The simplest water feature is a large pot, usually set on a matching ceramic pedestal. It must be glazed: natural terra cotta is porous, and all the water will seep away. Not good for fish. Though it was formerly difficult to find containers without drainage holes, manufacturers have now wised up to the demand for watertight versions.
Another alternative is perhaps the most attractive option, a do-it-yourself pond. Select your spot (next to a wall is good) and make a level, rectangular area. It can be a shallow trench or at ground level. Build a surround of large, flattish brickettes to create a wall about 12 to 15 inches high (about 30-49cm), add a light layer of sand to the bottom to ensure there are no sharp protruding stones, and then line the entire construction, including the bricks, with a sheet of heavy-duty, black PVC.
Place a final row of bricks on top of the plastic liner to hold it in place, and then trim off the surplus. Add a ceramic vase – some of them are real works of art ‒ with a projecting metal nozzle to the middle of your new feature. Connect the metal tube at the base of the vase to a pump – preferably a submersible one – and, hey presto! You have a fountain with water cascading down the sides of the vase. The whole process is well illustrated in a compact disc obtainable from bookshops under the title of ‘Bali Garden’.
Having a small pump to oxygenate the water is especially desirable if you want small fish to keep the plants company. Submersible pumps are the best, but there are cheaper alternatives. The hardiest fish are guppies and swordtails. There are many others, but these are good starters. They are pretty, lively and will certainly breed. But let everything in your new pond settle down for a few days before introducing them to their new home.
As for plants, the list is extensive. Everyone’s favourite is the water lily, which has perhaps the widest colour range of any garden plant and now available in hybrids so exotic they are not yet featured in books. At a recent plant market, there were huge double blooms on sale in deep Prussian blue, some with golden centres. Beautiful.
Nympheas are sold either in plastic pots which you can submerge straightaway in the water, or as trimmed roots. Whatever the style, ensure that the old leaves are removed, and if you buy a root remember to purchase bags of the special mud that is required for water lilies and lotuses. And give the pot a sunny position. It should have a wide shape to allow the leaves to spread.
The other majestic water plant is the lotus. Like the water lily, it needs to be immersed in glutinous mud, with its roots completely submerged. It looks best in a narrow container such as a vase, since, unlike nympheas, both leaves and flowers grow elegantly upwards rather than outwards. The colour range is much narrower too ‒ pink or white are the dominant hues ‒ but the huge blooms are staggeringly beautiful.
Many water gardens, especially those based on Japanese models, have little in the way of colour. The preference is for sculptural plants which have attractive foliage such as papyrus, water canna or reed mace. Some submersible plants, such as elodea or Canadian pond weed barely feature as visible attractions at all, but are excellent as oxygenators for fish, especially if you have no pump. And they provide cover for adult fish as well as havens for spawn.
Every plant has its purpose…
Patrick Campbell’s book ‘The Tropic Gardener’, described in one Bangkok review as the best book on Thai gardening for 50 years, is available for B500 (half price) to personal callers from 59/84 Soi Saiyuan 13 in Rawai (Tel: 076-613227 or 085-7827551).