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Archive for October 20th, 2009

Outdoor Pond – The Fish Pond Option

October 20th, 2009 No comments

The most popular type of backyard ponds is without error a fish pond, in fact its the first thing that comes to mind when people think of an outdoor pond. A word of caution here: it won’t be an outdoor aquarium. So if your backyard design include the creation of a fish pond this article have some points to consider.

What people think when choosing to build a fish pond? You will find many answers for this question. There are people who can’t imagine a pond without beautiful fish in it to add color. Others are looking not only for an outdoor hobby but for pets to take care, including the challenges they add.

What the most important thing to understand about an outdoor fish pond? A fish pond main goal is to keep your fish alive, happy and protected. You must create an environment that is more than a container of water and fish, so careful plans, attention and care is the secret ingredient to make sure your outdoor pond is a success.

Clean water is an absolute constant need, therefor you must include a filter and pump into your plans. But the filter won’t be able to take care of all leaves and debris that can end up in your pond, when planing make sure you pond is located on a safe distance from problematic trees and depending on the conditions of your garden, create a routine task to manually clean you pond.

Movements of the ground below and around the pond can cause the liner to crack creating leaks and possible contamination from the surrounding soil. Another source of contamination is rain water washing from your garden into the pond, during the planing stage of your pond carefully review your terrain slope to avoid this problem.

Outdoor conditions are another concern, both your fish and plants are exposed to the weather and the environment. Extreme cold or heat could threaten your fish so take measures to prevent it when planing your pond. An additional threat are predators such as birds and cats, a solution for both problems is to create a pond deep enough where fish can hide from animals and the weather.

A last factor to keep in mind is the size and depth of your pond. The living space needed will depend on the kind of fish you are keeping, gold fish can be kept in a small pond, but koi will need much space and depth to grow big, as they usually do.

Remember an outdoor fish pond is only successful if the fish is successful.

Learn more about Pond Building. Visit Michael W.’s site where you can find out all about Backyard Ponds and more.

Pay Attention To The Hardscaping In Your Garden To Make It Stand Out

October 20th, 2009 No comments

A garden that is designed well will give you many hours of enjoyment, both because the flowers are beautiful and because gardens are peaceful to work in.

No matter what type of garden you have it will make it even nicer if you pay attention to the hardscaping elements of your garden.

Hardscaping ads great beauty to any garden. It can become a defining feature and reflect your personality. Hardscaping simply refers to the non plant portions of your garden design.

Some elements of hardscaping include stepping stones, fencing, statuary and fountains. These will all contribute to the overall look and feel of your garden.

When you are thinking about what kind of non plant items to put in your garden you will want to consider several different things like function and style as well as your own personality.

Hardscaping can be both functional and decorative. Some examples of functional elements are stepping stones that lead you down a path, garden gates, and fences that define a garden. These items should both serve there purpose but also be beautiful.

For instance if you have an Asian inspired garden you may want to consider bamboo fencing and a pergola type arch to continue the theme of the garden. On the other hand if you have a perennial cottage garden than a white picket or wrought iron fence with flagstone stepping stones would be appropriate.

When hardscaping is purely decorative you have a unique opportunity to let your own personality shine. Garden statues and fountains should reflect your interests and tastes.

A lot of times people struggle with where to put their decorative garden items. A good rule to go by is no more than 1 large fountain or statue per garden area or 3 small ones grouped together.

If you want to make your garden truly unique it is always good to pay attention to the hardscaping part of your garden. It is a great way to let your personality shine.

Click here to find out more about hardscaping with garden statuary or click here for Disney garden statues.