Many styles of landscape design can not do without a man-made pond. A small fountain, pool or pond with a waterfall in the courtyard are necessary elements to complete the composition. Without them, one cannot achieve harmony and achieve the necessary decorativeness in a summer cottage. If desired, a water body can be built with your own hands.

Options for a garden and park complex with a waterfall

Arrangement on your own at the cottage or garden plot near the house of the pond with a water cascade or some other complex depends on the owner of the territory. He needs to choose the one that, in his opinion, will look best on the site - the most fashionable or easiest to design. There are many options for creating such objects - from very small streams to large lakes intended for construction in large park areas.

Here are just a few generalized types that can be done at home:

1. A small pond made with a tire and a mini fountain. For its construction, you will need a tire from some large transport, an old sink and a small plastic pump to create a waterfall.
2. Alpine slide with a pond. For the device of a similar landscape element in the area should be a gentle slope with a depression under it.
3. Landscaped pond with artificial waterfall. This design requires more space and labor than previous ones.
4. Decorative homemade pond with a large waterfall. In order to build this design element, you need to dig a large recess, pour it with cement and cover it with stone material.
5. A large water cascade with an artificial reservoir and territory equipped for recreation. A construction of this scale will require a lot of labor and money. To create and design this element you will need a large territory in the garden, a steep slope and a lot of building material.

Preparatory stage for creating a waterfall

If the pond on the site is planned to be small, then you can ease your task by buying a plastic container of the desired shape, then simply dig a hole for this object and draw it nicely. If you plan a large water structure, then you need to dig a foundation pit and fill it with cement.Then the drawn design must be transferred to the site planned for construction, using improvised means.

Did you know? The ancient Romans are considered one of the first landscape designers. Emperor Claudius, for example, personally took care of the flowers in his garden, giving the bushes the desired shape and size.

The main elements should be noted with pegs or paint:

• dimensions of the pit;
• the place where the waterfall is planned;
• recreational area (if one is planned).

But before that, you should choose a place for the reservoir.

Seat selection

To select a site for an artificial water body, you must follow these rules:

1. There should not be large trees nearby. They can cause damage to the man-made pond with their root system and will constantly cover it with foliage.
2. A small area should be left around the facility for additional construction. (the desire to add any element may arise during the construction process or after the creation of the pond).
3. It is necessary to place the water structure so that it is not all the time in the sun. Ideally - constant partial shade. Open sun rays quickly drain the pond and provoke the development of various bacteria.

Materials and Tools

If you plan a small pond, then you should purchase a finished form made of polyvinyl chloride or fiberglass. Fiberglass is more convenient and high-quality, but it will be more expensive at a price. To cover a large recess, a film of butyl rubber rubber (service life up to 50 years) or polyvinyl chloride (will last about 10 years) is required.

Important! When a body of water has already been built, it is best to plant moisture-loving semi-wild flowers and other plants similar to them around. This will add an element of naturalness to the design.

In addition, to create a large water structure without using a finished form, you will need:

• coarse gravel;
• geotextiles;
• water glue;
• gravel and sand;
• hose and pump unit;
• tumbling tiles.

Set of tools:

• level;
• meter;
• rule
• angle grinder;
• hammer drill;
• wheelbarrow;
• shovel;
• mallet.

Step by step instructions

Further work should be done step by step:

1. Dig a pit.
2. Create a foundation for the pond.
3. Waterproofing.
4. Build a cascade.
5. Mount the pump.
6. Create scenery.

Foundation pit

When creating a recess, you can work with a hand tool or hire an excavator - it all depends on the scale of the activity. First, they make terraces from 30 to 50 cm wide and up to 30 cm deep, and then the main pit. The section angle from the earth's surface to the bottom should be 45 °. Depth depends on the height of the purchased form, if the container is not used, on the desire of the owner.

But you need to dig a pit no less than 0.8 m in depth. A shallow pond will freeze in the winter or overheat in the summer. This will lead to the death of plants planted near the reservoir. Around the pond, you need to dig out the recesses 12-15 cm in order to then drip the film (for the option without digging in forms).

