Garden Aesthetics: Building a Koi Pond

Article by J.Pond

A garden is more than just a place to grow plants. It enhances your surroundings by adding beauty to your immediate landscape. For most, it is a hobby and an art form. It is where people invest their creativity, time and talent. One aesthetical aspect of a garden is a koi pond. Koi are bred for their colorful scales. They have been often labeled as “living jewels” because of their exquisite color. Therefore, some garden enthusiasts integrate a koi pond in their landscape.

It can be expensive to build a koi pond. There is a need to invest time and money. One cannot just rush headlong into the project. It takes extensive study and careful planning in order to build a koi pond right. Often, you cannot rely on your own skills, but would refer to an expert on koi and koi ponds. After all, you wouldn’t want to waste your investment since the koi pond will be a part of your garden forever. It is better to do it right from the beginning rather than have it reconstructed again and again.

PLAN

Planning is the most essential stage in building a koi pond. It would be ideal to build a koi pond before you begin landscaping your garden. This way, you can decide whether the pond should be the central feature of your garden or would be designed mainly to hold the koi. Ask an expert opinion, interview koi pond owners, read books and browse the internet. Study which layout and design best suits your taste and your garden space. You can ask an expert about the estimated expense in building a koi pond so you would not be overwhelmed by the expenses later on in the project.

LOCATION

Decide whether your pond should be near the house or a little bit further away. A koi pond near the house is easily accessible for maintenance and aesthetic needs. However, consider the solidity of your house’s foundation and structure. Digging for the foundation of your pond cab be quite deep and might affect the overall structure of your house. You may also need your local authorities for a building permit.

Part of the pond should be sunny and other parts shady. This would also depend on the climate of your area. The pond should be reinforced against extreme weather in summer and winter. If the koi pond is part of the garden landscape it would be a good idea to integrate useful plants around the pond in order to provide food and shade.

DESIGN

The principle in building a koi pond is bigger is better. The bigger the pond is the more space for growth and movement. This would also mean you can build a deeper koi pond. Ideally, the koi pond should be 1.5 meters minimum to 2.4 meters deep. A deeper pond is less susceptible to extreme temperature changes in summer and winter. The design will also determine what maintenance and filtration system to use. It would be ideal to create a design which can accommodate a gravity fed system.