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To build yourself a beautiful container water garden, start by choosing a pond-friendly spot. It will need to get 6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day with no overhanging trees. It should also be near a water source, and a power source if you want a circulating pump for a waterfall.
Assemble the Basic Materials
Most home and garden supply stores carry everything you'll need to create a small water garden pond. For a healthy pond, you only need to follow few basic rules in choosing containers and location. Beyond that, let your imagination rule!
Charming water gardens can be planted in everything from old bathtubs to large baskets with plastic liners. Your water pond container must be easy to drain. It cannot be porous--if you use terracotta, you'll need a plastic liner--and it must be deep enough for the plants you want to grow.
Assemble Your Equipment
Before you start, gather everything you'll need. Your list will include: containers and water plants, terracotta pots for you plants, bricks, gravel, heavy soil, aquatic plant fertilizer tablets and a garden hose.
Pot Your Plants
In a container water garden, each plant should have its own separate pot and be submerged in the pond. If your water plants are not in suitable pots, transfer them to terracotta. Plant them in heavy, muddy soil, rich in clay. Do not use potting soil, vermiculite or peat moss, which will wash away and foul the water. Fill the pots 2/3 full and push a fertilizer tablet into the soil. Gently spread the roots of the plant over the surface of the soil and add enough additional soil to cover the roots fully. Lightly tamp it down, and then cover the soil with an inch or so of pea gravel.
Arrange Your Plants in Your Pond Container
For your plants to flourish, the top of the pots should be no more than an inch or 2 below the surface of the water. Use bricks, upended terracotta pots or construction blocks to properly situate your plant pots in your pond container. You'll want to make sure they're secure enough to remain in place over time.
Add a Fountain or Waterfall
If you're using a fountain or a waterfall, secure the pump following the manufacturer's directions and make sure it's working properly before filling the pond with water.
Fill Your Pond
Fill your pond with water from a garden hose. The water should be deep enough to submerge the plants under a few inches of water. Fill slowly, keeping the hose close to bottom of the container and letting the water level rise, so you don't disturb the soil and gravel in your potted plants. Don't forget to dechlorinate the water before adding fish!
Enjoy!
Place a bench or comfortable sitting rock nearby and take some time out everyday to enjoy the beauty of your miniature water world. | 