You’ve looked at your backyard countless times, patting yourself on the back for finally winning the war against the crabgrass and broadleaf weeds. Your yard work routine is honed to an art – one hour, once a week and it’s done. The fact that your yard lacks pizzazz occasionally niggles at you, but so far you’ve not been too proactive about making any big changes. Your better half spurred you into going to the home show when it was in town, and in a less-than-subtle manner handed you a half-dozen pamphlets on backyard water features.
The pamphlets went unread, and the subject waned until it seemed every backyard BBQ or graduation party you attended had some type of water extravaganza in their yard. You even stole a second glance and said “wow” when you saw the beautiful waterfall your new neighbor just installed.
Tweak Your Landscaping
You are about to concede that perhaps a tweak or two is in order to freshen up the place or lend an air of tranquility with some of the trending water features available for your yard. A tour around the internet of the many types of water features designed to beautify your home might leave you breathless and confused. Consulting with a landscape contractor will help you sort out what is best for you and your home. There are landscape contractors in Little Silver who have experts, skilled in landscape design, who will help you pick the perfect water-related showpiece for your yard.
Simple Versus Stupendous
Nothing complements your landscape more than a cascading waterfall. The beauty of clear water wending its way from a group of boulders, or just a simple vertical wall with a shimmering curtain of water falling down, will transform even the most ordinary landscape into a spectacular paradise. A waterfall can be placed amidst your existing landscape to create a lush, tropical effect or paired with boulders which cascade down into a rock garden. A tiled vertical plane with water spilling into a pond is guaranteed to bring soothing sounds to your eyes and ears. You should never worry about a waterfall becoming a magnet for mosquitoes because the water is constantly churning and flowing and is never stagnant, so mosquitoes will not be drawn to it. What you might see, however, are your local songbirds that will alight and grab a quick sip from the cold, clear water because birds are fascinated by moving water.
A Fountain Can Be Fun
If you are happy with your landscape and just want to add something fun or frivolous to your outside living area, why not consider a fountain? There are many styles and sizes to choose from. You can get a stand-alone fountain which becomes the focal point of a paver brick patio or have it inset with gravel or lava rock surrounding it. A fountain may be incorporated into a foliage setting. There are endless possibilities for your fountain to make a statement – it can be a fun statue, a rain wall, a bubbling pot, a flowing Grecian-style urn or a sprinkling sphere.
Create Your Own Little Oasis
A pond is a beautiful addition to your yard. With ponds, you can opt for a rustic setting, with boulders and hardy plants or tall ornamental grasses. Or, you could choose a more enchanted look, like lilies floating on pond water. Lilies are hardier than you think and are dependable and are easy to plant and grow. They are an excellent choice for the beginner’s first pond. Here’s why: water lilies grow from tubers planted in pots underwater. Their stems grow up through the water, with rounded leaves and star-shaped blossoms that float on the surface. They are fairly indestructible. And, although they appear delicate, have no fear of over-wintering your water lilies in the cold climes here in Belmar and Little Silver, because water lilies grow well in any USDA hardiness zone.
Why not add a touch of whimsy to your new water wonderland and consider turning your little oasis into a fish pond? Pond fish are easy to take care of, and you’ll find yourself mesmerized by your new backyard “pets”, especially the beautiful koi, as they gracefully swim in the pond, only bobbing up to the top at feeding time. If you are wondering what the heck to do with the fish in the winter when surely the bitter cold and snow would kill off the beautiful inhabitants in your pond, well don’t fret over the welfare of your fish. The pond and its inhabitants are nearly maintenance free. The koi fish, or any pond fish for that matter, are cold blooded and able to readily adapt to the temperature of the water in the pond. They go into a state of torpor, which is similar to a hibernation state. They don’t eat during this period and sink down to the bottom of the pond until it warms up once again and they become just as lively as you left them in the late Fall.
Combining Ponds And Waterfalls
If you’ve perused home and garden magazines before you consulted with a landscape contractor, you probably discovered most pond and waterfall combos are touted as do-it-yourself projects. You can build a mini waterfall created with small boulders, then a layer of river rocks, built on an incline so that the water trickles down into a stream or a pond. You can use various levels of rocks to provide a surface for the water to keep spilling downward until it reaches the bottom where still more boulders and river rock comprise a rock garden. You can opt for a Japanese-style rock garden where a Red-Laceleaf Japanese Maple takes center stage. Alternately, you can have the waterfall end up flowing into a pond. If you are willing to tackle the job yourself, you should start out simple. But if you are looking to make a real splash (pardon the pun), your best bet is to consult a landscape contractor who specializes in landscape design. Here in Belmar and Little Silver, you will find a specialist who will counsel you on the perfect water feature fit for your existing hardscape.
