Adding a waterfall to your water garden

Waterfalls can be only a small splash over a few rocks in to a tiny trough, or a trickle on the side of your pond. It can also be an impressive downward cascade of an elaborate stream or water system. You can make these to work alone or if you have a hill of at least 5 feet add several in a row.

When a waterfall is part of a stream, whether it's man made or natural it will have three parts: header pool, edge of which the water falls over and a catch system or basin, which also can be a pool that starts the next fall.

When digging create 12 inch shelf of hard compacted soil that extends into the waterbed to support the weight of the waterfall lip and any rocks that used for the water to flow over. You could also make this out of patio blocks, bricks, large rocks and a bag of cement. After this install heavy underlay like a pond liner. If you are using rocks choose larger rocks that cover an area of at least a foot and a half across, this looks more natural and is also more stable. If you want to use something that doesn’t require so much support you can use plaster stepping-stones.

For smaller water features start by building a mini waterfall about the size of a mailbox or bucket. To create the mini or smaller waterfall, you must install a T and flexible tubing into on the main water pump line. Run this to where you want to place the next waterfall. These can be placed independently alongside the pond near plants. Smaller types and more charm to your landscape and are easier to build, just don’t get carried away by installing too many.

Because of the smaller size you can just use dirt to build up the edge for the water to splash over. Cover the mound with a plastic liner so it runs back into the pond, otherwise it will seep into the earth and create a bog or mud pit. Place a few rocks on top of the liner. Arrange the larger flat stones to create your lip for the waterfall part. You can use garden stepping-stones instead of flat rocks, plus they look better. While you are building a stream or waterfall it’s a good idea to turn on the pump every so often, just before you finish each section to see if you are going to get the effect that you want. You also need to make sure that the water flows towards the main pond. Some people use insulating foam to fill the cracks between the rocks to stop water from seeping through.

As an alternative to making a stream and additional waterfalls you can use clay pots or other types of containers on the edge of the pond. Plant a few ferns and other plants on the edge and then place the pot near these. Make a small hole in the side of the pot to hide your water line and the run your tubing into this. To make the hole clean use a drill with a wood bit approximately the same size as our tubing. If you don’t have a drill bit large enough use a very small one and make several holes. Use silicone after the water line is installed to stop it from falling out. Make another hole half way down or lower in the pot, the water exit hole should be a little smaller than the tubing supplying the water so that the pot fills up a bit. You may have to experiment a bit with this, because it is dependant on the amount of water coming into your pot.

If all this seems too much work there are pond kits that you can install in an afternoon. This will take care of the main pond area, which takes the longest to build. You could then concentrate your time and efforts into building a stream.