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What is a Water Garden?
By admin | July 19, 2006
In todays edition we cover ‘what is a water garden?’ Not to be confused with ‘how to water my garden’
There are a great many amatuer and professional gardeners that prefer a more daring challenge in designing and creating an exquisite garden, fewer are more challenging than a Water Garden.
Water gardens, also known as aquatic gardens, backyard ponds and garden ponds, have become popular in recent years.
Usually referring to a man-made feature, these gardens typically combine a pool with aquatic plants and often ornamental fish. Fixed items such as rocks, fountains, statuary, waterfalls and watercourses can be combined with the pool to add visual interest and integration with the local landscape and environment.
Hydro Industries have a novel idea in filling and topping up your water garden during those weltering summers: the retractable hose reel
Types of water gardens
* Containers
* Man-made ponds
* Natural ponds
* Bogs
Flora for your Water Garden
Typical water garden plants are divided into 3 main categories–submerged, marginal, and floating.
Submerged plants are those that live almost completely under the water, sometimes with leaves or flowers that grow to the surface such as with the water lily. These plants are placed in a pond or container usually 1-2 ft. below the water surface. Some of these plants are called oxygenators because they create oxygen for the fish that live in a pond. Examples of submerged plants are:
* Water lily (Hardy and Tropical)
* Parrot Feather (Myriophyllum aquaticum)
Marginal plants are those that live with their roots under the water but the rest of the plant above the surface. These are usually placed so that the top of the pot is at or barely below the water level. Examples of these are:
* Flag (Iris)
* Taro or Elephant Ear
* Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia)
* Nelumbo (lotus)
* Pickerelweed (Pontedaria cordata)
Floating plants are those that are not anchored to the soil at all, but are free-floating on the surface. In water gardening, these are often used as a provider of shade to keep down the growth of algae in a pond. These are often extremely fast growing/multiplying. Examples of these are:
* Mosquito ferns (Azolla)
* Water-spangle (Salvinia)
* Water-clover (Marsilea vestita)
* Water-hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)
Some areas of the United States do not allow certain of these plants to be sold or kept as they have become invasive species in warmer areas of the country, such as Florida.
Visit Hydro Industries for world class garden watering equipment.
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