Flowers Of Happiness

By Jeff Jarred

 You should spend time planning your water garden. Rushing your project could result in problems that may be time consuming or expensive to rectify.

Positioning your water Garden

Firstly you need to decide on the position of your feature. The following points should be considered:

1. Ponds and water displays are there to be observed and admired. Construction should be either in view from the house, or in an area where you spend lots of time

2. Keep features away from over hanging trees that drop their leaves in autumn, and also block out sunlight. Both may cause considerable problems

3. Access for the feature must be available at all times

4. Don’t forget to consider the services that may be required i.e. electric.

Water Garden Sizing

Deciding on what size to make your pond is usually determined by budget, fish type and size of garden. If the fish can grow large, you will obviously need a pool that is an adequate size for the fish to exercise and develop to their full potential. Consider depth as well as width, as this may be important if keeping larger fish. When considering size, a good idea is to lay a hosepipe on the ground as a template. This will give an idea as to how the finished pond size will look. Maintenance of your pond should also be considered prior to starting. A large pool will require much more time and effort than a small wildlife pond.

Which fish for your water garden?

If fish are to stocked in your pond, deciding on the varieties you wish to keep at the start will determine what size your pond needs to be and what equipment you will need for it to be efficient.

A budget for your water garden

Try to estimate how much the project is going to cost before you start to avoid any unexpected expenses. Download our checklist, which contains a list of areas you may need to consider.

Which plants for your water garden?

Plants are a critical part of pond building, and play a part in the water quality and balance of your feature. If used properly, they also add colour, texture and provide a shelter for livestock and wildlife. You may be required to pre-build shelves for your plants. Different plants suit different requirements. Remember that koi eat some plants, so they may need placing out of reach from the fish. If you want to keep water lilies, try to avoid placing them near too much water movement as this may damage the plants leaves.

Access for maintenance

Always leave space for access to maintain your pond. Your plants, pumps and filters will need attention, and easy access will make this much easier.

Shape and Styling

You can plan to build your pond in almost any shape, but unusual shapes may be difficult when using a pond liner. Ponds with broad curves are easier to construct, and will allow water to move around freely and avoid dead spaces. Try to keep the overall style of your feature in keeping with your garden. Browse our photo gallery for ideas of different styles.

Swelluk.com provides more information about Pond Pumps as well as Pond filters to help you create the perfect water garden, visit our website to learn more!

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Planting Tulips: Make Sure You Have the Right Soil
By Dave Pipitone

 When you are planting tulips for next spring’s tulip garden, don’t make the same mistake that I did last year. Making a mistake at planting time in the fall is costly. If you make this mistake, you may as well as buy tulips next spring instead of cutting fresh ones for your own tulip bouquet.

Are you sure that you are putting tulip bulbs in the best soil to grow? If you have doubts about growing tulips as you plan your spring garden, consider these gardening tips.

Let me explain. I love tulips, even though the flower stage is only two to three weeks long from mid-March to late May. Last fall, I planted about 60 purple tulip bulbs in my backyard. I eagerly waited for Spring to come so I could savor those beautiful flowers. The winter was long and cold with more snow falls than in previous years. So, I was ready for Spring to come. But I was surprised. Of the 60 flower bulbs I planted, only one tulip flower grew and blossomed. I couldn’t figure it out. Later in the Spring, I planted my impatiens. When I went to dig up my tulip bulbs, I discovered that they were soft and mushy - like pickled onions.

The wet soil was so saturated that the bulbs became sponges, not flowers! Then, I realized that the clay layer under the top soil caused the problem. The clay layer did not let the water drain so my tulip bulbs were sitting in an underground swimming pool!

Tulips grow best in soil that drains best. The origin of tulips is in Turkey, where the soil is very sandy and porous. When traders began to bring the bulbs to plant tulips in Holland, the sandy soil was just right and many fields became like one flower garden after another.

Before you start planning your tulip garden, make sure to dig down about two feet or more to see what the underlying soil is like. If you have a layer of clay near the surface, dig deeper and replace that clay with rich dark top soil. You can buy a 30 pound bag of dirt from a home improvement center for less than two dollars.

So when you plant tulips, check the soil. Porous dirt is good dirt dirt. And be sure that before your tulip bulbs are secure planted, you know the rest of the planting secrets for the best tulip garden design that will please you next Spring.

Dave Pipitone is hopelessly in love with tulips and nourishes them in his Hope Patch. To get your free 32 page report on how to plant a tulip garden, visit http://www.tulipreview.com

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