A fish pond, adjacent to any outdoor living area of the home, can provide a tranquil refuge in which to unwind from the day to day stress we all seem to encounter.
The pond area can be a place of general use for the entire family, a personalized getaway, with a theme which appeals to the individual's taste, or used in conjunction with other landscaping to provide an unusual, but beautiful appeal to the home.
In any event the desired atmosphere must be created by decorating the environment in such a manner as to achieve the desired effect. As themes, ponds and ideas are a varied and numerous as the people creating the area, we'll demonstrate three possibilities of decorating methods.
Nature always has a way of outperforming any man made idea when it comes to pleasing the inner being of a person whether it be for beauty, calming or motivation.
Therefore, using nature as a theme is an excellent place to begin our project. Whether the in-ground pond is constructed of plastic, concrete or natural clay you'll want to finish the perimeter of the pond, not only to prevent possible erosion, but to create a theme.
You can buy a certain type or color of rock at any rock supply quarry or pond supply store, but the use of rocks found along the roadside or creek bed close to home will afford a more area specific feel of nature.
Simply decide how wide you want the rock perimeter around the pond and mark this area, with a cheap white spray can of paint. Buying a weed retardant ground cover material, cut the matting to conform with your desired shape and secure it. Always buy a black colored material as it won't be as noticeable if not completely covered by the decorative rock.
Simply place the rocks onto the matting, stacking it to the desired height and arranging it in a manner to hide the ground cover mat from sight. The use of gravel, colored or otherwise will also provide an excellent decorative coloring.
Lighting can accentuate or create any type of environment you wish. The only limits to what you may create with the usage of lighting is normally the financial aspect.
Direct and indirect lighting when used in conjunction can provide a romantic or mysterious atmosphere. The least expensive, yet very effective method of lighting, is to use cheaper low voltage lights. The lighting sets come in various styles, which normally include indirect lighting, mushroom style, direct lighting, spot light style, low voltage electric wiring and a timer.
The number of lights are important, but additional lights can be bought separately, but pay special attention to the control box in order to know if it's timer set or dust to dawn. Either type of timer requires 110v electric, but a dust dawn activated timer obviously keeps the lighting on from dust till dawn. A timer which can be programmed can turn the lighting on and off at desired time intervals.
The use of moving water always presents a calming effect and does not have to include an expensive or labor intensive waterfall. You'll have to purchase a water pump in order to keep the water moving and filtrated for cleanliness. Buy a slightly larger pump, they are rated by GPM, with an attachment which will direct a portion of the water passing through the pump into a spraying fountain. The water can be adjusted as to the height and desired shape of the spray depending on different attachments.
These three decorative steps will allow you to create a ground, light and water scene which provides the exact atmosphere you're trying to create.