Building a Water Garden Pond: DIY Water Garden Landscaping Basics

Image courtesy of Terling

Building a water garden pond is an immensely rewarding experience, one that gives its builder an enduring sense of accomplishment in addition to creating a beautiful space in which to meditate and entertain. And it’s not as complicated as you might think. Although pond building and water garden landscaping can take many forms and attain many levels of complexity and difficulty, designing, installing and landscaping your own pond is an entirely achievable and enjoyable project for the determined do-it-yourselfer. The basic overview below explains the bare basics of how to build a backyard pond of your very own. It is intended as an introduction to pond building, and should serve to give you a preliminary point from which to seek out additional research, gather materials and begin working toward the planning and “planting” of your first water garden.

Step 1: Every successful project starts off with a good plan. Once you’ve decided to undertake your own pond construction, you first need to come up with a solid, well-researched design and plan it out in full detail (this includes making scale sketches, plotting out the size and shape of your pond on site, evaluating the optimal location, playing with different styles and designs, etc.). Having a good plan in place before you even purchase materials is the best way to save time, effort and money by preventing common mistakes and miscalculations.

Step 2: Start to gather the materials you will need to operate a clean, clear water garden pond. As a first-timer, you can save yourself a lot of headaches, effort and cost by choosing to start your project with one of the many quality garden pond kits on the market. Pond kits come in nearly any size and style, and, what’s more, include all the basic parts and instructions necessary to install your pond – all pre-selected for compatibility and typically offered at a much lower cost than purchasing each component separately. Choosing a complete pond kit over a custom, search-and-purchase approach will help ensure your first installation goes as smoothly as possible.

Step 3: Prepare to start digging. When you’re officially ready to begin building, mark out your pond’s outline with spray paint, flour or another visual medium and start digging. Begin by making the surface of the ground – around where you’ve drawn your outline – as level as possible before moving on to any vertical digging. This will ensure your final water height will be the same on all sides. Move on to digging out any planting shelf areas and, finally, complete your pit by digging down to and leveling the bed area. Depending on the size, depth and shape of your pond, the excavation can take several hours to several afternoons. Pause often and check yourself to ensure you’re getting the right shape and depth, and reserve the excavated dirt to be used later for any stream incline or brim.

Step 4: Remove any sharp rocks or roots and install your underlayment first and then your liner. You may choose to put down a layer of sand first for additional protection. If using a flexible liner, make sure to overlap the underlayment in places where you need to “patchwork” it into shape. If you need to overlap your liner, use a seam kit to create a watertight seal on all seams. Depending on the type of liner, waterfall and skimmer you use, you may need to install these components first, and cut the liner to fit around the skimmer and waterfall tank. Follow the instructions for your particular pond kit, or consult the advice of a professional. Leave some extra underlayment and liner exposed around the edge of your pond during construction, so once you get your waterfall running, you can determine if you need to further build up your stream area to accommodate the final waterfall depth.

Step 5: Install your pump, skimmer and waterfall filter if you haven’t already, again, following your pond kit or advisor’s instructions. Using a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) to safeguard your outdoor outlets from water damage is highly recommended, as is getting a professional’s help if you are not familiar with electrical work.

Step 6: Once all the working elements are in place, fill your pond with water. Run your pumps and filters and check to see if everything is operating smoothly before you start landscaping. Having to tear out all your hard work in order to fix a component problem is no fun.

Step 7: Water garden landscaping is arguably the most enjoyable aspect of pond construction. A variety of natural stones, aquatic plants (water lilies, oxygenators, partially-submerged, submerged, floating and marginal plants) and even several species of fish can be used to create the look you’re going for. When building a water garden pond on your own, everything from a natural-looking do-it-yourself waterfall to a more contemporary stacked-stone meditation pool can be achieved with a little concentrated effort and creativity.

About the author: Garth Epp is the editor of www.BuildingMyPond.com and the host of the Smarter Water Garden Advisor Series Pod Cast. It is his objective to provide unbiased information on building water garden ponds and waterfall features. His aim is to provide guidance and education on all aspects of building and maintaining your own pond.