A shallow koi pond with lily pads can transform the humblest backyard space into a peaceful retreat.
“Into each life a little rain must fall,” asserts the old adage. And we who putter in the garden are well aware of the vicissitudes of water on and in our gardens. I thought we might consider for a few moments the good, the bad, the beautiful, and (if we must) the ugly facts of water in the garden. There are three ways of considering water in the garden: as rain that does or does not fall, artificial sources of water for our garden, and water as a lovely feature in the garden.
Let’s begin with Nature’s way: rainfall. It’s mid-summer now, and rain comes and goes at will, gentle or heavy, spare or lavish, reliably or sporadically. Like me, you’ve probably learned to protect your garden’s resident plants and shrubs from downpours and droughts with a few gardener’s tricks. You may have redirected the water from your downspouts with flexible hose or dug graceful, pebble-lined trenches to guide rainwater where it’s needed, away from foundations and fragile roots. Perhaps you’ve installed eco-friendly barrels to collect rainwater for use in drier times.
And now, what can we do to compensate for the lack of rain? We water! For those invariably dry, hot days of summer, you may have installed soaker hoses just beneath the top soil. If you have soaker hoses, you know how effective they are at helping precious water reach the roots of thirsty plants. You may have installed timers on those hoses, or any of your watering devices. These hose timers come in two basic types; manual or automatic. Manual timers are set each time you wish to use the soaker or sprinkler; you turn the dial to 15 or 30 minutes and the timer does the rest. The more sophisticated auto-timers allow you to set a pattern of daily and even weekly timing cycles for watering. Either type of timer will take a lot of the annoyance out of watering the garden when Nature won’t.
A few words more about soaker hoses and sprinklers, if I may. If you don’t mind a bit of extra preparation, soaker hoses are practical and ecologically responsible watering solutions. The installation requires digging shallow trenches where the hose or tubing is then laid. A light layer of soil then covers the hose, restoring the flowerbeds to their tidy beauty. (Leaving the soaker hose on the surface thwarts its effectiveness since some of the water may squirt up into the air and the water that settles into the soil has further to go to reach the thirst plant roots.) If this installation sounds a bit daunting, consult with your landscaper who’ll help plan the most effective layout plan. As for sprinklers, they’re best used on open spaces, such as your lawn. (You won’t want soaker-hose trenches dug beneath your lush, green turf, I’m sure.) Broad sprinklers will supplement nature’s watering, and can be installed permanently or the old-fashioned hose and sprinkling device to be moved around the lawn. Sprinklers are less ecologically responsible, allowing some water to evaporate in the air rather than feed the thirst roots of grass or flowers. In defense of sprinklers, I must add, there’s nothing more relaxing than the rhythmic sound of a sprinkler clicking away on a warm, summer’s evening.
The combination of exterior lighting and water features can create an elegant evening space.
Well, now that we’ve covered the ins-and-outs of watering our lawns and gardens, let’s consider the beauty of water features in our gardens. Pools, ponds, waterfalls, and birdbaths are all lovely ways to incorporate into your garden the look and sound of water. A small birdbath is easy to install and inexpensive to acquire. You can set it up anywhere – preferably where you can often sit or stand and watch as Cardinals, Goldfinch, sparrows, and wrens drink and frolic in the still water. Most birdbaths are a bit too deep in the center, and birds must perch on the rim to drink. If you add a few smooth stones in the center of the basin a bird or two can also stand and drink in the middle of the basin. Plan to replenish the water daily, once the word is out among the feathered community, and drop in a pellet to prevent mosquitos from laying eggs there. (Available at larger pet stores.) Occasionally, you’ll want to take a brush or a squirting hose and rinse out the birdbath, getting rid of dead leaves and bits of detritus that will collect there.
If you’re enjoying a birdbath already, you may want to up your game, adding a fountain or waterfall to the bath. The sound of falling water, even a trickle, is soothing—nature’s music. If you’re good at crafts, you can create your own waterfall with a small, submersible pump and stones or other material. Check out Pinterest for some clever ideas. Another option is to buy a fountain or waterfall, set it on your patio table or buy a pedestal to set among the flowers.
A step deeper into the water feature might be to add a pond to your garden. You’ll have all the advantages of the birdbath and the fountain, only more. You’ll want to consult a landscape architect to discuss the pond’s placement, size, and depth. A shallow pond is lovely for floating decorative plants such as water lilies and papyrus. If you can install a pond with a depth of two feet or deeper, you could add a few koi and perhaps even a frog to your garden community. Caution: ponds do require maintenance. If your pond is not spring fed, as is the case with most ornamental ponds, you’ll need a pump to aerate the water and filters to clean it. Your gardener or landscape architect will help you decide how to efficiently maintain your pond.
Last, you might have or be prepared to add a pool to your property. A small, lap pool, a mid-size family pool, or a diving pool are among your options. You’ll decide on chlorinated or saltwater, shape, depth, and border. For your pool, whether newly installed or an existing feature, you may want to discuss the plantings that surround and soften the pool’s placement in your landscape—ah, but that’s a topic for another column.
Whatever conclusions you reach about the ever-present issue of water in the context of your landscape and garden, I’m sure you’ll find refreshing ways to while away a summer’s day.
