Small waterfall.

OH decided to put a small waterfall into our garden pond [smallish pond] Now while I am pleased with the concept I don't like the waterfall much. It is a plastic one and I have planted some rockery plants around it to hopefully spread over and cover the edges.

I like to see natural stones but I accept the fibreglass ones are the easiest to use. I will put a pic when I get a chance and maybe some of you can give me some ideas on how to make it look more "natural" looking. Thanks in advance

 

I think I would bank up, all around the outside with soil so that the fibreglass didn't show on the outside, and then cover that with large pebbles and add afew large pebbles inside the 'fall as well. I think that would make it look more natural and the plants would soften the edges more quickly too as they would be growing from close to the edge of the water area.

I think it look lovely by the way - small and easy to maintain but still with the advantage of bringing moving water into the garden.

 

Hi Hec, yes I agreed with your helpful suggestion and nicely asked hubby to do some more work on it! :luv:
After a few moans :ywn: he agreed so we set to work in this blazing heat and we built up the banks higher, put some large rocks butted up to the edge and replanted the plants in the gaps. Phew hard work!!

I think once the plants grow over the sides and the rocks and it all weathers in it will look more natural. Thanks!
Here is a pic of our hard work.

 

Try a rock or two over the outlet. You may have to move / adjust number of rocks according to water flow.
Overhanging plants can be a bad thing. If they grow too much they can draw water out from the fall (acting as a wick) so keep an eye on them.

Also make sure the final part actually hangs over the pool and that water can not run backwards underneath it.

 

Thanks for the tips there.
When you say "try a couple of rocks over the outlet" do you mean the little outlet at the back of the waterfall or the part where the water runs into the pool?

I have a bit of finishing off to do ie final positioning of some small rocks and maybe a few pebbles

I am far happier with it now though.

 

Over the outlet from the pump. From the picture you (we) can quite clearly see the end of the hose from the pump. Also by obscuring it, no small "animals" should be tempted to enter.

 

It's looking much more part of the garden now isnt' it/ give it a little time for the newness to wear off and It will look even better.
Will be great with the extra stones in over the outlet as WG's suggestion as well. So long as they don't obstruct the pipe, which would be difficult, they'll just break the water up a bit.

 

Thanks again for your help.
We have some bags of stones that we have kept so I will have a good look at them today and choose some that blend in.
Once it all "weathers" in I'm sure it will look even better.
I prefer natural stone etc in the garden but it's not always feasible.

 

One suggestion Jazmine would be to cover the fibreglass in cement. OH breeds fish and makes tank backgrounds out of polystrene and then paints on a cement/sand mix. When this dries he then covers it in pond sealant and allows to dry (this stops the cement poisioning the water).

The end result is something that looks just like stone but at a fraction of the weight/cost. Once the algae sets in you cant tell the difference.

 

Just had a quick look on photobucket and he has these very old versions (this is the first one he ever made bless him!)








Not very good photos - but it might help you see what a difference the cement makes to something that looks 'false' in the first place ? The most recent one he has done is much better and looks more like loose stones. He has also mixed a few real stones up with it and you really cant tell the difference. Everyone who comes in always say it must weigh a ton ... whereas in fact it weighs virtually nothing!

Just a suggestion anyway

 

Sam1974x would that be G4 your other half used to seal the cement?

 

Sounds familar so maybe

 

Thanks for posting the pics Sam, they are all giving us ideas on what to do

I "mentioned" putting some stones around the outlet and he was in agreement so I will look down our side passage [never know what you will find there :hehe:] and choose some matching stones if possible.

 

Why do they have to match? in nature stones don't match, they are a mixture of sizes, shapes and colours

 

Because everything in a female's world matches