Water features bring such beauty to gardens as not only do they provide fascination through motion and sound, but they are also a hive of activity for wildlife.
Aquatic features in your garden are irresistible to local wildlife. It can attract birds looking for a bath or a drink, as well as bees, butterflies, frogs and dragonflies, which is brilliant for children wanting to learn about wildlife.
Water Garden
The quickest way to turn your garden into an aquatic paradise is to make a water garden. Any container can be used to create the garden; this could be an old bathtub or an oversized bowl. As long as it is waterproof, it will be perfect to start building a beautiful water garden feature without too much time or money. You need to add plants to the container that are suitable for water, and some popular ones are:
- Waterlilies: the lily is a beautiful flower which prefers to stand in water. It is scented, and some even change colour as they grow older.
- Floating heart: this flower rises above the water surface, and they are a vibrant yellow or white colour. They are perfect for water gardens which have flowing water.
- Fairy moss: this plant is very delicate and floats on top of the water, which creates a covering effect across any water in the summer. As it gets cooler, it changes from a green to a pink, purple colour.
- Water snowflake: this snowflake plant has white fringed flowers that bloom in spring and summer, but they need to be in at least 4 inches of water.
Small Ponds
Most gardens, no matter how big, are perfect for ponds and building one, couldn’t be easier. Make sure you choose the perfect area for your pond so that it has a good amount of sunlight and isn’t under too much shade from trees. Where you dig the pond will impact the wildlife that decides to live in your aquatic paradise, for example, tadpoles and plants will thrive in a warm, sunny area of the garden.
Fit the pond with a prefabricated liner, and once this is in place, you need to disguise the edges with soil, rocks and plants so it gives it a natural feel that will attract wildlife. You can then start considering which fish you would like to add. Just as you would for your indoor aquarium, you need to make sure you have the right equipment for any fish you put in the pond from sites such as Water-garden.co.uk. Once this is in place, you can start adding fish such as guppy fish, mosquito fish and goldfish.
These fish are very easy to care for, feeding on algae, insect larvae, small insects and aquatic plants.
A water feature is such a great item to add to a garden, no matter what size the garden is as it adds real character to it. The noise, the sound and the inclusion of fish make an aquatic addition a lovely idea for all the family to enjoy.
