Small Container Water Gardens By Mary Hanna If you do not have room to plant a large container water garden plant a few smaller pots with aquatic plants. These plants placed in container water gardens are more mysterious than traditional potted plants. A big plus to aquatic gardens is that they are very low maintenance. No more having to rely on your neighbors to water your gardens when you leave on vacation or a business trip. For the kids, add a sprouting ornament to really delight them.
Container water gardens are inexpensive to build, and easy too. For the small container water garden you will need a plastic container that is that is 18 to 20 inches wide and at least 7 to 8 inches deep. Other needed supplies are a small submersible pump, plants, clean kitty litter, small pebbles or pea gravel, some clear plastic tubing, a spouting ornament and a nylon stocking for covering the pump. Covering the pump is essential so that the kitty litter or other debris does not get sucked into it. All of these items are easy to find at your nursery center or even online.
To add depth to your small container water garden you will want to plant in two tiers. This allows you to plant aquatic lilies on the deep side of the container while those that like shallower water can be planted on the other side. You will need to place a partition between the two sides of the container which can be anything from a board to bricks.
First, if you are using a sprouting ornament drill a hole in the rim of the container and place the ornament. Next place the soil from the lilies or other deep water aquatic plant on the bottom of the pot. Then pour in the kitty litter making a floor for the plants.
To keep the garden pretty and keeping the soil on the bottom of the container pour pea gravel over the kitty litter. Be sure to rinse off the pea gravel before adding it to your garden.
Next you will need to place the pump into the container. As mentioned before, it is crucial that you cover the pump with a nylon stocking so that kitty litter and pebbles cannot be sucked into it. Check the pressure of the pump beforehand and adjust as needed.
Allow
the water you are going to use to sit out for a couple days. This allows the chlorine to burn off and the temperature to become comfortable for your aquatic plants.
Now you will need two things, a bright sunny spot and an electrical outlet for the pump. Place your small container water garden in your chosen spot. Congratulations, you have just finished your first small container water garden.
As mentioned above, maintenance of your container water garden is easy. Occasionally you will need to skim off some algae or a dead leaf or two. The root system of the plants will absorb most decaying matter but if the water starts to look murky, take the plants our and clean and rinse the container.
If your water garden is outside and not in a screened area you will want to buy what is called a "Mosquito Dunk". It is very inexpensive and will kill mosquito larvae during the summer months. It poses no harm to pets, people or plants.
Small container water gardens are not large enough to accommodate fish but you could consider a few guppies or a couple of snails to help keep the container clean.
There you have it. Small container water gardening is an easy and fun project. Do your research, gather your materials, plant you container water garden and enjoy.
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Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central
Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She
has published other articles on Cruising, gardening
and Cooking.
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