As daunting as a water garden may sound, take heart in the fact that many products and kits are now available to help. To create a pond, most people use a flexible liner made of PVC or butyl-rubber. You can buy reassuringly reliable pumps in a wide range of sizes and power. Start with a trip to your garden center or hardware store, track down a knowledgeable salesperson, and pick up literature if you can. Many mail-order suppliers are also willing to send you water garden material; look for addresses in the back of gardening magazines.

Before you start planning, you need to keep some important factors in mind. Locate the pond in a wind-sheltered spot to avoid falling leaves. For pond health, water gardens need at least a half day of sun. You also need to cover more than half of the water surface with plants. Safety is critical; you may need a fence to keep out curious children.

You also face some tough design challenges. You have to make sure that the pond fits gracefully into the rest of the garden — you don’t want it just sitting there looking like an abandoned bath tub. You also have to figure out what to do at the pond’s edges. The water garden plan in the image below is designed to look good and to blend naturally into the surrounding garden. It’s based on a good-sized space, including several existing trees, but you can scale it up or down in size, depending on your available space.

When reviewing your water garden plan, consider the following:

• Use rocks. The pond is made with a liner, and rocks help to hold it down, look natural, and soften the transition from the pond to the planting and beyond.
• Use small and large plants. The small plants at the pool’s edge all have hanging foliage to hide and soften the pond’s edge. The larger, moisture-loving plants provide a transition to the rest of the garden.
• Keep waterlilies in check. Grow waterlilies in the pond in containers to keep them from running rampant, especially in small pools. (Click here for more on container gardening.) Waterlilies require quiet water, so don’t grow them near a fountain.
• Use containers. Marsh marigolds and Japanese iris are best grown in containers to keep them from spreading, and so that they can be moved around for best placement. Use underwater shelves to keep them at the correct heights under water. You can also use stacked bricks — remove bricks one at a time as plants grow taller.