Home Gardener's Water Gardens (UK Only) E-Book

Alan & Gill Bridgewater

• Herausgeber: IMM Lifestyle Books
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: Specialist Guide
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 203

Beschreibung

Home Gardener's Water Gardens is the essential guide to enhancing an outdoor space with bubbling, gurgling, flowing water. For centuries, water has been a source of inspiration and delight to people of all cultures, making it a common feature of garden design worldwide. The tranquility of water has the power to soothe the senses, while moving water can add an exciting new dimension to a garden. This lushly illustrated guide gives an overview of water garden styles and explains how to assess which style is suitable for a particular plot. Advice is given on planning, construction, oxygenation, and filtration. Inspirational pictures and step-by-step diagrams showcase a willow pattern water garden, a Japanese water garden, and a castaway island water garden. In addition to information on stocking ponds with plants, fish, and other aquatic life, there's also full coverage of maintenance, improvements, and troubleshooting.

Leseprobe

Contents

Author’s foreword

GETTING STARTED

Water-garden style

Assessing your garden

Inspiration, passion and design

Planning and construction

Oxygenation and filtration

Water-garden mechanisms

WATER-GARDEN DESIGNS

Minimalist city water garden

Willow-pattern water garden

North American lakeside garden

Japanese water garden

Classical water garden

Mountain-stream garden

Mediterranean water garden

Castaway island garden

Victorian covered water garden

Wildlife water garden

Meadow-stream garden

Covered patio water garden

Courtyard water garden

Illuminated fountain garden

Seaside garden

Cottage-style water garden

PLANTS

Choosing water-garden plants

Bog and moisture-loving plants

Emergent (marginal) plants

Floating-leaf plants

Aquatic plants

Backdrop plants

FISH

Fish and other fauna

Stocking and care of fish

MAINTENANCE

Looking after water gardens

Pond maintenance

Water-garden repairs

Developing a water garden

Troubleshooting

Glossary

Index

Copyright © 2004, 2016 text AG&G Books

Copyright © 2004, 2016 illustrations and photographs IMM Lifestyle Books

Copyright © 2004, 2016 IMM Lifestyle Books

This book may not be reproduced, either in part or in its entirety, in any form, by any means, without written permission from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts for purposes of radio, television, or published review. All rights, including the right of translation, are reserved. Note: Be sure to familiarize yourself with manufacturer’s instructions for tools, equipment, and materials before beginning a project. Although all possible measures have been taken to ensure the accuracy of the material presented, neither the author nor the publisher is liable in case of misinterpretation of directions, misapplication, or typographical error.

Creative Homeowner® is a registered trademark of New Design Originals Corporation.

Designed and created for IMM Lifestyle Books by AG&G Books. Copyright © 2004 “Specialist” AG&G Books

Design: Glyn Bridgewater; Illustration: Gill Bridgewater; Editor: Fiona Corbridge; Photographs: AG&G Books, Ian Parsons, John Freeman, OASE and Forsham Cottage Arks.

Current Printing (last digit)

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in Singapore

Title XXX is published by Creative Homeowner under license with IMM Lifestyle Books.

eISBN: 978-1-60765-215-1

Creative Homeowner®, www.creativehomeowner.com, is distributed exclusively in the United Kingdom by Grantham Book Service, Trent Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 7XQ.

Author’s foreword

Water is our most prized and precious possession. Not only is it essential to life itself, but it also has mysterious qualities that we find spiritually uplifting. At the very heart of our being, there is a need to see and feel water. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people travel vast distances just to experience what we consider to be special stretches of water. We are variously enthralled, silenced, inspired and sparked into creativity by ancient springs, holy wells, tumbling rivers, crashing waterfalls, eerie lakes and vast oceans.

Traditionally, humans had no choice other than to build their homes as near as possible to a reliable water source. Only the very wealthy were able to move bodies of water. A wealthy man did not have to bow to nature and live in a damp river valley – he could build his house on top of a hill, and then set about moving water to suit his needs. Water gardens, complete with artificial lakes, diverted rivers and pumping stations, became status symbols. Today, new technology, such as flexible liners, PVC piping and electric pumps, make everything possible.

If you have dreams about building your own water garden, on whatever scale, this book will gently guide you through all the finger-tingling stages, from choosing a project, selecting tools and making drawings through to digging holes, building walls, planting, stocking with fish and much more. No more fantasizing about water gardens: now is the time to create one of your own.

About the Author

xxxxx

Plant names

For the sake of universal clarity and comprehension, current recommended botanical names for plants are given throughout this book; when more familiar botanical names, or even more friendly traditional common names, are still used, these are also included.

Safety

Many of the projects and procedures are potentially dangerous. Digging holes and working with electricity and tools are both, to some extent, dangerous. Because babies and toddlers are fascinated by water, if you have small children, or children visit you, you must NEVER leave them unaccompanied.

