At Atlantic Water Gardens the latest trends in landscaping are water gardens and landscape ponds. There is something magical about aquatic life. For the water garden designer there is great satisfaction that this magical habitat can be created within a large garden area. Water gardens are built on private land or within the back garden of a residence or business, so the garden owner does not need planning permission. If you like a bit of seclusion then a water garden is ideal.
A beautiful Victorian garden pond is one feature to add to an existing garden or create a new garden from scratch. This type of garden pond is more sophisticated than a free standing garden pond. The choice of materials for the garden pond is also more limited due to limitations of space and budgets. It would be impossible to design a garden pond that matched the look of a Victorian garden. Some people however, like the classical effect of a garden pond and the quietness it brings to the environment.
Many of the new garden ponds follow the classic British garden design style where a river flowing through the garden flows into a series of ponds. These ponds are usually symmetrical and take the form of islands in the landscape. The larger ponds have a central island which is surrounded by a gently flowing stream or brook.
The modern landscape pond design concentrates on two main factors. Firstly, the surrounding area and the pond itself. The garden pond should be placed in a position to take full advantage of its surroundings. It should be placed on a landscaped site with trees and other plants to support the growth.
Secondly, and crucially, the design should fit the style of the house. A cottage garden will obviously not suit a country house or a mansion. Many modern designs have taken the country cottage garden into account and are suitable for all scale of properties. Garden design has also changed with the introduction of floating pools and steps leading to the pool area.
In the late thirties, Atlantic pines and oak were first used for garden ponds and this practice has continued on into the present day. The Atlantic water gardens tw 1937 was begun by Arthur Edwards and the aim of the project was to create natural looking landscapes using simple pond construction and plants. Although many of the ponds were constructed from logs and natural pebbles, the choice of materials was often dependent on the availability and expense.
The techniques that were used at the time included a combination of manual and automatic gardening methods. Automatic garden ponds utilised a system of pulleys and inclined ladders to help the water level in the pond to rise and fall as required. Manual gardening involved placing stones and planks in the water so that they would hold water. As well as planting plants in garden ponds, the use of pebbles and stones as well as more traditional garden pond liners was also used. Automatic garden ponds continued to improve with the use of metal and pulleys and eventually landscape ponds were built using electrical motors.
Today the styles of the garden ponds and Atlantic water gardens that can be found are very different from those of the nineteen thirties. A variety of materials including concrete, stone, concrete blocks, slate and tile are now used for constructing garden ponds and Atlantic water features. There is a growing trend towards installing solar panels to power the pond lighting and heating systems. Newer technology uses the latest computer modelling techniques to help plan out the designs of modern garden landscaping.