Do you want to add a water feature in your small garden? If yes, then create a pond in a pot. Learn how to make a container water garden full of water lilies and irises blooming, fountains bubbling and fishes swimming.
Choose a container
Take as large as you can, a tub, bowl or container, whichever you can use. Ceramic and Plastic containers of 15-25 gallons are best or use your old wash tub, porcelain container, old wine box or whiskey barrel (check out its leakage). Choose Container painted with dark color from inside by this your pond will look more spacious and deep. If possible take container more than 16 inches wide and 10 inches deep.
Decide place for it
Enticing beauty of Dhakeri botanical garden
Your container water garden will provide a serene ambiance to garden so place it wisely after deciding, whether the source of water is near to it or not and it will receive sunshine of about six hours but shade in afternoon or not, then you will need to check how it’s looking from different angles. It can become a beautiful focal point of your garden.
Plants you need
Choose three to five plants according to the size of your container, take different types of aquatic plants: Erect plants like ‘yellow flag iris’ and cattail, floating plants like water hyacinth and broad leaf plants like giant arrowhead or calla lily. If your container’s size is more than the diameter of 16 inches and 10 inches deep (ideal size), then you can grow deep water plants like lotus and water-lily, too. These aquatic plants need at least 10 inches of water over their roots and some space to spread their foliage.
Setting up your water garden
Once you’re done with choosing container, placing it in suitable spot and picking plants, you’re ready to set up your pond in a pot. Just fill up the container with general tap water and dip the potted plants you’ve bought. All you need is to place them up in certain depths of container, for this use bricks to vary height to make a picturesque arrangement, see the diagram below for better insight. You can also install fountain and add fish in pond.
Maintenance
It is easier than planting in grounds: no need to worry about soil, over watering and weeds. Partial shade and moderate temperature is optimum for the growth of water plants. Restore water after every couple of days. Algae is the problem and to prevent this, paint dark color inside your container and occasionally drain the water when decomposed matter populate on the bottom. Mosquitoes can be a problem too; to avoid their larvae to thrive, install bubbler or fountain or add gold fishes.
Additional Tips
In colder parts to overwinter it, you have to keep it indoor. Use plants in diversity but don’t overcrowd. For fishes, you need to de-chlorinate water using chlorine removal tablets.
Source: balconygardenweb.com
