What and where?
The choice of water features is bewildering. Gone are the days when the term encompassed nothing more than a pond – fed by an artificial stream if you were really pushing the boat out. Now there are water features that can fit on doorsteps – tiny bowls equipped with solar-powered fountains. These are not to be sneered at as they will provide the local bird population with ‘the pub on the corner’ and as long as the water is replaced regularly they will do more than you can imagine to refresh the local bee population. Outside our sitting room window a simple stone bowl of water – no fountain – does exactly that.
Small bubble fountains that erupt over pebbles will do the same, and the sound they emit is wonderfully calming. Just remember that fountains have moving parts that will eventually have to be replaced, so if freedom of maintenance is a consideration, perhaps a half barrel filled with water and containing a mini water lily and an aquatic iris will be a better bet.
There is a seemingly endless supply of complicated water features that squirt their contents hither and yon. The selection is entirely a matter of taste, and other than suggesting that simplicity is unlikely to pall quite as quickly as something elaborate and complex I will offer no steer whatsoever!
However, choose a style that will complement the rest of your garden: cottage gardens don’t necessarily have to settle for a still pond – water gurgling over a millstone will look surprisingly fitting – and be prepared for quite a bit of maintenance if you do decide on a pond. The construction will be complex – dig hole, add sand, then underlay, then liner, then water, then attend to the edges to make them look natural. Keeping the water clear will involve thoughtful planting of oxygenators and marginal aquatics. The whole effect can be delightful but suddenly a water feature that comes in a box seems an attractive proposition.
A rill – a narrow channel of moving water – will involve a considerable amount of construction work but it is a great choice for a formal garden, be it modern or Georgian. Fountains are spectacular, but choose one that is in keeping with the scale of the garden and which is not so frantic that it sends you dashing for the sanitary facilities every half hour. Water, in most gardens, is there to be calming rather than to imitate the fountains of The Bellagio in Las Vegas or the cataracts of Niagara. In short, consider what you want the feature to achieve, and what style would best suit your plot and your budget. That way your garden will be enhanced rather than cluttered up with an aquatic white elephant.