Just Add Water

Story by David DiCenzo

A water garden can provide both beauty and ecological value to your backyard

By the time August rolled around in the summer of 2003, Bill Holowaty’s extensive garden provided the perfect backdrop for the gift opening that followed his daughter’s wedding ceremony. Holowaty’s healthy annuals gave the setting a tremendous splash of colour but the real attention-getter in the back of his Sherwood Park home is the water garden that he began work on back in 2002. The peanut-shaped 22-foot long pond, complete with a 14-foot wide waterfall is eye-catching to say the least.

While the blue chip junipers and 3,100-pound quartz boulder are some of the finest features, it’s the pond, home to a number of happy Koi and fan-tailed goldfish, that’s the centrepiece of his award-winning garden.

While a pond as pristine as Holowaty’s is hardly common, water gardening is becoming a popular hobby. Ben Rasimus, owner of BMR Greenhouses and Water Gardens in Leduc, says that it is one of the fastest growing areas in the gardening industry. About 4,500 square feet of his 29-year-old operation is now devoted to water plants and Rasimus estimates that water gardening accounts for about 40% of his entire business. Most of those customers have modest-sized gardens, making ambitious green thumbs like Holowaty the exception rather than the rule. “Everybody used to be afraid of it, thinking it was a lot of work,” Rasimus says. “But you can make a water garden that’s really simple or huge and elaborate.”

A pond obviously has an aesthetic element but there is also tremendous ecological value. Farmers and producers have known this for years, going to great lengths to preserve water bodies on their land for many of the same benefits that a pond can bring to your backyard. In agriculture, farmers protect wetlands and bodies of water to provide a habitat for fish, ducks and other wildlife. Riparian areas – pieces of land near streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands where the vegetation and soils are impacted by water bodies – offer important shelter and drinking areas for livestock, while also providing a habitat for other species. The benefits are similar when you add a pond to your garden. Holowaty says that the calming sound of water helps to attract wildlife and birds, creating an intriguing ecosystem in your own backyard. Top predators like dragonflies appear on the scene, feasting on destructive aphids, which makes for a natural way to handle insects.

“A water garden,” Rasimus says, “helps you to become a better steward of the environment.”

Building a Backyard Oasis

• Your water garden should be placed some distance from trees or else debris
in the pond will be a constant nuisance.

• A quality liner for the base of the pond is crucial. The pond hole has to be dug first, which allows the gardener to estimate how much liner to buy.

• Pond cover is important. Between 60% and 70% of the pond should be covered with something like barley straw to provide shade and give fish a place to hide.

• Decide which types of plants to include – two that have a functional purpose are the water hyacinth and the hornwort. The former offers a natural way to clean the pond, while the latter is an effective “oxygenator.”

• If you would like to incorporate fish into your water garden, consider interesting European species, such as the Golden Orfe, Tench and Rudd.

• Your pond will require a thorough cleaning in the spring and fall. During the sum-mer, simply skim the surface two times a week with a butterfly net.