(water trickling) (upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Erik Helland with Landscape Garden Centers, and today we're gonna talk about the use of water.

Fountains, waterfalls, water features, ponds, are awesome ways to introduce water into your landscape.

The best part of introducing water into a landscape is that it provides something else for the senses.

Typically, we will use, we'll have water features that introduce the sound of water, and depending on how fast the water's moving, that can create a particular noise that's very, very inviting.

Bird baths are also really awesome to use because that provides a place for the birds to come in and wash and clean themselves.

And those have been around forever, and everybody likes to have a bird bath because that's what grandma used to have at their place, and so that's one of those things, that bird baths are very popular.

And then these water fountains, the bubbling fountains, those are the ones that are just for aesthetics, but they also do provide a lot to the wildlife.

Birds need to drink, in some cases, they need to drink and they also need to clean themselves, and so that just provides a great opportunity to introduce water into a garden.

One thing to keep in mind is that water features are very difficult to keep clean, so don't expect to have crystal clear water or a crystal clear basin.

The water, as long as the water is clear, that is good.

You will have algae that's going to form on the inside or any of the surfaces, that's going to be normal.

But what I would suggest to do is maybe every couple of weeks just scrub it down, wash it out.

Don't use any harsh chemicals, don't introduce any chlorine or anything like that to keep the algae out, algae is part of life.

It can be food for other animals or any insects.

So just keep it in mind, it's not, does not have to be crystal clear, it's about the sound.

The thing to remember about any water feature is do not let the water go stagnant.

It's go either smell or insects and all of that stuff are gonna thrive from that area, so that's one thing we don't wanna do.

Moving water, just a little bit of a bubbler or something like that, is gonna be the best way to manage the water, provide water for your birds, and just enjoy it overall.

Water plants can be used in any size water feature, it's just gonna be the amount that you can have and they kind of accommodate what space that you have.

So, in what, most water features, you're gonna only need one or two.

If you're gonna to get into lilies, they're going to need a little bit more space because those are gonna be at different depths of water.

Water plants, they wanna have moving water.

When you have floating plants, or any other plants, like lilies, floaters, those will actually provide a filtration system, and they'll also provide shade for the water, which then helps keep the water cooler.

Your algae and all of that stuff will be under much better control.

Most people will get rid of all of their pond plants and just kind of chuck them out like they do annuals or get rid of them at the end of the season.

But some people have luck and be fortunate enough to be able to get an aquarium and take it down into the basement and put a bubbler with that, and then put the pond plants and all of that stuff in water that's circulating, and then transitioning over.

And some of that pond water, you might take from the old pond and put it into there.

There are some hardy lilies that you can use that you can just overwinter in the pond, but those are kind of few and far between, there's not a lot of them that are out there.

And then as far as winterizing it at the end of the season it's just a basically, the smaller the fountain, the easier it is to winterize.

And basically remove all of the water and make sure that no water can be stuck or trapped in any confined areas.

So that way, when it does freeze, it does not break your water feature.

With most water features, what you're gonna need to do is, you're gonna need to have it close to a power supply, and usually just a 120 plug will work.

And then the other thing you're gonna wanna do is have it also close to a water supply.

That water supply, what you're gonna find is, it's gonna be easier to clean, it's gonna be easier to add water.

When you have a self-contained water feature is just to add water as you need to.

In some cases, people would just plug in the fountain when they're gonna actually use it on their patio.

It is truly about the sound and introducing water into a landscape.

It's absolutely awesome, you will not regret it.

Remember, when you're going to be introducing water into your landscape, it's awesome, it's a great sound, and it's just a lot of fun, because there's never two water features that are alike.

I'm Eric Helland with Landscape Garden Centers and keep it growing.

(water tricking)