Water Garden Landscaping - article by Good English Article Sites

How to design a successful DIY water garden landscaping project

Water gardens are a popular landscaping project these days. Perhaps it's because our lives are so hectic, we crave a little spot in the garden where we can go for a quiet and relaxing spot of rest, right in our own yard. The sound of water, trickling down a small fall, has a comforting musical quality. Stocking your water garden with Koi fish creates a visually peaceful environment which makes it easy to wind down and forget that bad hair day.

You've probably admired some water garden designs at the nursery, but perhaps thought you needed a professional to do the job. While you can certainly hire a pro, it's a very doable project for the DIYer. The area you'll devote to the water garden landscaping is relatively small, so the actual work involved is not so great as the amount of research you'll want to do before selecting your plants.

To this purpose, your first step should be an online image search of water garden designs, both as landscaping features and in natural settings. You'll want to tailor your image search such that the plants are native to your region. For example, if you live in the Northwest, on the coast, Google 'northwest coast water gardens', or 'northwest coast wetlands'. Click through to sites where the image approximates or matches the mood and general appearance you find pleasing. Typically, the article or caption that accompanies the image gives the names of the various plants of the area. Do some exploring and save the images you like in a directory on your computer, along with text files with the names of the plants.

Your water garden landscaping design should take into account how your water garden fits in to the rest of your landscaping. If you have a large piece of land, it's far easier to create an obviously separate area, with a 'mood' of its own, in keeping with a natural wetlands area.

In an average sized back yard, water garden landscaping designs must be carefully scaled and placed to successfully create the quiet ambience and natural setting you desire. Let's say that the area you have to work with is about 10 by 20 feet. You've got your heart set on a water garden that simulates a natural wetland area, with ornamental grasses and native wildflowers. Make prints of your favorite images and consult with your local nurseryman to see if there are ornamental grasses available, on a smaller scale, which are similar in texture and appearance to the ones you've collected in your images. Ask about perennials which are similar in habit, color and growth to the ones in the natural setting. Investigate sources of natural rock that will build on the mood you're trying to recreate in your water garden landscaping design.

Now you'll want to think about how to set off your water garden as a private area, distinct from the rest of the garden, while still being integrated into the rest of your landscape. For example, you might want to use ornamental grasses as a natural privacy screen, planted in a semi-circular enclosure around the water garden. With these grasses serving as a natural 'fence', leave room for a bench, chaise lounge or a comfortable rattan chair and foot stool. Consider if statuary might be a desirable feature. How about lighting features?

In short, your water garden landscaping plan should incorporate the most desirable plants and features that will make your water garden a place you'll want to retreat to often. The ultimate success of your water garden lies in good research and planning. The actual work involved then becomes easy. You'll find that water garden landscaping may be the perfect and most rewarding of DIY projects.

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