You’ve probably driven by houses with water gardens and admired the attractive landscaping. After all, burbling, cascading water and the backdrop of a beautiful pond, fountain, or waterfall can make any garden more attractive, as long as it’s done tastefully and well. You might have even thought about having a water garden built into your own yard until you found out the price. Fortunately, you can build your own water feature and not have to pay all the labor costs of a professional job. By following a few simple guidelines, you’ll be on your way to becoming the envy of all passersby.

You may be objecting, “But I’m not really skilled that way.” The majority of us aren’t, but creating a water garden depends more on your creative planning and hard work than it is on having a resume filled with building skills. If you can maintain a garden, you can build an eye-catching water garden in your yard.

Begin by finding out your city’s regulations about where you can build your water garden. There are most likely regulations dictating where your water feature needs to be located as well as its size and depth. Some towns will have safety guidelines, such as how deep you can make your pond without having to fence in the area. You will also need to find out where pipes, wiring, septic system, or other subterranean utility features are buried, because you certainly can’t excavate in those areas.

Decide on your location carefully. Once you understand what you’re working around, you’re free to choose a place where your water garden will be both easy to see and useful. If you are only planning on planting water plants in and around your pond, it will be fine to locate your water garden in an area where there is no shade. However, if you plan to add fish to the pool, you need to locate it where it will be shaded during the times of day when temperatures are at their peak.

Actually, the time you spend planning and shopping will probably take you longer than building the water garden itself. You can begin the project with nothing more than a small pump, a pond liner, and a shovel. Over time, and as you can afford it, you can add to your water feature and make it more complex and decorative so that eventually you’ll have the water garden you always dreamed about, and you’ll have created it yourself.