Which Garden Pond Theme Do You Want?
Q. I have recently finished building my pond and now I want to give my garden a re-vamp, as it hasn't really been touched since I moved in. I want something quit stylish, but I'm really not keen on anything Japanese or ultra-modern as it doesn't fit in with my house style which is more traditional. Could you give me some ideas for different themes for garden design which will fit in for a brick built Koi pond with pergola?
Jeff Mason, Derby
A. Let the style be an expression of your tastes blended in with the architecture of the house.
The Koi pond, if it is brick built, sounds as if it is raised and with a pergola over it or near it is liable to be quite a focus of your attention. I would use a different material near the brick as a contrast, that may soften it at the same time. A buff, natural looking, riven paving around part of it with perhaps some decking of wood the same as the pergola around another part of it. Grass too is another surface that will soften the scene.
If the pond is formal, keep the units of other material in a similar proportion to some aspect of the house or the pool itself. If it is informal, try to work the curves into a formal but random paving that is linked to the patio to the house. This could have an edging in the same brick as the pool.
Keep all the lines clean and neat. They can always be 'informalised' it with big florid containers. Also try to establish an alternative focal point to that of the pool that will balance it (in an informal sort of way), like a summer house or a really tasteful piece of modern sculpture or water feature. This will take your attention away from the pool, so that it doesn't dominate the whole garden.