Installing a Water Garden

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Installing a Water Garden

Filed under: Garden

By: Rae Rand

Installing a water garden may seem like an overwhelming task. However, with the proper materials and a good amount of determination, you could install your very own within as little as one or two days.
Begin by choosing the perfect location for your water garden, such as near a rock wall to also incorporated a garden waterfall, or near a favorite window for viewing from indoors. If you're planning on adding plants and animal life to your water garden, you'll want to choose a shady spot or a spot where you could later add shade.
Gather all the materials needed to begin installing your water garden: shovel, rope or garden hose for laying out an area for digging, water garden liner, smooth stones for securing the liner, source of water for filling your water garden, strong pair of scissors or utility knife for trimming liner, and materials of choice to cover the liner and edge of your finished water garden.
Using the rope or garden hose, lay out an area for digging. Mark the entire outline with your shovel, then begin digging. All sides should angle slightly inward from top to bottom, and the water garden bottom should be level, yet angle slightly toward one end to ease draining and cleaning.
Loosely lay the liner into the dug out area so the entire edge of the water garden is overlapped evenly. Secure the liner with smooth stones and begin filling with water. Remove the placement stones as the filling of the water garden pulls the liner into place. Smooth out all wrinkles before there is too much water pressure and weight to adjust the liner. After the water garden is filled, trim the overlapped liner leaving about six inches around the entire edge.
Lay rocks or materials of your choice around the edge of the water garden to cover the overlapped liner.
If you're planning on adding plants and animal life to your water garden, you'll need to enhance your water garden with a pump, filtration system, UV sterilizer, and tubing to ensure cool water temperature and oxygenation. Refer to http://www.thegardenersresource.com/WaterGardens.html for how to correctly choose these components.
Refer also to http://www.thegardenersresource.com/WaterGardens.html for adding a waterfall, fountain, plants, or fish to your water garden and for tips on successfully maintaining a water garden.

For additional gardening information including tips and advice about bulbs, ground covers, perennials, vegetables, indoor plants, shrubs and hedges, trees, and water gardens, go to: http://www.thegardenersresource.com/
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