How a garden pond border can be designed depends on personal taste, but also on practical factors. Especially if you want to build everything on the pond yourself, there is a lot of leeway, which has to be balanced with functional circumstances.
Plant lovers completely cover the edge of the pond with aquatic and bank plants
Pond border depending on the pond type
Depending on what kind of pond you want to have, there are other requirements to consider when designing the edge.
The types of ponds that need to be categorized in functional and aesthetic terms are:
- fish pond
- natural pond
- swimming pond
- Formal (ornamental) pond
fish pond
The bank design of a fish pond is special in that it has to be tailored to the animals in terms of nutrient regulation and species-appropriateness. In general, it makes sense to put many heavy-consuming aquatic plants in a fish pond, since the fish food and faeces tend to result in an excess of nutrients in the water. This affects the water quality and the fish themselves.
You should plant species of nutrient-utilizing plants in each pond zone. At the water's edge, suitable species such as reeds or calamus also serve to offer the fish hiding places for rest and spawning.
natural pond
If you want to build a natural pond yourself, the foil method is the most common variant. You are free to choose the shape and size. Naturalness has priority here both in the overall design and in the design of the bank. And that in functional as well as aesthetic terms. On the one hand, you should keep the edge of the water close to nature for the independent functioning of the biotope. On the other hand, the natural style only comes into its own with a bank that comes close to that of natural ponds.
Be sparing with excessive stone structures like seawalls, as they look inauthentic and take up valuable space that could be better utilized with swamp plants that provide fish and amphibian shelter. It is best to plant bulrushes, sweet flags or water ferns at the edge of the natural pond. These plants draw nutrients from the pond water and prevent algae blooms.
swimming pond
The most important thing with a swimming pond edge is of course at least one place to get in and out. A classic wooden walkway is ideal for a romantic, natural design. Perhaps you would also like a comfortable sunbathing area right by the water? Then it is advisable to extend the jetty that protrudes into the water with a terrace made of the same wood. If necessary, also include a ladder in the planning that must be attached to the jetty.
Formal (ornamental) pond
In the case of the ornamental pond, the focus is on artistic design. The border of such a pond is therefore usually completely closed. In this way, the shape of the pond can be precisely defined and its geometry emphasized. Flat stone slabs are ideal as the edge material for formal precision. Ponds with a rectangular design in particular can gain even more in architecturally cool elegance with fine-edged edge plates. Individual decorative objects can then also be exposed or installed on the edge strips, such as spew figures or tubs with accurately cut boxwood bushes.