Patio Ponds At Your Outdoor Patio
Most people think of patio ponds being located in a separate area of the backyard landscape. However, another location for a pond is right at the patio...and built into it.
In this design (below), you can see that the pond was located along a lower patio. Due to the grades, it made sense and was more dramatic to have two waterfalls, rather than one. Imagine sitting there and enjoying the sound of the running water and looking at it cascading over the rocks.
The patio is actually two levels which was a nice way to design since the property slopes from the house towards the rear property.
The upper level is a combination of a rectangular space and a round patio area. The first part is for lounges or other seating while the round area was meant for a round table and chairs as the outdoor dining furniture.
Beyond the table and chairs are circular landscape steps that take you down to the lower patio. There are three steps with 6 inch risers. The depth of the treads are 12 inches. (3) 6" risers means that there is an 18" change in elevation...the upper patio is 18" higher than the lower one.
The lower patio has a fire pit, chairs and a seat wall.
As you can see from the design, the pond is designed to be up against the patio. In situations like this, the patios ponds can have a patio edge or rocks and boulders can form the border.
This image of a patio pond (a different landscaping project) shows the water feature where the patio is the edge of the pond. On the other side you can imagine what it would look like if the edge was rocks instead.
In both images you will see that lots of plants are added to soften the pond. A landscape tree is always inviting as are evergreen and deciduous (lose their leaves in the winter) shrubs and perennials. Ornamental grasses look great near water and I always like to add other flowers for all season color.
See:
landscape trees
evergreen shrubs
perennial flowers
ornamental grass
With any pond at all, remember to vary the sizes of the rocks and be sure to add some nice landscape boulders also. Think about how a pond would look in nature.
Ponds with waterfalls can be enjoyed much more than ponds that are further away from the house. Sit on the patio to enjoy them or just take a look out your windows to catch a glimpse of the waterfalls...and possibly fish!
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Landscape Design Advice > Landscaping Ideas > Patio Ponds
