Designing and Constructing Prairie Water Gardens

Page 1 Designing and ConstructingPrairie Water Gardens Page 2 Topics Brief introduction of water garden types Designing water gardens Constructing water gardens Planting water gardens Maintaining water gardens Stocking fish and attracting wildlife Page 3 Introduction Types of water gardens ● Commercial Project ● Reflecting Pond ● Koi Pond ● Container Garden * ● Residential Water Garden * ● Pondless Waterfall * *Majority of residential settings Page 4 Commercial Project Engineered Specialized equipment Formal appearance Page 5 Reflecting Pond Shallow No aquatic plants Aesthetic reflection Chemical controls Page 6 Koi Pond All about the fish No aquatic plant material Large organic waste challenge Page 7 Very easy to set up Low maintenance Great way to start Sun or shade Container Gardens Page 8 Residential Water Gardens Aquatic plant material Possibility of fish Waterfall Fountain Page 9 Pondless Waterfall No visible body of water Reduced maintenance Reduced liability Becoming very popular Page 10 Designing water gardens Design is about creativity but… ● Linear thinking first•Assessing personal needs•Analyzing style•Determining size•Determining placement•Determining budget•Thinking about design elements•Designing and drawing Page 11 I Really Need It! Why does your client want a water garden? ● Focal piece ● Hidden Oasis ● Bring a sense of nature into the yard ● Sound of water trickling ● Improve your view from the house ● Action: Think, photograph, clip magazines, seek advice, sketch ideas, dream Page 12 Analyzing Style Hmmm is it a beige day or an orange polka dot day? ● Small, prominent, secluded ● Blend or stand out ● Formal or informal ● Hard edges or soft ● In tune with the built environment or natural ● Subtle or in your face. Page 13 Now where should I dig? ● Think of the sound•Louder is not usually better•Does a running tap make you want to pee? ● What will it reflect?•Clouds, heaven, or the neighbours trash bin ● What might drop into it?•Leaves, the next door children ● Is there enough sunlight?•Shade vs sunlight? ● The wow factor?•A discovery or a centrepiece ● Is it practical?•Power, water, equipment, servicing, hauling, runoff? Page 14 Dig! It’s all about the right size. ● Scale with the space•Bigger is usually better. ● In scale with the surroundings ● No puddle thinking please. ● Watching out for wildlife. ● Maintenance•Is it okay to freeze to the bottom?•For ecological balance Page 15 What? A budget? ● Outdoor décor is just as expensive as indoor•Materials -- liners edging, pumps, hoses, filters, lights•Plants -- perennials and annuals•Labour – •Ornaments, statuary, fountain heads, frogs, birds, trellis•Equipment rentals•Electrical and plumbing installation. ● Don’t compromise•Build it over time•One season or more? Page 16 Finally Designing Elements (remembering grade one) ● Points ● Lines ● Planes and Shapes ● Forms•Texture•Colour Page 17 And… Now You Draw Dominance Unity Balance Rhythm Contrast Page 18 Pond Construction Liners ● Cement ● Clay ● Preformed ● PVC - poly vinyl chloride ● EPDM – ethylene proplyene diene monomer•Geotextile underlay•Sand underlay Page 19 Cement Not recommended on the prairies Tend to crack from freeze/thaw cycles Can leach chemicals that are harmful to fish and aquatic plants Expensive Page 20 Clay Great for large agricultural areas Need constant water source Recreational ponds Swimming, skating Page 21 Preformed Fast to install Difficult to incorporate into the landscape Size can be deceptive Page 22 Flexible Liners EPDM 45 mil Fish safe Choice of shape Long lasting Able to repair holes Page 23 Construction Pond Volume ● L’ x W’ x Average Depth’ x 7.5 = U.S gallons Waterfall ● Construct narrow to wide ● 1:3 ratio for each foot of height use 3 feet in length Page 24 Construction Liner size ● Length + 2 times the depth + 2 feet (60 cm) ● Width + 2 times the depth + 2 feet (60 cm) Average depth ● Marginal shelves 8-12 incheses wide and 8 -12 inches deep ● Deepest area 18 to 24 inches will accommodate most lilies Page 25 Oh no! Not a curb. Page 26 Creativity Works Page 27 Perennial bed to water garden Page 29 Hillside Oaisis Page 32 Pondless waterfall Great new technology Reduced maintenance Low water use Page 35 Container Garden Any watertight container Plant all zones Move the water Page 36 Planting Water Gardens Marginal Emergent Submerged Deepwater Freefloating Page 37 Marginal Aquatic Plants Often referred to as bog plants ● Thrive in the soggy soil on the banks of a pond or stream ● Cattails ● Iris ● Marsh Marigold ● Rush Page 38 Emergent Grow in the shallow water near the pond’s edge Only their leaves rise above the waters surface ● Water Plantain ● Common Scouring Rush ● Parrots Feather Page 39 Submerged Also known as oxygenators Grow completely under water with some leaves near the surface for sunlight ● Canadian Pondweed (Elodia canadensis) ● Hornwort ● Common Bladderwort Page 40 Deepwater Some call these plants the stars of the water gardenRoots are in heavy soil in pots 18 - 24 inches below the waters surfaceLeaves float on the surface attached to long stems many feet in length ● Water Lilies ● Many Varieties, some have changeable colors Page 41 Free Floating No need for soil Simply float on the waters surface ● Common duckweed ● Water Hyacinth ● Water Lettuce ● Frogbit ● Fairy moss Page 42 Pumps the heart of the pond Old style, sump pump ● 800 – 1000 watts ● direct drive, motor/shaft impellor ● Power hogs New style, magnetic drive ● No shaft, very efficient low, power consumption ● Long running, water cooled Page 43 Pumps Cost of ownership ● Power draw ● watts/1000 =kw hours x 8760 (hours/year) x cost per kw hour = cost per year 800/1000 = .8 x 8760 x $.07 = $490.56 yearly cost Page 44 Maintaining your water garden Balancing ● natural ● 4-6 weeks Biological ● 4-6 days ● Safe ● Non-toxic Page 45 Healthy gardens 50 – 75% of surface area covered ● Water lilies ● FreefloatingReduces amount of sunlight entering the water Oxygenating plants ● 2 bunches per 2 square feet of pond surface•More efficient at nutrient uptake that algae Page 46 Pond Treatments Chemical ● Immediate•Chlorine•No plants or fish Floculants ● Clump algae •Attract to each other and sink•Still have to deal with mess Page 47 Pond Treatments Biological ● Slow to work ● Non toxic ● Safe for fish, plants, animals Bacteria ● Liquid ● powder Page 48 Bacteria Microbe-lift ● Smells like …… ● Photosynthetic bacteria•Uses sun for food if no nutrients available•If using an UV clarifier, turn off for a few days Sludge away ● Bacteria that digest organic material Treatments also available for string algae Page 49 UV light Wavelength enters into cell of algae ● Kills or sterilizes the algae ● When properly sized will clear a pond in 3-4 days ● Dwell time vs wattage ● Bulbs life span 9000 hours or about 2 seasons in the prairies Page 50 Fish and Wildlife Six groups will call your pond home ● Microscopic ● Insects ● Aquatic animals ● Amphibians ● Birds ● Mammals Page 51 Fish Hardy Goldfish ● Common goldfish ● Comets ● Fantails 2 square feet of pond surface for each linear inch of fish less the tail ● 5’ x 10’ pond 2’ deep would support 25 inches of fish (6 goldfish 4inches in length) Page 52 Questions ?