Beginners' Guide To Water Gardening

With this basics-to-embellishments information, anyone can create a tranquil new water garden— or beautify an old one. Details of designing, excavating, installing prefabricated and lined features, constructing concrete ponds, building walls, and adding electrics appear with extra boxed “ facts and features.” Select from a wide range of plants, from floating to bog garden varieties. Review: Many readers will recognise Graham Clarke's name from various mainstream gardening magazines and it is with this experience of public needs that he has written this guide to water gardening. With clear, concise, easy-to-understand language, it is an ideal starting point for both the novice gardener and the more experienced for whom a water feature is a new project for an existing garden. Water has been important in gardens since ancient times, not just for irrigation but for decorative and relaxation purposes. The sound of running water, be it a waterfall, a stream, a fountain or even a trickle from an old water pump, induces a calming effect into our busy lives and gives a feeling of tranquility to even the most urban of gardens. Planning, siting, construction, planting and the introduction of fish or wildlife are all covered in detail and accompanied by attractive photographs and diagrams. Many ideas are suggested from a wildlife pond, formal pond, streams, bubble fountains and waterfalls, offering something for everyone's taste. The plant directory is full of information on different varieties and their individual requirements and a year-round maintenance diary is a useful reference. For fish lovers the section on Koi should prove indispensable and the book ends on a number of the most frequently asked questions concerning ponds, fish and their upkeep. Written in a chatty but well-informed way, the text is interspersed with 'facts and figures' providing both useful information such as how to calculate the amount of liner required to the interesting - the background of a plant's name for example. Graham Clarke's knowledge shines through and even someone with no gardening knowledge at all will not get lost in this book.