MEASUREMENTS

In this book, both metric and imperial measurements are given – for example, 1.8 m (6 ft) – but very few of the measurements are critical.

Water-garden style

There are many styles of water garden: classical, Italian, Islamic, modern, naturalistic and so on. Though you may have preconceived notions – the garden has to be formal, or there should be lots of plants and fish – you must take into account the location, size and character of your home and garden. The finished water garden will of necessity be a coming-together of your imaginings and what you actually have on the ground.

How can I pick a style?

FORMAL AND INFORMAL

A formal water garden is defined by the way its highly visible geometrical shape relates to the size, shape and character of the house. By contrast, a natural water garden is built so that it is indistinguishable from the real thing.

A formal water garden complete with symmetrically placed items such as steps, lawns, planters and walls. All the details are strictly straight-edged and geometrical; even the waterlilies are in rows.

Although this fairly new water garden is still somewhat rigid in form, it has been designed so that, when the plants grow and intermingle, it will have a natural, informal appearance.

THEMES

While there are only two basic styles of water garden – natural and architectural, or informal and formal – within these two groupings there are many options. For example, if you want a natural garden, you could have a garden based on a meadow stream, or a bend in a river, or a beach, or an exotic island … there are many options within the chosen style.

Inspired by great paintings

If you love paintings by artists like Claude Monet or Paul Gauguin, who featured water gardens in their work, you could simply use one of your favourite paintings as a master plan. What could be better than a garden based on one of Monet’s lily-pond paintings, or a beach garden based on a painting by Gauguin?

Inspired by plants

A good idea, if plants inspire you, is to list your favourites and then work towards building a water garden that encompasses all their needs. For example, if you are fond of irises, rushes and grasses, a slow meandering stream with large areas of bog on the side would be a good choice. Be mindful, when actually planting in the water, that you must, for good water quality, achieve a balance between the amounts of oxygen and algae.

Assessing the impact

You must consider carefully how the project will affect your friends and family. Will your children or grandchildren be at risk? Will the sound of running water upset your neighbours? Will you have the time and energy to keep the garden in good order?

Fish

If you want to have fish, the size and character of the body of water is all-important. Although it is relatively easy to introduce native fish to a natural pond, and then simply let native frogs and newts join in the fun, it is not so easy to keep fish in a formal, plant-free pond.

Assessing your garden

Although in many ways a minute yard in a city is more of a challenge than a large country plot, the truth is that, no matter the size of your garden, there will be a design to suit. The best way forward is to spend time in your garden and in various inspirational gardens – planning, dreaming and weighing up the possibilities – and then aim for a design that is a balanced, logical and harmonious blend of what you have and what you desire.

Will my plot be big enough?

There are options for every type of garden. Left: a high-quality water feature for a Japanese garden. Centre: a cascade pool for a small town garden. Right: a natural pond for a large country garden.

THINKING ABOUT YOUR SPACE

Walk around your garden at various times throughout the day and week – mornings, lunchtime, when there is a sunset, on weekdays and weekends, and in various weather conditions – and consider carefully the space and location, and how the type, time and character of the day affects actual space and perceived space. For example, a small garden in the city might well feel more spacious in the evenings and weekends when the hustle and bustle has ceased. In the country, the traffic flow at peak times might mean that you only want to use that part of the garden that is furthest away from the road. You may have room for a large natural water garden, but a small, high-walled courtyard with a carefully chosen water feature might be a better option.

A simple water feature – perhaps no more than a good-sized pond with a bridge over it – can completely transform a boring garden.

Ask yourself some questions. Do you want to turn the whole space into a water garden with the walls, planting and trees being integrated and inter-related? Or do you want a single, small area set aside, in much the same way as you might have a room in your home set aside for a single activity? Will the sound of moving water be a problem when you are lying in bed, or do you enjoy that sound?

Perhaps a small self-contained feature is all you need.

Consider also how the space will be used by friends and family – your partner, the neighbours, relations, children, the dog, and all the rest. Will a large pond be a problem if you have children? Do you have a large dog that is going to jump in the pond, get in a mess and pad mud throughout the house? Look at existing trees. Are falling leaves or shade going to be a problem? Spend time in the garden, quietly standing or perhaps sitting in your favourite corner. Look around, at the road, the boundary walls and fences, at your neighbours’ windows, at overhead cables, at the various paths that cross the garden, and so on. Try to take everything into account.

Opportunities

One person’s difficulties are another person’s opportunities. The trick here is to look at your site – the slope of the ground, the aspect and the soil conditions – and then as far as possible work with what you have. For example, do not necessarily think of rocky ground as being a problem, but rather think of the stone waste as being useful.

• If your site is sloping, you could have a fast-running stream, or perhaps a series of stepped ponds and terraces with interlinked waterfalls.

