"Water Feature" In Your Yard?

[jyl]

Has anyone here built a "water feature" in their yard? Fountain, waterfall, pond, stream, etc? Would you share thoughts, advice, lessons learned?

My wife and I are still brainstorming what to do with our side yard.

We live on a somewhat busy street, so some masking noise would be nice, might help the fence and trees in keeping down the traffic noise intrusion.

Also, the side yard that borders the busy street is small and shaded enough that it is hardly worth trying to grow grass. We had a landscaper in here and he recommended only a small patch of grass in the center with shade tolerant plants all around the perimeter. I'm wondering why I want to bother with the grass - after all, there's grass in the front yard - and thus we're taking a "blank slate" approach.

Thinking of a small (7' x 4', maybe 2' deep) irregular (naturalistic) in-ground pond with an in-pond fountain. Surrounded by rocks and plantings, then a encircling gravel or mulch path w/ a couple small sitting areas. Then low-maintenance, shade-tolerant plants - ferns and such - around the perimeter of the yard.

The pond will be in weak sun some of the time, being on the northern side of the house. It won't get many tree leaves. We don't normally get freezes - might snow once a year.

[Milu]

I went the pond/water feature route a couple of years ago. I'm in the process now of moving it and redoing. The most important lesson I learned was "you can't make it too big!" Anything else is a relatively easy fix.

[legion]

There is an intermittent water feature in my yard. Mostly after getting home from the bars...

[dad911]

Make the pond bigger and deeper if possible. Bigger ponds are less maintenance. Provide some in-water plants and rock features so the fish have a place to hide from predators. You will also want to build in some shelves for water lilies and pond grasses.

Skip the fountain, the water plants will cover a good part of the surface. Get a skimmer and a good quality waterfall/filter.

Lots more info here: http://www.lilypons.com/infomain/instruct.htm

[HardDrive]

Originally posted by legion
There is an intermittent water feature in my yard. Mostly after getting home from the bars...

LOL. Beat me to it.

[jyl]

Why are larger ponds less maintenance?

I have limited scope to make it bigger - could go to 10' x 5' - but can make it deeper - 3-4'.

I worry a bit about affecting my insurance (do insurers treat it like a hazard, similar to a pool?). My kids are big enough, but some of our friends do have toddlers. Perhaps I could raise it (2' wall around it).

I'm not sure I'll have fish in it - I like fish, had goldfish in a small outdoor pond at a previous place - but they're not a priority.

[Moneyguy1]

What is this "water" stuff?

[legion]

Originally posted by Moneyguy1
What is this "water" stuff?

It's what seem people drink and bath in instead of beer.

I don't know why.

[Moneyguy1]

Tis a puzzlement.......

Beer to drink and sand showers.......

[ckissick]

Originally posted by Moneyguy1
Tis a puzzlement.......

Beer to drink and sand showers.......

Get this Bob... In some places, water even falls out of the sky.

[Hugh R]

Bigger= less subject to chemical flucuations chlorine, pH, alkalinity, etc. You'll have to learn a little about maintaining the chemistry of a spa or pool if you don't want it to get nasty or see lots of scaling at the water line.

[on2wheels52]

Have a five acre pond/creek next to my property, 150 yards from the house. The subdivision developer mows around it. Somewhat of a mini-waterfall where the outlet crosses my path. The dog likes it, year round geese, ducks, and two noisy peacocks.
Jim

[id10t]

5 acre pond in front of Moms, 120 gal stock tank pond in back.

At my house, all my water features are inside except the pool (30 gal tank, 2 10 gal tanks), but we're planning on putting a larger box style pond out in front of our kitchen window in a few years... that or enclose a back porch and make it my office and put a 400+ gallon tank in it...

[kach22i]

Add some gators, it will get people talking.

[Dantilla]

I have a trickling little stream that flows into a small pond next to the fire pit in the back yard. It's up against some woods, so I wanted it to look as natural as possible, as if the stream comes out from the woods.

Awfully nice to sit between the crackling fire and trickling water as the sun goes down. We use the fire pit quite often.

I have found it to be relatively maintenance free. An occasional bloop of bleach in the pond keeps the water crystal clear.

[daepp]

I can speak from experience that a too-loud water feature can be the opposite of relaxing.

[JavaBrewer]

This summer I'm planning to build a water feature in our backyard off our dining room french doors. My goals are low maintainence, soothing sounds, and visual interest. My primary concern is attracting rodents from the surrounding hills with endless fresh water thus I want a water wall without a standing pond/pool of water. Something like this but shorter, wider, and hand made.

So I'm thinking a shallow basin filled with stone to house the pump with a concrete block wall faced with colorful stone (either veneer or slate) and a custom wall cap. Throw in some low voltage accent lights and nice plants and bingo. When I get this project kicked off I'll dig up this thread and post pics.

[JavaBrewer]

Humm my picture attachment failed. Here is another go -

[Moneyguy1]

On a more serious note:

A pond can be and usually is considered an "attractive nusance". As such, it can be a liability and must be protected against meandering toddlers and pets. Check with your municipal code folks about fencing/protection and with your insurance carrier.

Water that falls from the sky....What will they think of next?

[RallyJon]

We live on a somewhat busy street, so some masking noise would be nice

We're planning a patio and have a highway near enough to hear--esp on overcast evenings for some reason. I'm leaning towards a wall mounted cast concrete/faux marble fountain which will be cemented onto the existing stone wall of the house. I'd like to be able to control the water flow for enough sound but not too much, so one where it starts high and trickles down.