What? Where? How?
Planning a garden pond can seem a daunting task ­ but it's easy when you know how! Below is some advice to help you design and install the perfect water feature.

Where to locate the pond?
Unless you choose an appropriate site, digging can be difficult and the resulting pond will require a lot of maintenance. Here are some useful pointers to keep you out of trouble Choose a site which receives shade for around 50% of the day. Ponds exposed to full sun do not give fish any respite from direct light and are likely to experience algae problems. Avoid hollows or locations at the bottom of hills. While these may seem like natural locations, leaves can blow in and they can end up receiving a lot of run-off from the surrounding ground when it rains. Site the pond within reasonable distance of a power supply. Most ponds have a pump of some description, running on electricity. Minimise the risk of encountering underground pipes or foundations by having a site survey or looking at the plans of your house and garden

Shape
The choice of designs and shapes is endless, but ponds can be broken down into two basic styles ­ Modern/Formal or Natural/Informal. Choose one in keeping with the rest of your garden. Use a garden hose or length of rope to lay out the proposed shape on the ground, as an aid to visualising the finished project. The intended inhabitants of the pond will also have bearing on your design. Goldfish will gear their growth to the volume of water available, but Koi will not ­ their growth rate may be slowed, but it will not stop. It is important to match your pond size to the fish you keep. A good guide is a stocking level of 50cm (20") of fish per 1 sq. m. (10 sq. ft.) of pond surface area. Although complex designs may be attractive, they can make construction difficult and lead to dead areas in which water will not circulate properly. They are best avoided.

Depths
Koi and goldfish will require pumps, filters and Ultra Violet clarifiers, so the design should allow for the placement of this equipment. Ponds intended for fishes require a sloping base, i.e. shallow at one end and deep at the other. Ideally, locate the pump at the deep end and pipe the filtered water to the shallow end. Ponds with amphibians such as frogs and newts require beaches or ramps for the creatures to climb in and out. Plants can dramatically enhance the appearance of any pond, and suitable ledges to accommodate them need to be included in the design. These ledges are normally at approximately 150mm (6") and 300mm (12") depths, but if you have any particular plants in mind, investigate their growth habit before you start digging. Koi need a minimum depth of 1.2m (4ft), and goldfish at depths of at least 1m (3ft). These depths should account for at least one third the area of the pond, ensuring that the fish have enough space to exercise and to avoid cold air temperatures during the winter. If child safety is an issue, a relatively easy way to avoid accidents is to build upwards instead of downwards ­ in other words, a raised pond. This will obviously add to the project, but will give peace of mind, although children should still be supervised at all times near water.

Decoration in and around the pond
A pond is an attractive garden feature that can have a very relaxing effect. Watching the fish and wildlife explore and feed in the pond can be fascinating, so do not forget to include in your design a viewing area, whether a patio or decking. Plants can dramatically improve the appearance of a pond, but pose some potential pitfalls. If the pond is to be a home for fish and you want the water to remain crystal clear, you must ensure the fish cannot get at the soil. If they can, then they will, and soil will be stirred up into suspension which will create brown water. To avoid this, site the plants in stout baskets, with hessian to prevent leakage and large fist-sized stones covering the soil. Stones will be lighter underwater and so need to be heavy and non-porous. Do avoid stones or pebbles laid directly on the base of the pond, as these form silt traps which will store up trouble. The silt slowly decomposes, clouding the water and affecting clarity. Natural ponds without fish will benefit from a layer of aquatic soil placed on top of the liner. This will allow plants to root and spread more naturally.

The soil dug out of your pond during construction has to go somewhere, so why not use it to create a back drop ­ a rockery with perhaps a waterfall? Do make sure, though, that the soil from the rockery and edges of the pond cannot find its way back into the water.