Ten steps to… improve your garden: Water features

What better way to spruce up your garden then to put in a nice tranquil water feature? Here are JOE's ten steps to installing a simple water feature.

There's nothing more tranquil then the sound of running water and chirping birds relaxing out your back garden. However, it can be fairly expensive to get a handyman in to do all the hard work. So if you're looking to save a few quid then crack out the elbow grease and follow JOE's ten steps to installing a simple water feature.

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What you'll need:

Shovel
Gravel
Small and large rocks
Water
Rubber under layer

Step 1: Planning

Plan out where in your garden you want your water feature to be placed and how big you want it. Do you want a swimming pool sized pond that you can put fish into someday, or do you just want a nice little trickle pouring over some rocks? Now is the time to decide.

Step2: Pump it up

Buy your water pump. You can spend a fortune on fancy ornate sculptures, or you can simply buy a cheap pump that spouts out water from the middle of your pond. Again, you’re better off committing to something now rather than changing your mind half way through.

Step 3: Get digging

Dig a hole. It doesn’t get much simpler than that we’re afraid. Dig your hole as big as you want your water feature to be.

Step 4: Get your rocks off

Now it’s time to get a few rocks. The rocks are both for decorative and structural purposes. You’ll see why later. Depending on the size of the rocks you pick up off the side of the road purchase, they could be heavy, so best to get a helping hand with this one.

Step 5: Lay down the under liner

The under liner is a thick plastic sheet that will help to protect the rubber liner (which goes on top) from sharp rocks and pointy roots that are already in the ground. Make sure that you lay enough so that you’re left with loads hanging over the side of the hole that is soon to be your water feature. This can be cut to length later.

It's always better to have too much...

Step 6: Lay down the (over) liner

Your pond/water feature liner will help to keep your water feature looking it’s best. Without it, the water would just seep through the soil and your fancy water feature would look less like Niagara Falls and more like the Sahara Desert.

Step 7: Position the pump

Now it’s time to place the pump wherever you want it. Do you want it centred? Or off-shot? It’s up to you. Just make sure that you place the pump at the right dept. You don’t want it sticking too far out of the water and you don’t want it doing nothing all the way down at the bottom. To secure the pump, just lay some large rocks around it to hold it in place.

Step 8: Fill the pond

Now it’s time to add water. Just fill the hole to the desired level and your done… for now.

Step 9: Test the pump

Finally, it’s make or break time for the water pump. Give it a whirl and see what happens. You should see a nice flow of water coming from the pump at this stage. If something’s not right then you may want to retrace your steps.

Step 10: Finish it off

Now it’s time to clean up and decorate your pond. Cut off any excess liner and place the remaining rocks wherever you see fit around the rim of the pond. You could add some flowers around it for some extra pizazz, or just leave it as is.

And there you have it. Your very own water feature, for a fraction of the cost.