article: Islands in the Water Garden

Islands in the Water Garden

Planning a water garden can be lots of fun. You can place statues, sprinklers, waterfalls, and islands in the water garden to create that most interesting appeal that you are going to love for years to come. Here I want to tell you about how to create an island in the middle of the water garden, which you can ‘do’ no matter what type of water garden you are choosing to create!

Islands can be created in the largest of water gardens with very little problem. In the smaller water garden, sometimes an island can make the overall appearance of the water garden seem a little crowded, but this could be solved by making your water garden larger, or making the island smaller. Planning a water garden is done when you haven’t erected the water garden yet, or when you are planning on draining the water garden for what ever reason.

What you are going to need to do is think about the island as a square in the pond. The bottom of your water garden is level, flat and covered with some type of material that is going to hold the water. The rectangle, your island is going to be planned in the center or in the off center position of your water garden as you like.

There will be four walls that will surround this island. Only the very top layers of the wall are going to stick out of the water, the remaining will be submerged in the water of the pond. The four walls can be erected from some type of masonry that can be cemented or sealed so that the water does not take the tool on the bricks or rocks for years to come.

Inside of the four walls of your island, you are going to fill the walls with rocks that will fill the space, allowing water to travel through as needed, with out washing away your dirt. The rocks will come to the very top of the water line, and then you can use a large piece of rubber (left over from creating the pond) or a small piece of pond liner, to cover the rocks.

Then you will add layers and layers of dirt on the top of this rubber liner. The rocks or bricks that you used for the walls will be built up as you continue to build up the soil in the center of your island.

Because the island is in the middle of the garden, you are going to want to plant bulbs or perennial plants that will require very little attention as it will be difficult for you to reach them and work with these plants. While not impossible, you just won’t want to walk too much on the pond liner for the water garden to prevent rips and tears.

Plan the creation of your island when you are planning the water garden for a unique look that you can care for over the years with very little problems. The area in the middle of the water garden, the island, is not going to hurt or obstruct the fish in the water, but it can be a haven of cool shade for many!