It’s early Saturday evening and you’re relaxing on your back patio. The ivy-covered pergola is providing just the right amount of shade from the setting sun. As you recline in your Adirondack chair, your eyes are naturally drawn to the small pond at the edge of the patio. The sun has now set enough that the garden lights have come on, creating a dance of highlights and reflections. The sound of the waterfall splashing into the pond is almost hypnotic. What? You don’t have a backyard pond? Then here is a general guide to planning and installing your own backyard water feature.

Planning your pond before you break ground is the most important part of the project. I learned the hard way, over several projects, that proper planning of a water feature is imperative. Some of the things you will need to consider are available space and desired size of the pond, it’s depth, water plants, fish keeping, surrounding landscaping, fountains and waterfalls and lighting.

Here are a few tips on some of these subjects I have learned in building my own water features. When planning the space for the pond, allow 2 – 3 feet more than the diameter of the pond itself. If you intend on having fish, like Coy, in your pond and you live in an area that experiences below freezing temperatures in the winter, the fish will do just fine as long as they have at least 3 feet of water and the pond continues to be oxygenated. Some water plants come in submersible containers, so plan for ledges inside the pond to accommodate such plants.

After you have planned out your backyard pond, you will now want to go look at materials and make some final design decisions. The two most popular materials to create the pond basin with is concrete and vinyl/rubber membrane and for smaller ponds there are plastic inserts. Concrete though, has a tendency to crack and it requires a periodic sealer be applied. The membrane, or pond liner, is quite durable and easy to install and is my recommended material. Hint: when buying pond liner, spend extra for the thicker liner. If you are going for a smaller pond, the plastic insert may be a better option for you.

You will also want to look at stone, bricks, timbers and other materials you will want to incorporate into your water feature. Go to your local nursery and see what kinds of plants are available for your pond. They will probably have fish for sale as well. Shop around for lighting. There is a wide variety of lighting types for outdoor use, including solar powered.

The pump and filter system needs to be thought out as well. If you are going to have a waterfall included, the pump will need to move up some elevation. There are pumps that are designed specifically for waterfalls and are rated by gallons pumped per minute at various elevations. Filtration systems can be purchased, but to save some money, you can build your own easy enough as well. Plans abound with a Google search for pond filters.

When breaking ground on your backyard pond, have a place to put the soil you will be digging up. You may use all or part of it in the landscaping of the project, the rest can go into dips or ruts elsewhere in your yard to level things out. Excavate the pond basin and do any landscape grading at the same time, before you install any materials. The first material you will install will be the pond liner. After the liner is in place, start work from the ponds edge and work outward and upward from there. Try to install lighting as you plant foliage around your pond. It will help to keep from damaging plants by installing lights afterwards and you can make minor adjustments of light and plant placement to maximize effect. If you are installing a waterfall, make sure you have a membrane lining behind/under the rocks or whatever your waterfall is made of. Remember that the water will not always fall the way you think it will. You will have to play around with this to get the water to fall the way you want.

There are a number of specific issues surrounding the installation of a backyard water garden that haven’t been addressed in this article. But, you should have enough information now to get an idea of what’s involved in taking on a project like this.