Infuse your outdoor living spaces with the soothing effect of water. A trickling fountain, pond, gurgling stream, gushing waterfall—water garden designs can encompass a variety of sizes and styles. Your water garden design can host fish and colorful plants, and it will beckon all kinds of wildlife to your yard.

Few garden concepts provide the combination of soothing sound, color, texture, and even wildlife habitat that a water garden can achieve.

Gardeners with minimal space or who don’t want a lot of maintenance can still have a water garden. Use containers and purchase pump systems to create container water gardens.

These have minimal upkeep and still produce the soothing sounds and fluid display of a larger feature. You can even implement fish in container water gardens as long as there is a pump to oxygenate the water.

Plants help balance the composition of the water, provide cover for fish, and oxygenate the water feature. Check the light level needs of the plants you choose and make a plan before you clog the garden with too many plants.