Water Gardening

The sight and sound of water has always been appealing and who doesn't like the trickle of water and having a water garden in the home is a real treat. Believe it or not water gardening is the easiest form of outdoor gardening. Water Garden is a pool of water which includes aquatic plants, fishes and other water creatures.

Requirements For A Water Garden

• Concrete dishes, plastic tubs to hold water. A natural pond is not a necessity.
• Accessories such as fountain heads, hose, pumps etc
• Aquatic plants such as water hyacinths, lilies or any other aquatic plant of your choice. Include submerged and floating leafed plants for a healthy pond.
• Open spaces
• Rocks, fountainheads etc. for the purpose of beautification
• Fishes to act as scavengers.

Aquatic Plant Selection

With a wide range of aquatic plants available the ultimate choice would depend upon the sunlight available, the depth of water pond and the surroundings. Aquatic plants can be divided into three main categories-emergent, submerged and floaters.

Emergent Plants

Also called as marginals, are found along the edges of ponds where roots are attached to the bottom and parts of their stems are above the water. Examples are water lilies, cattails etc.

Submerged Plants

Also referred to as Oxygenators .Major portion of these plants remain under water. They provide oxygen, covers to fishes and control algae by consuming the excess nutrients.

Floaters

These plants are not rooted to the soil and they float on the water surface. Examples are duckweed, lettuce etc. Floaters improve the display of lilies and lotus and add a touch to the garden.

Planting Aquatics

While planting aquatics you need to keep certain things in mind.

Soil Selection

Heavy clay loam soil should be used as it provides adequate nutrition and growth to the aquatic plants. Lotus, water lilies survive best in clay loam soil

Containers

The choice of the container would depend upon the size of the garden and the purpose. Generally the size of the pool determines the size of the containers and aquatics. For water lilies containers which are 15 inches in diameter and 10 inches deep are well suited. For other kind of plants containers which are in the range of 6-20 inches are suited.

Way To Plant Aquatics

• Damp soil should be used for planting.
• Containers should be filled two-thirds with the soil.
• Press the roots of the plant into the soil.
• After planting the soil should be covered with to inch layer of pea gravel to prevent water being clouded by the soil particles.
• After plantation water it thoroughly and place the container in the pond at appropriate levels.