How to Bring Your Water Garden to Life with the Right Features
Water gardens aren’t just a landscape feature, they’re a door to a whole new world of plant and wildlife opportunities that can bring your yard to new heights. You don’t need a massive koi pond to have a water garden (although these are incredible). Sometimes, a smaller water feature like a patio pond container is all you need to create a tranquil look and feel on your property. Don’t let good ol’ H2O scare you off. With the right plan, design, and installation you can bring your own water garden to life.
And we mean that. You’re going to need a plan. You’ve likely already gone through the painstaking process of framing your water garden, or perhaps you have already built it and are looking for the right additions to make it stand out. Either way, you want more. Adding features to your water garden takes just as much thought as the garden, as these features tend to create the aesthetic you were aiming for all along.
What Kind of Water Garden Are We Working With?
Before we jump into features for your water garden, we need to understand the foundations. Regardless of where you are in the process, you will need to determine the purpose of your water garden. Maybe you’re really into the idea of a diverse landscape ecosystem. Perhaps you enjoy running water. Are you really into fish? Do you want this water feature to be a central component of your landscape? Or is this water garden an accent that is merely there to add value to other landscaping ventures?
There are a ton of questions you can ask yourself before diving into water garden features. and that’s not a bad thing. The more you understand the purpose and the different types of ponds, water gardens, and water features
, the better you’ll be able to create the exact aesthetic you have been looking for.
Some common water garden options are:
While there are technically endless ways you can accentuate your water garden and create a unique water garden, the options we mentioned above are typically your foundation.
What Type Features Can You Add?
To answer this question, you’ll want to keep in mind what already exists. For example, if your home boasts a strong stone aesthetic and you want to keep it uniform, your water garden can feature heavy rock features. Once you’ve accounted for all of the existing variables that might play into your water garden, you can start sifting through the many additions you can install to elevate your aquatic space.
Plantlife
One of the more diverse and pleasing additions you can make to your water garden is plantlife. There’s a lot of room to play here, as you can add plants both inside and outside of your aquascape. The different types of plants will vary depending on which zone you live in. We’ll stick with some suggestions in zones 3, 4, and 5. Here’s a small list of popular plants that will get you started.
Pickerel Pond Plants
These colorful additions can really breathe life into your water garden. Their flowers grow either white, blue, or pink lavender in an incredible spike-like pattern. We recommend planting a bunch to add texture and fullness.
Creeping Jenny Pond Plants
While these aren’t known for a ton of color, they are a welcome addition if you’re on the hunt for some ground cover. They don’t grow very high—in fact, they rarely go above 2”—but are great filler and are a perfect pair for stone edging on a water garden.
Horsetail Pond Plants
For a truly inspiring shape, Horsetail adds some striking verticality to your water garden. They can grow to roughly 2 feet in height (although there is a dwarf version that grows to roughly 8”). These can grow pretty fast and wide, so keep an eye out for where you may need to trim.
Cardinal Flower
Another colorful plantlife addition is the Cardinal Flower. While you may have a bit of difficulty extending this into Zone 4, they do thrive in Zone 5. A great way to frame your pond or water garden, these tall flowers are absolutely beautiful.
Sweet Flag
This is a fairly diverse plant that can grow both in and out of your water garden. It’s fairly tough and can sustain itself through all four seasons (for the most part). Their bright yellow streak adds a bit of color for a vibrant addition to your water garden.
Fountain Features
Another great way to add depth, personality, and flavor to your water garden is with a fountain. Now, fountains come in all shapes and sizes, so your best bet is to see what fits your water garden and what is available to you. Here at KG Landscape
, we’ve revolutionized countless aquascapes with incredible fountain architecture and design.
Full fountains, cascading fountains, figurine fountains, rock fountains . . . the list goes on and on. So, if you need a hand deciding what type of fountain feature would go best with your water garden
we would be happy to help
.
Water gardens aren’t like traditional gardens, they take a bit more care, planning, and attention to detail to get just right.
Waterfalls
Adding some verticality to your water garden means you have the opportunity for a waterfall. There’s quite possibly no better way to create a sensory oasis on your property. Beyond waterfalls being an aesthetically gorgeous and soothing feature, they are also extremely good for your water garden.
Water circulation is important, and waterfalls create the perfect aeration and circulation structure. These certainly cost you a bit more and take longer to construct, but they are a functional and pleasing feature that will definitely make your water garden stand out.
Fish Life
Depending on what type of bed or container your water garden sits in, you have the chance to add some incredible aquatic life. Fish are a welcome addition to most ponds or water features that have ample space to house them. If you’re interested in adding fish, just be mindful of the existing or planned plantlife supports healthy conditions. Some plant life might inhibit certain conditions for fish, or perhaps the climate may be a bit of a hurdle. Heaters or indoor tanks are fairly commonplace here in the Midwest, where your water garden may freeze during the winter months.
Here are some common fish found in water gardens or garden containers.
Your Water Garden, Your Rules
Water gardens are great, but they need the right features to truly bring them to life. With the right plant life, waterscapes, and possibly even fish, you can transform a plain water feature into something with life, vibrancy, personality, and individuality.
