N.Design Studio

   

Mark's pond

Waterfall
   
There are not many waterfalls used on the ponds built in our area, but many gardeners consider that the sight and sound of running water is a necessity in any garden.
It is necessary to plan this early on so that you can incorporate this into the pond before the final rendering of the pond walls is carried out. To have an effective waterfall with a good flow of water then it is essential to have a flow of water at least 1,000 gals/hr and with a wider waterfall you need considerably more. The waterfall at the bottom of this page has over 3,500 gals/hr pumped over it. You must also consider the height of the drop of the water as this can be very noisy, and you will get complaints from neighbours especially when they have their bedroom windows open at night.
[Base for waterfall] In this case, with an in ground pond, the area has been lowered below the pond water surface so that pebbles can be laid there to give a beach area.
[Waterfall under construction] The waterfall itself is then laid out behind this and this part of it can be seen in the photo in the left middle of the page. The rocks have already been cemented in place and the surface has been coated with grey coloured fibreglass. More large rocks will later be placed in position in front of the step and then cemented in place so that the water flows over the top of them and so giving a natural effect as you would see in natural surroundings.
[Completed waterfall] This photo shows the same waterfall a few months later. The rocks have all been cemented in place, and it is now beginning to look more natural. The pebbles have now been placed in the beach area, and also over the base of the waterfall at each level.
It should be noted that the length of this waterfall is over eight foot, and operates well with very little noise as the fall is quite shallow, but is very effective.
[Waterfall five years later] The photograph above is the same waterfall as on the previous page and was taken about five years after the pond was completed. The acers were specimen trees when planted, but it can be seen how well this has blended in with the rocks which have also weathered and now gives a very natural effect which is what you should aim for when building any feature like this.