Plant Gardens 101

Nothing adds form and functionality more attractively than wooden garden bridges placed strategically outdoor landscape appeal. This “hardscape” item can add dramatic interest to water gardens; serve as a practical (and lovely!) access across ponds, ditches, or other low areas; or simply be placed as an eye-catching focal point to highlight any area of a yard.

Material, Sizes, and Options
Less expensive wooden garden bridges come made most commonly from pressure-treated pine. If you’re willing to pay the price, however, you can also get these pretty footbridges made from such weather-resistant woods as teak, cedar, or redwood. The most popular sizes include lengths of four, six, and eight feet, but many online, as well as brick-and-mortar companies, that manufacture them also offer custom-built bridges to satisfy any specified length the homeowner requests and is willing to pay for. (more…)

Building a garden pond is not just a matter of digging a hole, lining it with plastic and filling it with water. There are other considerations such as whether it should contain fish or just plants; how big or small it should be; its shape, and so on. Be prepared to dig a decent hole and spend many hours complaining about your aching back … but you’ll be very pleased with the results and you can happily stand around, beer in hand, praising your efforts after the fact. For those who have done it, building a garden pond can be a very satisfying project indeed.

Step 1 – Decide on where to build your pond.
Naturally, level ground would be best or else you’ll spend far more time and effort doing the levelling yourself. Building a garden pond under a tree is unwise as the roots will continue to grow and could encroach upon the pond’s territory in the future. The shade of the tree will also mean a lack of sunlight, which is essential to your pond’s survival. Since you will need electricity for the pump, proximity to an outlet is important. (more…)