Preformed Water Feature Guide on How to Build One in Your Garden Easily

Installing backyard water fountains is a fantastic way to add special character to it. You can get all kinds of water features, from the love birds, to the dolphins, even the classic cupid fountains are still in style.

Preformed garden water features how to choose a suitable preformed liner and the correct placing of your water feature.

Preformed water features are one of the easiest ponds for a beginner there are several different options available when deciding if a preformed pond is the best for you.

Firstly where to site your water feature you want to avoid overhanging tree’s or large shrubs which will drop leaves and flowers into your pond.

You also need to consider electricity as you will probably want at least a small fountain and possibly lights (there are some great funky lights around) if you have to site your pond a long way from your house you will need to have an electrician install armour covered cable which can be very expensive depending on the distance.

Also personally I like to have my fish pond near to my house for several reasons one being I like to see into my pond from the house, also if it’s raining I don’t want to be getting soaked running down to the pond to feed the fish.

You will have to excavate a whole deep enough to cover the preformed pond which may be difficult if you have drains or cables underground so before you start check this out, if in doubt don’t dig instead build a pond above ground.

Lastly please be very careful if you have children of an age to fall into the pond you will need to think about some sort of covering for your garden water feature that will be strong enough to withstand a child’s weight.

Now having considered all the above and found the best spot to site the pond you will now have to decide how big you want your water feature do you want to incorporate a waterfall, cost will obviously come into this decision. The cheapest performed ponds are quite flimsy and will not last as long as the rigid plastic shapes. A pond with a good depth will allow fish to overwinter ice free and a pond with a shelf will give you the right depth to support marginal plants. My advice would be to buy the best you can afford as you only want to be doing this once.

Measure the depth of your preformed liner and add a few inches to allow room to line the hole before adding the preformed pond, water is as you know very heavy so you need to make sure no sharp stones or roots are going to pierce the liner over time. I recommend lining the hole with either a ready made product or to save money some old carpet covered with building sand will do the job.

As preformed ponds are a funny shape it will be difficult to excavate an exact hole, to counter this I would back fill with building sand. If your preformed pond is situated in the lawn it should reach just above the soil height, I would recommend you cut back the lawn and place something else around the edge, like pebbles or creeping ground cover plants to protect the pond from grass cuttings.

If you are intending having fish in your pond you will need to consider the biological balance between plants and fish so you may wish to install an internal or external filter at this stage rather than having to install one later.

I would recommend a fountain however small just to aerate the pond, however, Lilies are not very keen on having their leaves splashed so you will need to keep them as far apart as possible.

Having filled your pond with water you are now ready to choose the marginal plants for the shelf. Most aquatic centres will have a large selection for you to choose the ones that appeal to you, don’t forget to buy the aerating plants I personally don’t plant these up I find they are happiest just floating around in the pond. If you get the balance of your pond right you will find the plants grow so well you will have to remove them and thin them out.

Wait for a few weeks before adding fish to your pond as this will give time for the balance to be achieved on its own without having to resort to chemicals.

For more information on waterfalls please visit http://gardenwaterfeature.blogspot.com.

Hi my name is Sue I am an avid gardener, I designed my garden from scratch having nothing but lawn on different levels, I now have different rooms with a prairie hill, formal knot garden, herbaceous beds, rock garden and of course my three ponds.

I built my own pond on my patio which I tell you about in my blog, I had a further two water features built in the garden one is a preformed pebble pool and the other is a brick pond with a slate and brick waterfall, which even I have to say was a little too much for me to build. This pond I have had a lot of trouble with and have learnt a lot as a result, which is sometimes the only way we learn, if you are stubborn like me.

I love having water features in my garden the extra they give to the garden in the way of tranquility and peace cannot be measured I would recommend them to everyone.

Please feel free to visit my Blog where you will find articles on building a pond in a weekend, pond waterfalls and preformed ponds @ http://gardenwaterfeature.blogspot.com

Author: Sue Anderson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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