Watch My Backyard Water Feature Progress

Building a water garden on a budget

Our new home has limited space for a backyard water feature and this has given me the chance to put into practice some of the new ideas I've come up with in the last two years. Follow my progress in my online journal.

10 Jan 2006 Now that I have committed to this project I've decided my water feature design will include:

a waterfall on the brick wall of my garage
recycled materials wherever possible for both budget cost and to be environmently friendly
a stream with cascades flowing through a fernery
recovery and recycling of water used in the water garden
rainwater storage

24 Jan 2006 I intend sourcing most of the materials I'll need for the water garden for free by being an active member of my local yahoo freecycle group. I have noticed over the last couple of months many freecyclers offering such items as pumps, pipes, ponds, pots, rocks and soil. I recommend if you have a limited budget that you also check it out. More details here.

26 Jan 2006 I have managed to source 2 swimming pool water pumps from freecyclers at no cost. I check out whether I can use them as pond pumps.

20 Feb 2006 I could choose to connect our household mains to supply water to the water features and ferns. This would be quite simple and initially cheaper, however I have decided to use recycled rainwater:

socially responsible
potential future restrictions on use of mains water
increasingly water authorities are charging on a 'user pays' basis

Because it doesn't rain continuously (at least where you and I live!!) I need a rainwater collection system.

28 Feb 2006 I've been contemplating which water features to include. I've always admired gardens that have made good use of a vertical dimension in their design. My backyard offers a lot of potential as the area designated for my water garden and fernery is enclosed on one side by a brick garage wall and on the opposite side and eastern end by a 2m (6 feet) wood paling fence.

It is 3m (9 feet) from the garage wall to the fence and the length of the garden is about 10m (32 feet). Because the main plants that I wish to use are ferns, they will need protection from the direct heat of the summer sun and the scorching winds we receive on a number of occasions. I will use 70% shade cloth to achieve this and a vertical limit of just over 2m (about 7 feet) will result.

Four feature types appeal to me for providing height:

Waterfalls
Stag and Elk ferns and other epiphytes
Tree ferns
Smaller ferns in pots on shelves or ledges

10 April 2006 I'm fortunate to have received 3 fiberglass ponds in response to a 'wanted' post I placed with my local freecycle group. These rigid pond liners will form the foundation of my pond/ cascade system. Here's how I now set about installing a pond liner.

8 November 2006 I took time out over winter (down under) but have been back on the project. The rainwater tanks are in place I have now set out to build a waterfall