Pond Design, Continued

Let's keep showing pond design solutions.  I know it seems simple just to dig a hole and fill it with water and in many ways it is, but making that pond fit where it's dug is as different as the people who will live with the pond in the garden.

This client had a long, narrow back yard. He wanted to hear waterfall noise.  In fact, he installed a baby  monitor outside the bedroom window so he could hear the sounds inside while going to sleep.

This pond is 22' long and about 8' wide. I built a hill in the yard, so we could put a path behind the pond and it could be viewed from 'behind the set'.  Of course, that meant there was no 'behind the set', so I used plants on both sides of the path to cover the back of the waterfall where the tubes and hoses are and against the wall that formed the back of his yard.   You can see both waterfalls. For some reason two waterfalls worked better than one long one.

This pond was mainly in the shade so the plant palette had to be specific to shade plants.  Notice the ferns and even a croton in back of the waterfall.  Putting plants behind a waterfall and in front of a fence solves two problems:  Covers the back of the waterfall and separates the pond from the fence. One of the biggest mistakes DIY pond builders make is to back the pond right up against the fence.  Water does not come out of fences and we can't figure out why we don't like the way it looks. Put plants in between and you will suddenly like your waterfall more.

Visit my website at pondlady.com.  Visit us with your pond questions or just to show off your pond.

To learn more about pond design read my book.
A Practical Guide to Building and Maintaining your Pond, available here http://ow.ly/btFJQ
Learn to build your own pond.