Base unit

The finished bottom of the recess should be leveled.. Stone fragments, soil, gravel must be removed, they can cause damage to the coating. The bottom is covered with sand for 5-8 cm. Then you should cover the litter with a geotextile cloth. This will protect the coating from destruction and extend its durability.

Waterproofing

Waterproofing is carried out using a film of polyvinyl chloride or butyl rubber. The dimensions of the material to be laid should correspond to the double depth of the pit, plus 50 cm for fixing it at the edges. Having laid the material in the recess, do not cut it off immediately, you need to give it a day for shrinkage. When trimming the waterproofing, you need to leave about 25 cm so that it can be paved.

The fixing material is selected individually, it can be:

• brick;
• a rock;
• tile.

It must be laid on a solution of sand and cement, the width of the blind area should be at least 0.5 m.

The construction of the cascade

To build a waterfall, you need to follow a series of simple steps:

1. Align the part of the slope where the cascade will be with sand.
2. Make the bed of the waterfall by choosing sand material to the desired depth.
3. Lay out the steps (the amount depends on the size of the projected cascade) from the tumbling breed.
4. Under each of the steps you need to place a pillow of gravel.
5. To remove a tile, to put a waterproofing, to return a product back, having put it on glue.

Pump installation

After designing the cascade, you can do the installation of pumping equipment. Its parameters depend on the size of the reservoir and waterfall and on the force of the pressure of the water. Equipment must not only be installed, but also configured. If the water pressure will flow around the slabs, it is necessary to treat their edges with a grinder, the flow should break down and not go beyond the boundaries of an artificially made channel.

Decoration

The decoration of the waterfall depends on the imagination of its owner. It is limited only by monetary capabilities and the size of the water body itself.

For decoration, you can:

• make a highlight;
• settle decorative fish species;
• plant a variety of water or hygrophilous plants;
• set a pavilion or a rest bench next to the pond.

Important! In order to make the pond illumination look more decorative, you can equip it with colorful lights.

How to make a waterfall without a pump

It is not always possible to attach a pump to an artificially made reservoir. Sometimes an electric cable does not reach the pond, and there is no way to extend electricity to the right place. But you should immediately take into account the fact that without a pump installation, small waterfalls are created. In addition, when creating a pump-free waterfall, you must immediately take into account that you can’t mount it on an even place. The site should either be already with a slope, or an artificial embankment should be built on its own.

The device itself is a 3 plastic containers of different volumes. The walls of these containers should be covered with green varnish, and lay the bottom to the middle with a decorative stone. Water between them will move according to the principle of vessels that communicate. To do this, two forms should be on the same level, and the third, slightly larger than the others, should be lower.

To design such a device with your own hands, you must, in addition to containers, purchase:

• bendable plastic tubes;
• sealant;
• standard list of plumbing tools;
• adapters.

Drill holes in tanks and connect them with tubes. The joints are treated with sealant and cold welding. Then, a plumbing adapter with a T-shape should be placed in a large form. Make two more holes at the bottom of this tank, connecting them with hoses with smaller shapes. Carefully handle all places with the entry of tubes. After that, it remains to establish a waterfall and decorate it.

Did you know? In addition to the Romans, the ancient Chinese were involved in landscape design. This art has turned into their religion, popular in our days, preaching the unity of man and the environment, — Taoism.

Decorative design care

To care for a home-made pond, you should follow a number of simple rules:

1. In summer, clean the surface of the water from filamentous algae, and remove weed from the slopes of the pond.
2. In dry summers, water should be added to the pond.
3. In the fall, clean the pond from fallen leaves and pull on top of it some solid cloth or mesh to protect it from debris.
4. In the spring, it is necessary to clean the bottom and walls of the reservoir from dirt and remove dried plants around the artificial waterfall.

There are many different types of artificial reservoirs with waterfalls. The choice of which to build on their site should be made by the owner, based on their capabilities and skills.