How to Make a Container Water Garden

Water gardens are a great addition to any garden because it allows you to feature different plants in your landscaping. Including water elements in any garden creates a more welcoming atmosphere for visitors and passer-bys. People are attracted to water gardens for their serene and reflective natures.

Unfortunately not everyone has the space or money to include a water garden. Don't let either of these limitations keep you from having a water garden of your own, instead make your own container water garden. A container water garden can be made using anything that is capable of holding water and has some depth to it. Even a large pot can be used for this project, but look around your yard and garage for see what other creative alternatives you can dig up.

Choosing A Container
If you decide to use a pot to hold your water garden try to avoid metal or terra cotta pots. Terra cotta pots will loose water too quickly and metal pots heat up very quickly in the summer. Whatever pot you do decide to use the first thing you need to do is plug up any drainage holes that are located in the bottom.

Preparing Your Garden
Fill your container halfway up with clean water. You will not need to add a water pump since your container is a small amount of water and you will be addint water to it regularly once you are finished. Depending on the plants you decide to use in your water garden you will need various sized rocks to serve as stands to adjust the depth required for each potted plant. A fertilizer made for water gardens should be added to your container when you start and then added periodically throughout the summer to condition the water you add regularly.

Choosing Your Plants
Plants that you would use in a traditional water garden are not always good for a container water garden because of the space and depth limitations. When you visit our local nursery look for plants that are compact growers or tend to grow vertically. Also try choosing some dwarf varieties of popular water garden plant selections. Water garden plants that I have had a lot of success with in containers are; Yellow Monkey, Water Clover, Dwarf Cattail, Corkscrew, and Hornwart.

Keep in mind that there are different types of plants for water gardens and it is a good idea to include one from each group. Those groups include surface plants (Water Clover), submerged plants (Hornwart). floating plants (water lilies) and bog plants (Corkscrew). Once you have selected your plants add them to your container still in their individual pots and adjust the depth of each pot in the container using the rocks at the bottom. FIll the container up the rest of the way with water.

Add your container to your patio or balcony and enjoy your very own water garden.