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Backyard Ponds (Part 1)

© Mel. White

There is nothing quite so soothing as the sound of dripping, rustling water. Although few of us have enough land for a pond (and fewer still have streams or rivers along their property), most of us can put in a small water feature even on a very tiny bit of space (such as a patio). In fact, the garden shops go out of their way to make it very very convenient for the beginner.

Water features, in addition to being soothing for humans, are a bounty for any of the creatures that wander across your space. In many places, fresh clean water is hard to come by and even a fairly small feature (like a birdbath with a sprinkler and some rocks and plants) will be welcomed.

As with all things, if you want to put in a water feature, start small -- and start with a plan. Remember that safety is important and your pond should be constructed so that it's not a danger to kids, pets, and wild creatures.

For most urban backyards, this means that you'll have a small scale water feature. This isn't a complete limit, because most backyard pond kits are expandable -- you can buy a basic pond now and then next year put in a small waterfall or other such options.

My sister-in-law has an ideal pond for a suburban backyard -- a small and winding pondlet built into a 1foot high rock wall. The watercourse is about 8 inches across and about three feet long and has two pots of lillies and four goldfish. It's a pleasant addition to their outdoor patio and a real conversation piece.

Another friend, who has no children and no pets, has turned a 20 square foot area of his back yard into a lilly pond. No rock wall lines the feature, since there's no need to keep children out of it. Built using pond liners and gravel, it holds goldfish and a variety of lillies. In the hot Texas summer afternoons birds flock to his pond to bathe and drink.

Your water feature needs to have some sort of pump to move the water around. Standing water creates a good breeding place for mosquitoes -- and while I like wildlife, I'm not overly fond of wildlife that dines on me. Fish also are good for keeping down mosquitoes -- minnows and goldfish are two very popular (and cheap) choices.

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