I Want to Build a Water Garden on My Concrete Patio

A water garden adds beauty to your outdoor area.

The sound of trickling and rhythmic rippling make water gardens tranquil additions to any landscaping theme. Unfortunately, not all homeowners have enough space to reserve for in-ground water gardens. Container water gardens allow homeowners and apartment dwellers with limited space to place small water gardens on patios and balconies.

Container Specifications

Any container that does not leak water is acceptable for use as a small water garden, though you may also line leaking containers with PVC liner measuring no less than 10 mm thick. Recycle kiddie pools, wooden barrels, old bathtubs and watering troughs as water garden containers, or buy large, glazed flowerpots or small pond liners you can set up on your patio. To provide adequate room for aquatic plants and fish, containers should ideally hold 15 to 25 gallons or measure approximately 16 inches deep and 2-feet wide.

Installation

Water weighs approximately 8 lbs. per gallon, making 15-gallon container gardens weigh more than 120 lbs. after aquatic plants and fish are added. Ease installation by sitting empty containers into place before filling. Fill with bottled water or tap water. If you use chlorinated tap water, allow the water to sit 48 hours before adding plants or fish, which allows chlorine to evaporate from the water.

Planting

Although grown in water, many aquatic plants must be rooted in soil. Place clay garden soil in individual pots, and set plants into place, covering root systems with soil. Cover soil with a 1/2- or 3/4-inch layer of pea gravel to hold the soil into place. Set plants into the water garden using brick or rock to raise individual plants to specified growing depths. Possible plants to add to your water garden include water lilies, water hyacinths. lotus, reeds and papyrus.

Stocking

Before adding fish, wait four to five weeks for newly added plants to establish in the water garden. Avoid large fish, such as goldfish and koi, and instead add 1- to 2-inch guppies. Stock guppies at one per square foot of surface water in your container garden. Fish help maintain balance in the water garden by eating excess algae, plant foliage and insect larvae. In addition, aquatic snails help further control algae by eating fish wastes and decaying plant matter.

References

• Fine Gardening: Make a Big Splash with a Tiny Water Garden; Joseph Tomocik
• University of Illinois Extension: Container Water Gardening
• Apartment Therapy: Making Your Own Container Water Garden
• University of Minnesota Extension: Container Water Gardening; Beth R. Jarvis; 2000

Resources

• University of Illinois Extension: About Water Gardening