3 Easier Alternatives to a Backyard Pond

Your yard needs water. Of course, if you have grass and plants, requires a nice sprinkling on a regular basis. But you also could enhance your home by using water as an aesthetic. According to HGTV, ponds, fountains, and other water features are still popular among homeowners.

While a pond can be a lovely addition to your backyard, it can also be a lot of work. Aside from the labor involved to create the pond, it requires ongoing maintenance. Problems that may develop include algae accumulation, a leaking pond liner, and predators or parasites killing fish.

If you want a water feature without the hassle of installing and maintaining a pond, the following ideas may be a good alternative.

Make a Bubbler Fountain

Bubbler fountains that gently move water through a small pump are easy to make. You can make a bubbler fountain out of boulders, pots, or anything else that can hold water. They use only the water within the fountain, so they don’t require in-ground reservoirs.

McCarty Mulch sells inexpensive bubbler pumps, which you can use to turn a large stone pot or bowl into your fountain. We can also custom drill a boulder for you here at our location or you can choose from many of our pre-drilled boulders. Another option would be to drill a hole in the bottom of a container or pot for the electrical cord, but you don’t have to hard-wire electricity to the fountain – pumps plug into an outdoor outlet, and you can hide the cord under mulch, or in vegetation. Once the pump is in the pot, place it on a bed of decorative rock and add water to the pot, and your fountain is finished.

Create a Water Wall

Making a water wall is a bigger project that requires the use of a table saw and a compound miter saw. If you have the tools and the time, a water wall is a nice way to add some visual interest to a patio.

A basic water wall is made of a trough that, with a surrounding frame, supports panels that water runs down. Some people use tempered glass to make water walls, but you could also use galvanized steel or any material that can tolerate water.

Put a Pond In a Barrel

Using a pot or barrel, you can make a smaller, freestanding version of a pond and still enjoy the perks of having fish and water plants. To ward off mosquitoes, you would need a pond pump, which adds a lot of expense to an otherwise inexpensive project. If you don’t want to buy a pump, put mosquito dunks in the water.

Add some large rocks or decorative rocks to the pot to serve as underwater plant stands (the rocks elevate plants, so they are at least partly above the waterline). Add goldfish a few days after you add water because tap water contains additives that may harm fish, but those additives evaporate after time.