5 Fantastic Water Features for Your Minnesota Home
There are few naturally occurring sounds on this earth more peaceful and relaxing than that of running water. Unfortunately, unless you’re lucky enough to live on a lake or in a coastal area, it’s unlikely that there will be many opportunities to enjoy such a sound on your own property.
Luckily for Midwestern homeowners, there’s a simple way to achieve the calming atmosphere that water creates. Installing a water feature for your Minnesota home can bring the relaxing sounds of faraway beaches or forest streams right to your backyard. Let’s take a closer look at what makes water features such a great addition to any landscape design.
Why Water Features
There are many excellent advantages of adding an aquatic element to your existing landscape design. Backyard water features offer benefits to both Minnesota homeowners and the local flora and fauna found on their lawns.
Here are just a few of the fantastic reasons we recommend installing a water feature for your Minnesota home:
Your backyard should be a space where you and your family or friends can relax, unwind, and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the state of Minnesota. With help from an experienced landscaping designer, transforming your boring Minnesota backyard into a tranquil escape is easier than ever.
5 Water Features to Take Your Landscaping to the Next Level
Installing a water feature will add both beauty and value to your Minnesota home. There are several unique style options to consider incorporating into your backyard landscape design. Let’s dive further into each one now:
1. Flowing Waterfalls
Probably the most popular and commonplace landscaping element on our list, waterfalls are a beautiful backyard water feature for Minnesota properties that provide the realistic sounds of natural running water. Waterfalls work wonderfully as a standalone landscaping feature, fit well with a fountain, or flow seamlessly into an existing pool or spa.
Stone waterfalls will add to the serene, natural feel of your backyard oasis. Utilize unique native plantings and outdoor landscape lighting to create a calming environment where you can relax and enjoy a mild Minnesota night.
2. Peaceful Ponds
Suppose you prefer the serenity of still summer nights instead of the lively sounds of a waterfall. In that case, implementing a pond as your prominent backyard water feature will likely suit you well. Some Minnesota homeowners are lucky enough to have a naturally-occurring pond, or even better, live on a lakefront property . However, this is probably not the most typical circumstance for an average Minnesotan homeowner.
If your landscape is lacking aquatic scenery, consider installing a backyard pond feature to improve your curb appeal. Ask your chosen landscaping company about available artificial pond options, which can include:
When you want to add more greenery to the grounds of your property, a pond can be a great method to make it happen. Water gardens will allow aquatic plant species to thrive, attracting insects, birds, amphibians, and other interesting wildlife. Add some koi fish to craft a modern zen garden of your own, incorporating sands and stones of varying sizes as well. There are so many versatile ways you can utilize ponds in landscape designs, so develop the perfect plan with your preferred Minnesota landscaping company.
3. Calming Creeks
Small streams and artificial creeks are some other examples of attractive water features you can add to your yard. These options are popular among Minnesota homeowners because, like a backyard waterfall, they offer the constant sound of running water.
Slowly winding backyard streams look beautiful on larger lawns and make it really seem like you’re deep in nature. Work with a landscaping company to develop a landscape design that allows you to have your very own babbling brook right in your backyard.
4. Fun Fountains and Spitters
Fountains and spitters are other fun water feature options for Minnesota homeowners to incorporate into their landscape designs. Typically, these waterscaping elements are more compact than waterfalls, ponds, and other features, making them the perfect option for smaller properties.
Pair a fountain or spitter with a stone waterfall to create a comprehensive landscape design, or allow a standalone electric fountain to act as the focal point of your backyard. The options available for fountains and spitters are incredibly versatile, so you’ll quickly find something that suits your style and complements your property with assistance from an experienced Minnesota landscape designer.
5. Alternative Water Feature Options
Some homeowners have smaller properties with limited space but still love the look of a backyard water feature. Even if you don’t have enough space to install a more substantial waterscape design, you don’t have to worry about sacrificing your style choices. There are alternative water feature options such as birdbaths and electric fountains that allow you to achieve the serene atmosphere you desire but don’t take up too much square footage for your home.
Installing a Water Feature: What’s Next?
Once you’ve determined which water feature you think will look best with your existing landscape design, it’s time to get started on securing high-quality landscaping services. Although some handy homeowners are able to DIY this project themselves, you can seek professional assistance as well when installing a water feature for your Minnesota home.
Contact a Minnesota landscape design company like KG Landscape for a price quote on your next landscaping project. KG Landscape helps with all the heavy lifting so you can avoid any daunting DIY jobs. Professional landscape designers will develop a practical plan that incorporates your water feature so that it works well with any existing landscaping elements, looks great, and lasts for years to come. Enjoy the tranquil sounds of running water right outside your own Minnesota home with a beautiful backyard water feature.
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Call us at (763) 568-7251 or visit our quote page.
The legendary architect Louis Sullivan coined a phrase that has driven architecture and design ever since: "form follows function." While aesthetics are critical to buildings and landscapes alike, that physical beauty must always remain secondary to the fundamentals of good design. In Shoreview, Minnesota, just outside St. Paul , we encountered a landscape where, unfortunately, function followed form. Here, the realities and principles of effective drainage were downstream of their original builder's aesthetic choices. That meant water from snowmelt and rainfall was streaming into parts of the lawn where it wasn't meant to be. The standing water that had been allowed to collect in the back and side yards was putting a considerable amount of the property out of play. In order to reclaim usable space and rethink the way the land handled water, this Shoreview homeowner entrusted KG Landscape with identifying key issues, presenting potential solutions, and doing the necessary work the client decided upon to restore their lawn.
On the shores of Lake Minnetonka, perhaps the most famous of Minnesota's 10,000 lakes, an Orono, Minnesota homeowner was struggling with a back yard that was becoming more marsh than yard. The yard was a scenic one. The back porch opened up to the top of a small hill, which rolled down toward the lakefront and the boathouse. This flat space between the hill and the water would be ideal for backyard barbecues, some low-stakes games of bocce and badminton, or simply a spot to lay down a towel and get some summer reading done. Instead, this area was too waterlogged to enjoy. The runoff from the hilltop combined with unfavorable soil composition were limiting the use of the yard, closing off space while even diminishing the quality of the turf. How would this homeowner be able to reclaim this unusable land without disrupting the Lake Minnetonka shoreline that made the property so attractive? To find a solution, they turned to KG Landscape.
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