A garden becomes incomplete without a water feature like small pond or stream. We have seen in wild, a pond or lake blends beautifully with the surrounding greenery. So, to make your garden more natural, water feature is an essential. They are also an extra attraction for the visiting wildlife to your garden.

If you want fish & some variety of plants, first you need to decide about the location. At least three to four hours of sunlight is required for water plants in a place like ours i.e. Kolkata, India. More sunlight will be required for colder climate. Also plan early about the depth of the pond, you can make it a deep one or else you can make one side slanting or step, if you want to get a feel of your pond. Please remember deeper water maintained cool and clear water as well as stable temperature. Instead of a single pond you can make a two or three stage pond with flowing water which will look much more beautiful. Raised ponds are easy for cleaning purpose.

Size of a pond is an important design consideration and has to be chosen carefully according to the theme of the landscape. If the pond is the central theme of the landscape, its size should be of greater proportion of the landscape. If the pond is an added feature in the landscape, then its size should be in proportion to the other accent of the garden.

To achieve its true potential for your landscape, the shape of the pond and the shapes in the landscape should complement each other. For a formal landscape straight line angle or smooth curves should get priority in design, preferably in a concentric arrangement. Whereas for an informal landscape the shape should consists of less geometric form.

A nother important factor is edging materials. They are selected to complement or rather mixing the pond with the surrounding landscape. You can use wood, brick, rocks, etc. as edging material. These materials, in any case, should complement any edging materials already in use.

Plant selection is another major design consideration. Floating leaf and submerged are the two major categories. The floating ones provide shade for other plants and fish. Whereas the submerged ones work as a oxygen producer, which is very important for fish.

Clear water is the primary goal of any water garden. In a new pond after some time the water becomes green for algae formation. This can be rectified easily if the pond is of the correct depth, has a good filtration system, and correctly chosen plants and wildlife are stocked in sufficient numbers. The only ingredient left to clear the new pond water is patience. The worst thing to do is change the water. Replacing the water will only delay the developing balance of the new pond's ecosystem.