least 60 to 90cm so that the pond doesn’t freeze solid in winter, important if you decide to add fish to your pond.

Digging out a pond can be tough so why not let the experts design and build your dream waterscape?

#3 Choosing water plants for your feature

From the largest pond to the smallest water containers, any water feature will benefit from planting. Bringing colour to the feature, they are attractive to wildlife but you need to know your water plants so that you get the right ones.

• Moving water – not all water plants like moving water – water lilies are a prime example – and so choose plants that will either sit well in still water or close to any waterfall you have.
• Different depths – some water plants prefer the margins of a water feature, in other words, shallower water. Other plants prefer deeper water, retreating to the dark depths to live through the winter by hibernating deep within its roots.
• Layer planting – choose a mix of water plants so that you have some that have a floating habit, submerged plants as well as those around the edge. This way, you’ll have a balance of colour throughout the year.

Whatever water feature you opt for, it needs to have plenty of sun – around six hours a day – to promote plant growth, especially for flowering water plants. A little shade in the afternoon won’t go amiss either.

Opt for native pond plants and make sure you don’t overplant, and opt for plants that are attractive to wildlife. Getting the right pond plants often means choosing the plant that will be happiest…

• Totally submerged – look for shining pondweed, horned pondweed and fennel pondweed. Water Starwort and Spiked Water are also plants that like to be fully submerged.
• Submerged but with floating leaves – there are many plants such as Water Crowfoot, Bladderwort and the wonderfully named Frogbit. Broad-leaved Pondweed and Curled Pondweed are also excellent choices.
• In shallower water (emergents) – these plants are not so keen on the cold depths, prefer instead a little warmth and sunshine in the shallows. Water Mint is a great choice along with Stinking Iris, Water Plantain, Flowering Rush and Branched Bur-reed. Obviously, in a smaller pond or feature, don’t overplant it or nothing will blossom.
• The very, very shallow bits – known as marginals, these plants are happy in wet, boggy areas and so if you have a gentle slope to your pond these plants are ideal in the wet margins. Purple Loosestrife has a tall growth habit and is a favourite with needs. Meadowsweet is also tall and very attractive to birds. Water Avens has a spreading habit as does Creeping Jenny. You might also want to take a look at Gipsywort, Water-forget-me-not and Bungle. Many other plants enjoy wet conditions too of the marginals and so you have a veritable feast from which to choose. 

Water is one of the most plentiful and essential of all compounds. In the garden, it brings life. Incorporating a water feature into your garden, terrace or your balcony will encourage a whole new gambit of wildlife for you to observe and enjoy. And when it comes to relaxing, there is nothing better than water to unwind the mind, body and soul.