You really don't
need much space or investment to have water in
your landscape. We keep plants in containers all
the time and water plants and, even fish, can be
kept in small containers such as half-whiskey
barrels lined with poly material or preformed
composite ponds. Any container a foot to two
feet deep will do the job quite nicely.
In typical
containers, you want to have a nice, light,
well-drained soil for annuals and perennials.
For water plants, you need just the opposite.
Usually a mixture high in clay and muck soil
will do the trick. Do not use soilless mixes or
you will have a mess of floating peat moss and
perlite all over the place.
The design of a
water container garden is similar to that of a
regular garden container. You probably want a
tall, upright element toward the back side of
the container such as a iris, sweet flag or
reed. Add something with larger leaves to form a
nice texture contrast such as giant arrowhead or
calla lily. Some type of vining or cascading
plant will hang over the edge of the container.
To top it all off, a nice water lilly will
provide beautiful color. Think about using a
tropical lily for night viewing.
To help minimize
algae growth or the development of mosquito
larvae, periodically drain out part of the water
and replace it with a fresh supply.
Place the
container where it will get at least 6 hours of
sunlight each day for best plant growth. When
water evaporates away, refill the container to
overflowing. This plus the frequent partial
water replacements will help minimize the algae
growth and the build up of salts in the water
from evaporation.
