20 Good Reasons to Own a Water Garden

1. Less Work -  No watering required.  Besides the initial set up, a water garden requires very little maintenance compared to a traditional garden.  While your neighbors are working up a sweat hoeing, weeding, planting, and watering, you can sit back on a lounge chair with a cool drink and enjoy your water garden.

2. More Environmentally Efficient Than a Lawn -  The amount of natural resources used to maintain lawns every year is astounding.  Studies have found that several thousand pounds of pollution is generated each day in the US just to maintain turf grass.  All that watering, mowing, fertilizing and pesticide application wastes our natural resources.  Be the proud, ecologically-minded owner of a water garden instead.

3. Attracts Wildlife -  According to the National Wildlife Federation, the amount of land available to wildlife has dwindled greatly in the last 50 years.  Urbanization and development has pushed out many natural habitats.  Backyard water gardens provide a complete ecosystem that attracts, and helps sustain,a wide variety of local wildlife.  Birds,butterflies,various amphibians, and other small animal inhabitants will love your water garden. 
Who else can boast about having a yard where birds swarm in for a cool drink and a bath, and frogs frolic with abandon?

4. Increases Property Value -  Some Realtors estimate that a well-designed exterior can increase property values by as much as 25 percent.  All savvy landscape designers know that water is a key feature in any eye-catching yard.  Sleep well at night knowing that your house is worth more than your neighbor's house.  In this case, they should worry about keeping up with you!

5. Educational for Kids -  Educators agree that hands-on experience is the best teacher.  A backyard water garden provides a variety of lessons, especially in the area of science.  Kids learn about wildlife like fish, frogs, and birds, and even about the composition of water, including pH.  Little scientists learn how and why algae grows, and why it sometimes grows too well!

6. Creates a Stunning Focal Point -  Sure, statuary and beautiful plants can be eye-catching, but there's no better backyard show- case than a body of water.  Nothing compares to water cascading from a waterfall and glistening in the sun, or a still pond reflecting the moonlight.  In the night garden,  plants tend to fade into the background, but water remains alive and enticing.

7. Awakens the Senses -  Water makes such an impact in the landscape because it addresses four of our five senses.  Not only is water lovely to look at the sound of  running water can be mesmerizing and calming.  On warm days, water feels cool to the touch, and the humidity it releases soothes the skin.  A well-balanced pond has a rich, earthy smell, or you can plant fragrant plants to make the aroma headier.  Of course, most of us don't taste our pond water, but many wildlife visitors find it refreshing!

8. Great for Fish Lovers -  A water garden is essentially a giant aquarium, perfect for the fish hobbyist.  With a big body of water to play with, those into fish can raise a wide variety of finned friends, including koi, minnows, carp, goldfish, and mosquito fish.

9.  Enjoy Cool, Moist Comfort -  Those who don't own a water garden are unaware that they may not use their backyards much because they're so dry.  Without a water source, a backyard can seem like a desert, especially if you live in the Pacific southwest or are experiencing a drought year.  Tiny water droplets released into the air by a water garden humidify your surroundings, making your backyard an oasis of cool comfort.

10. Adds that Extra Something -  There's something indescribably delightful about water in the landscape.  Perhaps because we are composed of mostly water ourselves, we're immediately drawn to water gardens.  Water makes people look, listen and relax.  It's the balm of our existence.

11. Cheap Entertainment -  Forget paying for expensive theme
parks, overpriced movies, and fancy restaurants.  Pull up a chair
in front of the pond and experience hours of nonstop
entertainment.  Children and adults delight in feeding fish, skimming pebbles, and admiring reflections.  Stay quiet and still and you may enjoy a wildlife show rivaling any you've seen on TV.

12. Creates a Gathering Spot -  Many water gardeners take advantage of the lure of water and place outdoor furniture such as tables, chairs, and hammocks next to the pond.  Where better to serve an alfresco spring brunch than overlooking the water garden as it awakens from its winter rest?

13. Starts a Trend -  Water gardens often set off a chain reaction in neighborhoods.  Once your neighbors admire your water garden, they won't be able to stop thinking about it and are likely to want one of their own.  Share your passion and make it a community event by offering information, suggestions, plants and fish.

14. Blocks Out Noise -  If your water garden has a waterfall, or other water movement feature, the splashing is likely to muffle extraneous noise.  This is especially desirable for those of us who live in a congested, populated area.  Simply turn on your waterfall, and the outside world quickly fades away.  Thanks to the myriad of water gardening products on the market, you can now make any water sound you desire, from the load rush of cascading water, to the slight trickle of a babbling brook.

15. Allows for Experimentation -  Water gardens come in many forms, shapes and sizes.  You can try just about anything, from a small one in the form of a bucket on your patio, to a large water garden in a sprawling country yard.  Various building materials and supplies make the pond journey whatever you want it to be.  If thinks don't work out, it's easy to change course and try something else.

16. Never a Dull Day -  With a water garden, new plants and visitors tend to pop up overnight.  Go out in the morning and admire a water lily, or a batch of baby frogs.  Of course, the surprise may be that raccoons dined on fish.  You never know what will happen.

17. An Opportunity to Try New Plants -  Avid gardeners find water gardens uncharted territory.   The wide variety of plants that grow in water gardens introduces them to a botanical smorgasbord.  New water gardens often find
themselves collecting as many plants as they can squeeze into their aquatic garden.

18. Year-Round Enjoyment -  Though you can't comfortably stick your feet in the water during the cold months of the year, you can enjoy the breathtaking beauty of a winter water garden.  Fall, spring, and summer offer their own unique advantages.

19. Creates a Refuge -  Install a water garden, and you may find that paradise is now only a few steps away.  Many water gardeners prefer to "vacation" at home.

20. Celebrate Life -  Water gardens are a microcosm of the world in general.  They give you the opportunity to admire and enjoy this great earth and provide for its creatures, while feeding your soul.  How satisfying it is to know that by creating a water garden, you've done your part to make the world a better place to be.