Adding a water feature to your garden just takes it to a level you haven’t though would be possible. It just adds something really special – something you see in garden magazines. In this article I will show you the easiest way to construct your own water feature, your own natural waterfall.
This is something anybody can do. I made my own water features, so you can learn from my experience. It’s really not that complicated and – as a matter of fact, not that expensive either. Before even thinking of building the pond and the waterfall, you have to make some primary decisions.
Primary decisions
Where to place the water feature: This decision is of utmost importance, since it cannot be undone. Once you’ve constructed your water feature, it cannot be removed (without destroying it). So you have to give it a lot of thought.
Complex water feature with two ponds, weir and waterfall
Focal points: Focal points are areas of emphasis in your garden, areas which draw the attention of the beholder. The water feature is a real eye catcher. Anything that offers interest through size, shape or color will serve as a focal point. The water feature will inevitably become a (or even the) focal point in your garden.
So where do you want to create this focal point? This everyone has to decide for himself, but things like the size of your garden, entrance to your property, position of your front door or patio, swimming pool etc. will all have to be considered. You don’t want to put it in a place where nobody can see it instantly – unless you have a very big garden and want to create a special, reclusive spot, with a garden bench where you can sit and be mesmerized by the tranquility of flowing water. You might be irritated by a dull spot in your garden. Consider putting the water feature right there! The water feature should also be integrated into the garden – as if it has always been there. Otherwise the part of the garden in its vicinity should be integrated with it.
We have three water features in our garden. The one where you enter our property, but facing the house, the second one near our front door, impossible not to see or hear and the third one facing our living room.
This picture was taken from our living room on the second storey, overlooking the ravine in which our house has been built.
It’s impossible not to see it the moment you look towards the ravine.
Orientation of the water feature: The water feature should be facing your house or the point from where you would like it to be seen. You wouldn’t like the waterfall to cascade away from the viewing point. I have three water features in my garden. My house is situated in a natural ravine, sloping towards our house on the side where the street goes, so I used the natural slope of the ground to create the waterfall facing our house. On the opposite side of the house the slope is away from the house towards the ravine. In my first attempt ever I built a waterfall using the natural slant of the ravine, but then realized that the water would cascade away from the house. Even from the top storey we would hardly see the cascade. So I had to create some height on the opposite side to have the cascade part facing our home, as can be seen in the picture.
How big a water feature do you want? The size of your garden will determine how big the water feature should be. Well, it will restrict you: You could have a small water feature in a big garden, but hardly a big one in a small garden.
How much cascading height and volume of water are you planning for? This will determine how powerful the pump will be. The specifications on all pumps include the volume of water the pump is capable of circulating at what height. You will notice that the volume drops as the height increases, so you will have to give this a good thought as well. You don’t want to end up with a trickle of water you can barely see (buying a pump not capable of dealing with the height), or a mass of water thundering down a structure which is way too small. A powerful pump does give you options which a small pump cannot do. If you have too much power, you can divert the water and create more than one waterfall.
A wide variety of submersible pumps are available at Amazon.
Small: Beckett 7060310 535 GPH Submersible Pump
Smart Solar Infinity 600 gph Magnetic Drive In-Line/Submersible Pump
Medium:
Wayne Submersible Utility Pump – 1740 GPH, 1/5 HP, 1 1/4in., Model# VIP15
EcoPlus 2245 GPH Submersible Water and Hydroponic Pump
Smart Solar Infinity 2250 gph Magnetic Drive In-Line/Submersible Pump
EcoPlus 3170 GPH Submersible Water and Hydroponic Pump
Large:
EcoPlus 4950 GPH Submersible Water and Hydroponic Pump
Cal Pump Magnetic Drive Waterfall Pump – 5200 GPH, Model# PWM5200
In the case of the slate waterfall which will be discussed, the pump is doing 4000 liters per hour (1060 gph) and the height from the pump to the top of the waterfall is 1.0 meter. The small slate waterfall (“Zen”) is 1750 liters per hour( 462 gph), height: 1 meter and the pump in the case of the complex system is 7000 liters per hour (1850 gph), height: 1.5 meters.
Electric or solar or even dry? For a waterfall you need a water pump, which could be either electric or solar. If you choose the solar one, you will be restricted in a number of ways: The volume of water is small compared to what the electric ones can do and the solar one will only operate if the solar cells are directly exposed to sunlight, so a solar driven water pump will have to be placed in such a place that it gets maximum exposure to sunlight. This also means that your choice of plants around the feature is also restricted. You wouldn’t like your plants around the water feature to shed a shadow on the solar cells, causing the pump to stop pumping? Finally, some people prefer a water feature without water, like a dry river bed. Quite nice as well, but not like the real thing.