"Leanne" wrote in message
...
Hi!

I've always been interested in gardening, especially when water features
are
involved.

I've finally got the time to make something in the garden i really want. I
was wondering whether any of you had a guide to building garden
waterfalls,
or if you have done them yourself, how did you do it?

TIA

Leanne.



I have three in my yard atm. I got a DE filter from an old decommissioned
swimming pool and filtered the water with that pumping from the bottom to
the top pond, If you go for this solution (two ponds separated by a creek),
make the bottom pond a little deeper and quite a bit wider to accommodate
the water being pumped into the filter and pipes. Obviously any water level
control devices should be on the bottom. Mine is two cement ponds lined with
rocks. To make the rocks more natural looking, once the mortar is in place I
gently pressed soil onto the exposed mortar, to camouflage the joins, this
can be brushed off or left for rain to deal with. The flow of water down the
creek/waterfall has to be examined carefully, any splashes that extend past
the sides of the creek will reduce the water level quicker than you think.
As for the plants I used miniature papyrus as well as lily pads and a grass
like plant that I can't remember the name of .When you select the plants
watch out for a whispy green underwater plant clinging to the roots. I have
found that this is very hard to be rid of once introduced and increases the
maintenance time substantially.
Frogs came without any lights along with green tree snakes. The biggest
problem has been the large birds that take the fish, once they learn where
there is a local fast food takeaway, they make short work of the goldfish. I
have even replaced the fish with black comets in the hope that their colour
will camouflage them and make them harder for the birds to see, So far only
one has survived out of dozens. The black also makes it hard for me to see
them which kinda defeats the purpose.

The other pond is in a more formal paved area and matches the pool. To
aerate the water I placed a plinth in the middle of the pond upon which
rests a tall (1 meter) pottery vase. I pumped water into the vase and had it
run down the sides to create a shimmering effect, This is the last in a
long line of vases which either exploded or cracked. The violence of the
event was directly proportional to how many elderly women are sitting on the
edge. If there was several, it was like an aquatic Vesuvious, showering
them with pond water and bits of pot. If no one is in sight a small crack
will appear. This problem was solved by boring a hole into the base and
painting the hole and the base inside and out to just above the waterline
with a black waterproofing compound.I then introduced the plastic pipe from
the pump through the hole and out the top of the vase. Then I filled the
vase with styrofoam chuncks from various packing boxes. At the top I poured
cement to just below the rim taking care to ensure the pipe is exactly
vertical and extending past the rim. Once the cement had dried I painted the
inside of the rim with water proofing compound and trimmed off the pipe
flush with the top of the cement. this has lasted now for 2 years and
appears to be safe for elderly ladies to be near.

Mekon