| Once you've chosen a spot for your container | | | | want a very heavy, mud-clay like soil. Fill the pot |
| water garden - remember, 6 or more hours of | | | | 2/3 full with soil. Push a fertilizer tablet into the |
| direct sunlight a day, no overhanging trees, and a | | | | soil, then carefully spread the roots of the plant |
| nearby water source (and power source if you'll | | | | over the surface of the dirt. Add a few inches of |
| be using a circulating pump for a waterfall) - you | | | | dirt and lightly tamp it down, then cover with an |
| get to the fun part. Most home and garden supply | | | | inch or so of pea gravel. Repeat until all of your |
| store chains carry all the materials you need to | | | | plants are potted. |
| create small ponds, including plastic liners - but | | | | Arrange your plants in the container |
| you're only limited by your imagination and a few | | | | This is where the bricks come in. The tops of the |
| basic rules in choosing a container for your water | | | | plant pots should be no more than a few inches |
| garden. | | | | below the surface of the water. Stack bricks, |
| It must be easy to drain. | | | | upended terracotta pots or construction blocks in |
| It must be non-porous. | | | | the container and place pots on top of them to |
| It must be deep enough to support the plants | | | | vary the heights of the plants. |
| you want to grow. | | | | Add pump for fountain or waterfall if using one. |
| I've seen water gardens that use everything | | | | If you're adding a fountain or a waterfall, situate |
| from old bathtubs to an assortment of terracotta | | | | the pump per the manufacturer's directions. |
| pots (with plastic liners) to large baskets (also with | | | | Fill with water. |
| plastic liners). | | | | Using the garden hose, fill your container with |
| For a container water garden, you won't actually | | | | water until the plant pots are submerged under a |
| be planting the plants in the bottom of the 'pond'. | | | | few inches of water. If you 'fill from the bottom' |
| Instead, each plant will be planted in its own | | | | by dropping the hose into the bottom of the |
| separate pot and submerged in the water. | | | | container and letting the water level rise, you'll |
| Assemble your equipment | | | | reduce the chance of disturbing the soil and gravel |
| You'll need your containers, plants, bricks or | | | | in your plants. |
| terracotta pots, gravel, heavy soil, aquatic plant | | | | Enjoy. |
| fertilizer tablets and a garden hose. | | | | Don't forget that the point of the exercise was |
| Pot your plants | | | | to have a lovely, cool water garden to enjoy. |
| If they're not already in suitable pots, you'll need | | | | Make sure that you place a bench or comfortable |
| to pot your plants. Do not use potting soil, | | | | sitting rock nearby where you can enjoy the |
| vermiculite or peat moss - all of which will wash | | | | beauty of your own miniature pond every day. |
| out of the pots and foul the water. Instead, you | | | | |