Water Gardens

Readily available rubber liners, pre-formed ponds, or large tubs make it easy to quickly create a water accent. The location should offer some shade to control algae growth, but still allow enough light for what you are growing.

Water garden plants are grouped based on how and where they grow, and they're typically labeled as floating, submerged, or emergent.

Water lilies are floating plants that produce beautiful flowers in many colors. Limit excess nutrients by fertilizing your water garden plants conservatively. If your water garden is hosting an overabundance of algae, try adding more plants and rocks.

Try tossing barley balls into your water garden to further suppress algae growth. Both beneficial bacteria and barley balls can be found at specialty fish stores and online. Gambusia are small, native fish that feed on mosquito larvae and pupae at the water's surface.

These donut-shaped products gradually release the bacterium BT I (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) that kills mosquito larvae but is safe for plants, pets, and the environment.

Many plants begin to go dormant as weather cools, so stop fertilizing them around this time if you are applying any. This annual cleaning should happen at the end of winter to also avoid disrupting the bacterial cycle.

With a little effort, you'll ensure your garden will spring back to life with warm weather! Ornamental ponds are a beautiful addition to any garden, and they're only enhanced by the introduction of fish.

Aquatic plants will also provide oxygen, shade on hot days, and places to hide from predators.

Purchase koi, inexpensive goldfish, or other fish suitable for an outdoor habitat from an aquarium or pet store.

Pools become mini aquatic environments and will attract visitors like dragonflies and frogs. To keep them safe from raccoons and birds, make your pond deeper in the middle and provide overhanging rock ledges so they have places to hide.

Small and unremarkable in appearance, gambusia are voracious feeders — a female can eat up to 200 mosquito larvae in one day. With a freshwater fishing license, you can trap them yourself, or check to see if your local mosquito control district office provides them.

Bridges allow you to cross a body of water, but they can also be an artful part of a garden's design.

Garden bridges have traditionally symbolized a journey and add a sense of mystery and anticipation for what lies beyond. Many garden bridges are constructed of wood, metal, or concrete, though some are simply a large slab of stone.