Water feature adds much to your yard, but can't be neglected
With the last of the spring snow possibly behind us, it's time to turn to lawn improvement, and nothing adds dramatic flair to a backyard landscape like a water feature — a pond, waterfall or stream.
But with such a variety available, homeowners might feel overwhelmed, not knowing where, or even how, to begin.
Martin McGann, associate professor of landscape contracting with the Pennsylvania State University Extension service, said a homeowner can find something to fit varying budgets and maintenance levels.
“People don't want to pay the price, people try to do it themselves,” said Bob Stirling, owner of Stirling Landscape, 840 Mercer Road.
Of course, not everybody is looking to sink $55,000 and 550 tons of boulders into the series of waterfalls Stirling built at his business.
Twelve years ago, he said, “I had visited Hersheypark and fallen in love with the water features, the fountains bubbling over rocks.”
Water features are usually waterfalls, ponds, fountains or something called a pondless water feature, which recirculates the same water through an underground system.
“You might want to look at a pondless water feature, which is usually water that disappears into the ground,” McGann said. “Sometimes you'll see these as large stone structures. The water comes down off the edge of the stone and disappears into a gravel bed beneath.”
That gravel bed typically is made up of water boxes that store the liquid, which is pumped back through the feature.
“It's simply a fountain and the water is constantly recirculating through the system, and you can turn it off,” he said. “It can be used as a focal point even if the water isn't running.”
A pondless water feature might be desirable for a homeowner since it typically requires the least amount of maintenance, McGann said.
In the winter, the system can simply be turned off to prevent freezing and breaking, he said.
Other water features have their own advantages and disadvantages.
A pond can require significant maintenance, McGann said.
“When you have a water feature that has standing water, a pond let's say, you're going to have trash that's going to get into that,” McGann said. “It might be leaves in the fall. Those things have to be cleared out periodically.
“You can't just stick it in the ground, walk away from it and go back in two months, ” he added.
If the pond is a natural swimming pool, a man-made pond big enough for swimming, upkeep becomes even more difficult. Natural swimming pools can include plants, gravel and soil, which must all be balanced in a delicate ecosystem. And people swimming in that pond can further affect the ecosystem.
Plants are common additions in water features so McGann suggests knowing how much sunlight that portion of the yard gets.
“You don't want to put a plant in there that needs full sun if it's a shady area,” he said.Whether or not the pond is used as a swimming pool, any water feature needs to be free of algae, which can give water an unwanted green color, McGann said.To prevent algae growth, a water feature needs the right balance of good bacteria, good water circulation and adequate oxygen, according to McGann.Oxygen in the water becomes even more important if fish are introduced, he said.When selecting fish, McGann shies away from expensive species such as koi, which can cost up to $3,000 for one fish. McGann put the cost of an average koi at around $45.“If somebody lives in an area where you have wildlife, often times people find that raccoons will come and eat their fish,” he said. “The last thing you want is to buy a $45 fish and have it disappear because a raccoon stopped by your house for dinner.”Just like keeping an eye on sunlight and wildlife, McGann said homeowners should be careful about deciding where to install water features.“You'd want to select a location in your yard where you can be sure any surface runoff will not get into your water feature,” he said. “If you have surface runoff getting into your water feature, it can pick up things in your yard.”For instance, fertilizer may get in and cause a chemical imbalance. In addition, McGann said homeowners should just make sure the ground around the water feature is sloped so runoff goes away from feature.Jeff Genter with Eisler Landscapes in Prospect, said that projects can run anywhere from $300 to $8,000.A homeowner can easily purchase a simple fountain for $300, but a large, custom-designed project can get quite expensive, he said.Another issue many homeowners do not consider beforehand is the necessary “winterization,” Genter said.“Depending on what the water feature is, sometimes the pump has to be pulled out and stored, and sometimes the system needs to be drained and flushed so things don't freeze and pop,” he said.For ponds with fish, this often means making a specific air hole, should the top of the pond freeze over, or even moving the fish into an indoor water tank, McGann said.
Eisler Landscapes both designs and installs water features, a process that typically takes a week and two days, respectively, Genter said.But just as McGann said, a property owner needs to keep an eye on a water feature, according to Genter.“They do need to be attentive,” Genter said. “Be aware. Sometimes the homeowner doesn't pay as much attention to the feature as they should. It's like everything else, like even with your car, you have to check on it and make sure that things are working properly.”Genter said that homeowners should look out for potential problems such as insects, plant material, broken spouts and erosion.But despite the maintenance, a decent water feature can also increase a home's value, Genter said.“Landscaping in general will increase the (home) value as much as 10 percent,” he said. “Water features are just one facet of that, but a nicely designed water feature that is integrated into the landscape can really add to the value.”For Stirling, the value lies in the aesthetics of his waterfall.“It's sensational to walk out at night and see the lighting,” Stirling said.McGann suggests homeowners proceed with a bit of caution and not rush the process.“If somebody wants to install a fairly elaborate water feature with fish and plants, it's probably better to go talk to somebody who has done these in the past and has a successful track record or at least do a lot of research,” McGann said. “If you set it up properly and understand all of the limitations, hopefully your maintenance time will be reduced and you'll be very happy with your final project.”
