Landscaping your pond isn’t much different than landscaping your backyard. Similar factors should be considered, with the same design principles applied in both. Follow these 5 tips for planting your pond to maximize beauty and minimize maintenance.
1. Keep It Natural
The goal is to mimic Mother nature. When you add aquatic plants to a pond, you’re helping to blend it in with the surrounding landscape. In nature, marginal plants are typically found along the perimeter of ponds, lakes, and streams. In a man-made pond, these plants soften the hard edges of the rocks and provide a smooth transition from the water in the pond to the terrestrial planting area that surrounds it.
2. Ensure the Best View
Just as the signature waterfall faces the house or viewing areas, be sure that the amazing waterlily or lotus is easily seen from the nearby patio or kitchen window for the greatest amount of appreciation.
3. Vary Plant Heights
To maximize a natural look in the ponds you build, place taller plants like reeds, cattails, and cannas toward the back of planting clusters. Then, add medium and shorter plants on the viewing side of the taller plants.
4. Play with Colour
Random placement of plants with different textures and colours will give the pond a natural, unstructured appearance. Choose colours that you like best and let your creativity take care of the rest. Emphasize primary colours with larger plants, and add some daring contrasts of texture and other colours around the edges.
5. Know How They’ll Grow
It’s important to familiarize yourself with the mature size and habit of your plants, how they grow and spread. To create a truly low-maintenance pond, allow sufficient room for future growth.
Employ these tips when designing and planting your pond, and you’ll achieve the pond of your dreams. A pond doesn’t fully mature until about the third year, so don’t be concerned that it may look a little sparse at first. You will love watching your water garden grow!
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