• If your site is as flat as a pancake, you could have a large, calm pond.

• If the soil is damp, you could have lots of areas of bog garden.

• If you have interesting walls between gardens – such as brick, stone or flint – you could use them as a backdrop for such things as formal ponds and wall masks.

• If you have left-over materials, rubble, stone or concrete, you could use these as backfill for raised ponds and structures.

• If you finish up with a large pile of earth, you could model and reshape the contours of your garden.

Problems

Building water gardens can be fraught with problems, some of them big but most of them small. The best idea is to approach them head on, and either to work round them and modify your designs accordingly or to figure how you can remove or solve the problem.

• If your site is extremely sloping, for example too much of a slope to walk up, you may have to think in terms of cutting a terrace or even creating a series of waterfalls.

• If you are blessed with a large area of concrete, such as the base of an old shed, you could use it as a foundation for a raised formal pond or perhaps a linked patio.

• If you have a very young family, meaning babies and toddlers, and you are worried about their safety, you could either hold back until they are older, or you could build the water garden and make sure that you train the children in all aspects of water safety.

• If you have a garden surrounded by large, mature trees, you could create a bog garden, perhaps with small water features rather than ponds.

• If the ground is almost completely rocky, you may have to think in terms of raised, formal ponds.

Water-garden guidelines

Water movement Water movement can only be achieved by the use of a pump. The best method is to place the pump in a sump or reservoir, and to pump the water up to a higher level so that it can flow back down towards the sump. You will need a source of electricity.

Sump

Size and shape Although the size and shape of your site will decide the size and shape of your pond, the choice of liner is also a primary factor. While preformed liners may look to be the easiest option, they are small, rather predictable in shape and difficult to install. Flexible liners, on the other hand, can be as big as your budget, allowing you to build a water garden of any shape and size.

Rocky stream

Plants Plants require sunlight and varying depths of water. Locate and design the pond so that there is plenty of sunlight and so that it steps down from side to centre.

Planting shelf in a pond

Fish Very roughly, the fish-to-pond ratio is 2.5 cm (1 in) of fish length to every hand-sized area of water surface. The best way to stock a pond is to start with the plants, leave it for a year, and then gradually follow on with the fish.

Goldfish

Maintenance The secret of having and keeping a successful water garden is not to wait until the fish start dying and the various channels and pumps start to clog up, but rather to have a regular maintenance programme. You will probably get muddy and wet from time to time, but that is all part of the fun.

Removing algae

TIPS FOR NEW GARDENERS

Making a start If you are a nervous beginner, start by drawing out designs for the whole garden, and then divide the work up into manageable chunks or phases. So you might build the main pond one year, put in a secondary pond the next year, and so on.

Pond size When it comes to designing a water garden, the cardinal rule is always go for the biggest possible pond or pool. A large, wide, shallow body of water is generally healthier, safer, easier to stock and maintain, and certainly more aesthetically pleasing, than a small, deep pool.Have a clear vision Building and maintaining a water garden is undoubtedly a big commitment, not so much in money as in time and effort. For this reason, if you are at all undecided as to design and type, then you need to spend additional time simply viewing more gardens. Above all, you need to be enthusiastic and firm in your resolve.

Inspiration, passion and design

Successful water gardens are made up, in equal parts, of inspiration, passion and design. Most people begin by drawing inspiration from an experience – perhaps a wonderful garden that you visited, or a holiday when you sat by a lake, pool or well. Your passion is sparked into action, and you search out more gardens and start to visualize how yours might be. Finally, once you have carefully considered all the options and implications, you can start designing.

How do I proceed?

INSPIRATION AND PASSION

It is vital that, once you have been initially inspired, you go on to become passionate. Of course, inspiration and passion are not enough to hold the project together; you must harness these two feelings or emotions by channelling them into good, solid, well thought-out designs.

CHECKING OUT YOUR IDEAS

Once you are all fired up, then comes the perhaps more difficult task of checking out your ideas to make sure that they can realistically be brought to fruition. You might want a large pond, a formal pond, bog gardens and so on, but ask yourself the appropriate questions: is your site big enough, is the location right for what you have in mind, and can you afford it? You must start doing sums and then perhaps modify your ideas.

WHY DESIGN?

Good, solid design must follow on from inspiration and passion. You cannot just wander out into the garden in a dream state and start digging a hole – you must have an overall master design that guides your actions. Don’t stick rigidly to one idea come what may, but be flexible. Don’t be afraid to modify your ideas to suit changing needs. You might want a large, natural, meadow pond, but if your site is rocky and overhung with trees it might be a better idea to have a Japanese garden or a wild forest-glade garden. Try to incorporate everything in your design – your ideas, your bank balance and what you have on the ground.

There is something truly inspirational about a lily pond running riot – as the painter Claude Monet demonstrated.

