Two Challenges/Two Water Features

It has been awhile since I have showcased any gardens with water features, and so I thought I would make up for it today. Each of the two gardens, I am about to show you, faced a number of hurdles when it came to designing a water feature. 

In the first garden, size was an issue: the backyard was a shallow, long, rectangular piece of property with not much room for a pond. 

The delicately balanced ecosystem of a healthy pond requires full sun or part shade at the very least. Mature trees however, cast most of this particular backyard into shade. 

In answer the challenge of insufficient sunlight, the pond was placed off centre and close to the back fence where there was a small pocket of sunshine. 

Water flows from a reservoir next to the fence and spills from a small waterfall into a shallow pond. To the right there is an area of lawn and to the left there is a patio area of flagstones and fine gravel.

Plantings around the pond include a pale mauve Clematis, a variety of grasses, daylilies, Bigroot Geranium, 'Geranium macrorrhizum', a Japanese Maple and a Corkscrew Hazel.

Next to the house a Penstemon, 'Husker Red' glows in the afternoon sunshine. 

Penstemon 'Husker Red': Full Sun. Height 75-90 cm, Spread: 30-45 cm. Normal, sandy or clay soils are all suitable. Average to moist growing conditions. Flowers are attractive to butterflies. USDA Zones: 3-9

Bigroot Cranesbill Geranium, Geranium macrorrhizum: Full sun, part shade or even full shade. Height 25- 30 cm, Spread: 45-60 cm. Normal, sandy or clay soils are all suitable. This is a pretty adaptable geranium: average, dry or moist growing conditions all work. Magenta-pink flowers in early summer. USDA Zones: 2-9

Goat's Beard, Aruncus dioicus assumes grand proportions, but is a wonderful 

plant for part shade if you have the space.

Goat's Beard, Aruncus dioicus: Full sun or part shade. Height 120-180 cm, Spread: 90-150 cm. Moist or wet growing conditions. USDA Zones: 2-9

The difficulty this next backyard presented was a fairly steep slope. The designers of this water feature  turned what could have been a problem into an asset. 

Just off the back deck, they put a koi pond (hidden from this vantage point by the plantings around it).

From the koi pond, the water runs down the sloping terrain and under a small foot bridge.

Yellow Loosestrife, Lysimachia punctata: Lysimachia punctata is a vigorous plant that forms a spreading clump with spikes of star-shaped yellow flowers.  

Yellow Loosestrife, Lysimachia punctata: Full sun, part shade or even full shade. Height 60-90 cm, Spread: 60-90 cm. Normal, sandy or clay soils are all suitable. In a border Yellow Losestrife needs to be reduced in size every year or two so it does not take over. There are a number of newer cultivars, some of which are better than others. I'd recommend doing a bit of research before selecting this plant for your garden. USDA Zones: 2-9

The stream empties into a second, larger pond at a lower elevation.

Do you see the frog stretched out on lily pads? 

Isn't that the life! Sunbathing and swimming all summer long.