Water gardens are a great way to add some dimension, texture, and variety to your backyards! These gardens support all different types of aquatic plants, from blooming waterlilies on the surface to feathery underwater hornwort. It can be quite the process to install your own backyard pond for a water garden, but thankfully you can make a much smaller – and more manageable! – water garden in a container! Here’s a few pointers to get you started.

Preparing for Your Water Garden

Before you jump right in, make sure you have the right materials to make a flourishing water garden! Here are a few materials you might need, along with other things to consider:

• Container: Your container should be at least a foot deep, but to maximize the plant varieties you’re able to grow in your water garden, 18” is the recommended depth¹.

• Liner: If your container is wood or metal, make sure to add a liner! Wood containers can leak, or may leach harmful chemicals into your water garden. Metal containers will rust if you don’t line them first. 
• Soil: For the best results, plant your garden in heavy soil that includes some sort of clay mixture. Aquatic soil is one of the best soils to use, but clay soil is also a good choice – just make sure the clay concentration isn’t too high, otherwise it could be hard for roots to grow².
• Plants: For the most intriguing water garden designs, choose a variety of different aquatic plants – including water lilies, oxygenating plants, floaters, and marginals. However, be sure to consider the amount of space in your container – you don’t want to overcrowd your water garden with too many large plants! Below are a few examples of each type of plant:

• Aquatic crates: Replanting your plants in aquatic crates gives you the freedom to move your plants around, but the gaps in the sides of these crates will still allow roots to grow.
• Location: Before you start planting, choose the right location for your water garden – it’s easier to move your container when it’s empty instead of waiting until it’s already full! Your water garden should receive between 4-6 hours of direct sunlight each day – more than that will encourage algae to grow, and less will stifle your plants’ growth³.
• Water: Rainwater is the best option to fill your water garden. However, tap water can be used as an alternative – but it’s recommended to let it sit for a day or two to let some of the chlorine evaporate before adding to your water garden³. 

Planting Your Water Garden

Now that you have everything ready, it’s time to plant your water garden in a container!

1. Partially fill your container with water. Make sure to leave enough room to add plants without it overfilling!
2. Pot your plants in aquatic crates. Fill them with soil, and pack it in tightly to prevent it from dispersing in the water. If your soil is too light and floats out of the container, you can add gravel to the top to weigh it down and hold it in place.
3. Submerge your crates. Place your aquatic crates in the larger container! To make interesting compositions, you can use bricks or clay pots to raise certain plants closer to the surface of your water garden.
4. Add floating plants. After you’ve arranged your crates, add any floating plants to the surface of your water garden.
5. Fill the rest of the container. Once all your plants are situated, fill your container the rest of the way with water. There you go – your very own water garden in a container!

Maintaining Your Water Garden

After your water garden is planted, here are a few tips to keep things running smoothly:

• Mitigating mosquitoes: Still water is a breeding ground for pesky mosquitoes, so you can either add a floating bubbler (if it’s solar powered, you don’t even need to plug it in!) or mosquito dunk to keep the pests at bay.
• Avoiding algae: Use floating plants or water lilies to cover 2/3 of the surface of your water garden. The shade from these plants will prevent sunlight from feeding algal growths.
• Don’t dump: If you’re parting ways with your water garden, or want a fresh start, make sure you properly dispose of any invasive plants. Water hyacinths, for example, are invasive in nature – so don’t dump out invasive plants into your watershed². This also applies if you have mosquito-eating fish in your water garden!

Now that you know all of the tips and tricks for having your own water garden, it’s time to get started! If you’re starting a new water garden – or already have your own – let us know! Email us your photos and success stories at marketing@www.gbbg.org.