While some water garden features can be planted, designed, or installed by someone with a skilled touch, you’re probably going to need a hand. We’ve got you covered. Here at KG Landscape, we are proud of the work we do and would love to help you create the very best water garden possible.
Contact us today for a quick quote.
The post How to Bring Your Water Garden to Life with the Right Features
appeared first on KG Landscape Management.
Plymouth’s clay soil causes soggy lawns, sinking patios, and constant sump pump issues. Learn how smart drainage design fixes it for good.
Minnetonka snow removal done right means safety, efficiency, and property protection—not just plowing. Learn how true winter care works.
Plymouth drainage problems? Fix soggy clay soil and prevent foundation and patio damage with smart drain tile, grading, and discharge solutions.
Edina lawn fertilization: seasonal strategies for lasting color and health. Expert insights on timing, topdressing, and soil care.
Design a Minnetonka outdoor kitchen built for all seasons — cedar, stone, and smart drainage make year-round living effortless.
Medina lawn experts explain how healthy soil—not chemicals—creates lasting weed control through aeration, overseeding, and topdressing.
Medina drainage experts explain how French drains and drain tile systems fix clay soil water issues and prevent muddy lawns and shifting patios.
Edina patio and pool drainage: protect your investment with smart design and precision installation that keeps surfaces beautiful, safe, and stable year-round.
When Pergolas Don’t Last, There’s Always a Reason After nearly two decades of building outdoor spaces across Medina, I’ve seen what happens when pergolas aren’t designed for Minnesota’s conditions. You can spot them a mile away—posts that lean, beams that twist, and concrete pads that have heaved out of level after just a couple of winters. It’s not because homeowners cut corners intentionally. It’s usually because whoever built it didn’t account for what our climate really does to structures that aren’t anchored right. Medina’s heavy clay soil doesn’t drain well. It holds moisture, freezes solid, and then expands like a hydraulic press pushing on everything above it. When pergolas are set on surface-level post bases, that pressure has nowhere to go but up—and the whole thing moves. Even small shifts can cause joints to separate, wood to crack, and hardware to loosen. That’s how a $15,000 structure starts looking tired after a few years instead of standing straight for decades. The truth is, pergolas here aren’t just about shade or looks. They’re about structure, drainage, and how every piece ties into the patio beneath it. A pergola that stands tall through Minnesota winters is built on the same principles as a good foundation—it’s only as strong as what’s underneath it. If you live in Medina and want to enjoy your backyard without worrying about your investment warping or sagging, start with design that respects the environment it’s built in. That means thinking beyond lumber and stain colors. It means understanding soil movement, water management, and the importance of integrating your pergola with the patio below it.
Solutions for Properties in Minnetonka You can always tell a Minnetonka yard that’s fighting its slope. Water doesn’t lie, it finds the weak spots every time. I’ve walked plenty of properties where a backyard starts beautiful in June, but by September, the patio is heaving, the grass near the pool looks like a marsh, and the homeowner is wondering how it got so bad so fast. The truth is, when you’re dealing with rolling terrain and heavy clay soils like we have around Minnetonka, you can’t just move dirt and hope gravity behaves. You need a plan that manages water from the surface all the way down through the subsoil. This is what I’ll walk you through here. You’ll see what actually causes drainage issues on sloped properties, how poor planning leads to cracked patios and shifting pool decks, and the smart drainage systems that can stop those problems for good. Whether you live near Lake Minnetonka or up in the higher ridges closer to Deephaven or Woodland, understanding how your yard sheds water is the difference between a property that lasts and one that’s constantly under repair. The Real Challenge of Sloped Minnetonka Yards Minnetonka is known for its hills, lakefront properties, and mature trees, but all that beauty comes with a set of challenges below the surface. Most of the soil here is dense clay. It holds water like a sponge and drains slowly, which means after every heavy rain, that water looks for a way downhill. If it doesn’t have a proper outlet, it ends up collecting right where you don’t want it, like along your patio, at the base of a retaining wall, or near your pool deck. I see this every season: homeowners trying to solve slope problems with a quick regrade, a layer of rock, or a simple surface drain. Those things might help for a while, but they don’t address what’s really happening underground. Clay soil doesn’t just get wet—it becomes saturated, expanding and contracting with every freeze-thaw cycle. When that happens under a patio or wall, it doesn’t matter how well-built the surface looks. The ground will move, and that movement cracks stone, shifts pavers, and slowly tears apart everything on top. The other challenge with sloped lots is how water interacts with gravity. It accelerates downhill, gaining momentum as it goes. When it hits a flat area like a patio, the water loses speed but not volume, pooling instead of flowing. That’s why I tell clients that “flat spots” on a sloped property are both an opportunity and a responsibility. They’re the best spaces to create usable outdoor areas, but they have to be engineered to handle water movement. I’ve worked on plenty of Minnetonka yards where the backyard has a beautiful view but terrible grading. You can have a perfect slope on paper, but if it directs water toward your house or creates a bowl effect between structures, you’ll end up with soggy soil and standing puddles that never dry. The goal is to move water off and away while keeping the surface level enough for comfort and usability. It’s a fine balance, but when it’s done right, it completely transforms how a property functions.