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Water Gardens Can be "Contained" on Your Patio
By Steve Jones
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In previous columns, we've discussed water features for your landscape. We've also talked about container gardening, particularly container herb gardens to set up by your kitchen door. How about combining the idea of a container garden and a water feature?
A container water garden!
Let's consider the benefits:
* No need to dig a chunk out of your landscape, as you would with a regular pond. And thus no need to rent a backhoe or break your back swinging a pick!
* A great way to "wet your feet" with the idea of water gardening without investing a lot of money. If you find it's not for you…no big deal.
* Unlike a pond, a container water garden can go right on your deck or patio.
* It's (relatively) moveable, depending on the size of container and the weight of the water.
Let's get started. First of all, determine a location for your container water garden. Most of the plants that you'll use will want quite a lot of direct sun (up to six hours in some cases). Pick a spot that meets that requirement. You CAN get away with around three hours or so, but you'll be limiting the type and quality of plants that you'll be growing.
Now for the container. You can use just about any waterproof container that can hold at least four gallons of water. I've seen whiskey barrels and half barrels, kiddie pools and galvanized watering cans used as containers. The simplest choice is some kind of plastic container, sturdy enough to hold the weight. Water weighs around 8 lbs. per gallon and then there's the weight of the other contents.
If you do choose a plastic container but don't find it aesthetically pleasing, you can house it inside a more decorative outer container, such as a basket, a barrel or a rustic wooden crate.
As for plants, the best effect comes from mixing different shapes and textures. For example, you could pick something tall and spiky such as sweet flag (Acorus calamus) and then contrast it with the flat look of calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica). You could then add a cascading plant, such as water mint (Mentha aquatica).
There isn't enough room here to describe all the plants you could choose for your container water garden. There are some excellent books devoted to the subject and you can find them at larger book stores or libraries. Online resources are also available and I found several myself. The web addresses are VERY long, so rather than print them here, I'll send you the links if you send me an e-mail request at steve@landsteward.org
The planting process is comparatively easy, but again, you'll probably find it simpler to follow the illustrations and graphics you'll find online rather than read my description here. However, I will give you a brief overview.
At its simplest, you can put each plant in its own small pot with some well-moistened garden soil, add a firm layer of wet sand or gravel, about ¼ to ½ inch deep to keep the soil from floating away, and then place the pots on flat stones or bricks inside the container to bring them to the specified level for each species.
Fill some buckets with tap water and allow to stand at least overnight or longer before carefully adding to your container. This allows most of the chemicals to evaporate, particularly if you're using a city water supply. Some experts recommend buying a product, available at most garden centers, to remove chloramines from the water.
I must emphasize that this is a very basic overview and it's a good idea to check out the excellent online resources for more details and some ideas for getting creative, too!
In areas where mosquitoes can be a problem, it helps to include a small pump to keep the water circulating. Add a decorative spouting ornament to the pump and you can enjoy the relaxing sound of a mini fountain as well!
Drop me a line if you have questions or suggestions and ideas about container water gardens to share with your fellow readers.
The Plant Man is here to help. Send your questions about trees, shrubs and landscaping to steve@landsteward.org and for resources and additional information, or to subscribe to Steve's free e-mailed newsletter, visit www.landsteward.org
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