Ponds & Water Features
With a little imagination you can transform an old garden into a natural wildlife habitat or an area to create a relaxing atmosphere to eliminate the stresses of work and family life.
The sound of running water creates a relaxing atmosphere in any garden. From a formal design for fish and wildlife to the informal.
Water gardens are a type of man-made feature. A water garden is defined as any interior or exterior landscape or architectural element whose primarily purpose is to house, display, or propagate varieties of aquatic plant. Although a water garden’s primary focus is on plants, they are also home for many varieties of ornamental fish, in which case the feature will be a fish pond.
Though a water garden is restricted to a particular type of natural or man-made water feature, used for a relatively specific purpose or intended use, there are many other types of water feature types, styles and designs.
Water features were historically used for plant and fish production for food purposes as well as ornamental aesthetics.Although water gardens can be almost any size or depth, they are typically small and relatively shallow, generally less than twenty inches in depth. This is because most aquatic plants are depth sensitive and require a specific water depth in order to thrive. The particular species inhabiting each water garden will ultimately determine the actual surface area and depth required and where fish are present then the depth will need to be greater to allow its inhabitants to over winter.
Water gardens, and all water features in general have been a part of landscaped gardens for centuries. Water features have been present and well represented in every era and culture that has included gardens in their landscape and architectural environments. Up until the rise of the industrial age, which introduced the modern water pump, water was not re-circulated, but was diverted from rivers and springs into the water gardens, agricultural fields or natural watercourses..