If you like order and control, then perhaps a series of raised ponds is a good option, with flat water and restrained planting.

Guidelines for good design

Unlike a straightforward garden where you can chop and change everything as the mood takes you – the size of the lawn, the shape of the flower borders – a water garden with its fixed water features is less easy to change. The success of a water garden hinges on a whole mix of elements coming together.

Scale and shape The area of water needs to be as big as possible, but not so big that it feels uncomfortably large on the site or is dangerously close to the footings of the house. Regarding the choice between natural and geometrical shapes, a natural pond generally looks good just about anywhere but a formal, geometrical shape tends to look best when it is set in close proximity to the house.

Harmony and contrast While it is easy enough to create a natural-looking pond, one that very soon looks to be indistinguishable from the real thing, it is much more difficult to create a formal pond that looks and feels comfortable in any other position than close to the house. When a formal, geometrical pond is set close to the house, it must be considered from all aspects, and carefully aligned so that it is parallel to the house and related structures.

Continuing a theme Once you have opted for a theme, such as seaside, lakeside or Moorish, it is important that you follow through with appropriate planting and features.

Materials and techniques Although it is important that you use materials that are fitting and right for their purpose – local brick and stone – if you do decide to bring in boulders, marble or the like, then you must appreciate that there will of necessity be contrasts. You must also make sure that you are technically able to achieve your ends.

WATER-GARDEN OPTIONS AND STYLES

Formal garden pond

Formal ponds can be created from either flexible or preformed liners used in conjunction with brick, wood, concrete and stone. While preformed shapes can technically be raised or set in the ground, they generally look their best when they are raised. Combinations of preformed shapes can be used to create more complex designs.

Natural garden pond

Natural ponds are best created using flexible liners in conjunction with a totally concealed edging of block or brick and concrete.

Formal water garden

Formal water gardens are characterized by geometrical shapes, crisp edges, vertical sides, tightly controlled planting and by being carefully aligned to the house and related paths, patios and terraces.

Natural stream garden

A natural water garden including a stream needs to be built so that all the structures are hidden from view.

Japanese water garden

Japanese water gardens are uniquely interesting and exciting options in that they are formal interpretations of nature. While the pond, stone edging, planting and raked gravel all look to nature for their inspiration, they are used in a formal, stylized way.

Water gardens for plants and fish

If your primary concerns are not so much with the shape and style of the water garden, nor with thoughts of informal versus formal, but are more to do with how much you are looking forward to having lots of plants and fish, then, almost by default, the best option is to have a natural water garden. You will need a large, wide pond with as much water surface as possible, and with the sides of the pond running down in a series of shallow steps and shelves – meaning from the sides through to the centre.

Plants and fish need plenty of sunlight. You can have areas of lightly dappled shade, but for the most part the pond must be in a sunny position. To a great extent, trees and ponds are a bad mix. Rotting leaves can be toxic, large trees cut out the sun, and the roots from trees can pierce the pond lining. While you can happily have well-trimmed, low-growing trees like willows at the side of the pond, it is definitely a bad idea to have the pond overhung with mature trees.

Planning and construction

Do I really need a master plan?

If you want the project to run smoothly, you must sort out everything – from who does what and when through to the order of work and what happens if it rains on the day when you are expecting delivery of concrete. If you plan everything out to the last detail, with drawings, lists and schedules, then not only will you get the job done with the minimum of sweat and stress, but along the way you will also probably have a lot of fun and enjoyment.

DECIDING WHAT TO KEEP

When you are planning a new water garden, do not be in a hurry to remove existing trees or large structures; it may be possible (or essential) to incorporate them into your design. If you do have to dig holes, cut down trees or remove structures, then do your utmost to reuse these materials.

MEASURING YOUR GARDEN

Start by drawing a rough plan (overhead view) of your existing garden. Measure the overall length of the boundaries, critical angles, the position of the house, the gate, other structures, trees and plants you want to keep, the position of the sun at various times throughout the day, and anything else that you think might affect the design. Record these items and measurements on your rough plan.

DRAWING A PLAN TO SCALE

After noting measurements on a rough plan (see right) redraw the plan accurately (to scale) on a sheet of graph paper. If the paper is divided into 1 cm (½ in) squares, you could use a scale of 1:50, where 1 cm (½ in) on the paper represents 50 cm (25 in) in the garden (divide all your measurements by 50). This is your basic plan which should not be drawn on again. Sketch out your ideas for the new garden on photocopies of the basic plan. Once you have finalized the design, draw up a master plan by tracing over the top of the basic plan (tape the sheets of paper to a window so you can see through them and trace over lines). Use felt-tip pens or watercolours to colour in the plan and help you visualize planting schemes. If this sounds like too much hard work, try using a computer software design package.

PLANNING THE STRUCTURES