Water Gardens & Ponds
How to Control Pond Snails
A few pond snails are a sign of a healthy, balanced pond—they graze algae off the liner and clean up uneaten fish…
Water Gardens & Ponds
Few features transform a garden like the still surface of a pond. This section covers everything from compact container ponds on a patio to full koi ponds and lotus pools — the plant that gives Urban Lotus its name. Whether you want the calm of moving water, a home for fish and frogs, or a blooming display of water lilies, you’ll find practical, tested guidance here.Start with our complete walkthrough on how to build a backyard pond, then dig into the gear and care that keep it healthy — pumps and circulation, liners and construction, planting, fish, and the perennial battle against green water.Popular guides in this category:How to build a backyard pondThe best pond pumpsThe best pond linersHow to get rid of pond algae
Water Gardens & Ponds
Floating Pond Plants: A Complete Guide
Floating pond plants do more than look pretty drifting across the surface. They shade the water to slow algae, pull nitrates and…
Water Gardens & Ponds
How to Grow Water Lettuce in a Pond
Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) is one of the most popular floating plants for ponds and container water gardens, and it’s easy to…
Water Gardens & Ponds
How to Make a Half-Barrel Container Pond
A half-barrel container pond is the simplest way to add the sparkle and movement of water to a patio, deck, or small…
Water Gardens & Ponds
How to Grow (and Control) Cattails in a Pond
Cattails (Typha) are the classic marsh plant most people picture at a pond’s edge: tall blade-like leaves topped by the brown, cigar-shaped…
Water Gardens & Ponds
Spring Pond Startup: A Step-by-Step Guide
Spring startup is where the whole pond season is won or lost. A pond that comes out of winter full of leaf…
Water Gardens & Ponds
Pond Aeration: Why & How to Aerate Your Pond
Aeration is the single most cost-effective thing you can do for a pond’s health, because almost every common pond problem — fish…
Water Gardens & Ponds
How to Build a Disappearing (Pondless) Fountain
A disappearing fountain — also called a pondless or bubbling-rock fountain — is the moving water of a pond with almost none…
Water Gardens & Ponds
How to Grow Water Hyacinth in a Pond
Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes, now often listed as Pontederia crassipes) is the easiest floating plant you will ever grow — and that…
Water Gardens & Ponds
How to Grow Lotus in a Pond or Container
To grow lotus, plant a dormant tuber horizontally in a wide, holeless container of heavy clay loam in late spring, top with…