You want to have a pond garden or a small wetland, but there’s something missing. That something is water. Gardeners who live in dry places or enjoy the bounty of a sunny yard may have trouble collecting enough water to create a wetland garden. While it is possible to add water to the garden, in the long term it’s easier to structure the garden to collect the water itself.
Gardeners who are not interested in supplementing the water in the pond can still create wet areas in the garden. While you may not end up with a large pond full of water, diverting water to a particular area will allow you to grow wetland plants or moisture-loving plants in that part of the garden.
Create Slopes to Move Water
Water likes to move down. If you want water to move somewhere else, you need to create gentle slopes in an existing garden to slowly move the water where you would like it to go. Contours or terraces move water in new directions.
Many gardens are relatively flat with a slight slope, likely toward the road. This is fine for those who grow grass. However, those who want to use the water in the garden need to change that slope to keep the water around and move it in the desired direction.
One simple way to create a garden with a wetland in its center is to remove soil from the center and build up the land around it. However, the land around the wetland does not need to point directly down into the wetland. There are many ways to construct a garden to create a wet place. If you want to have a gradual slope with shelves of vegetation, create a hill with terraces along its sides. The terraces are shelves of vegetation, while the hill encourages the water to gradually move down into the wetland. You can also create a wedge-shaped hill that tapers on either side. Move the soil downward to the place where you would like to see the water stay for a while.
Spiral Terraces Move Water Slowly Downward
Spiral formations are also possible and are quite beautiful. Create a small hole where the wetland will be, and create a single terrace on the sides of the hole. Spiral it slowly downward toward the center to create a wetland garden.
French Drains Move Water From Place to Place
If the garden has too much water in some places and too little water in others, it will also benefit from more intentional drainage. If you have parts of the garden that are too wet and others that are too dry, consider a French drain, A French drain is a small trench filled with water that funnels the water away from some parts of the garden. While some gardeners may think of this only as a channel to divert the water, it is also a channel that can support wetland plants. Use it to move water to a planned pond or wetland.
Whether your garden is wet or dry, planning for different levels in different parts of the garden adds diversity to the garden. Use land contours, terraces, and drainage systems to move water to create beautiful wetlands and pond areas in your garden.
Tricia Edgar - Tricia Edgar is a gardener, environmental educator, and science writer from the Pacific Northwest.
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