How to design a mini pond with a water feature for balcony and terrace!

If you want an eye-catcher on your balcony or terrace, a mini pond is a great solution. It is not only space-saving, but also extremely easy to care for. With our simple instructions, you can quickly create a mini pond in a mortar bucket. The real eye catcher is the little sparrow, which as a gargoyle enlivens the pond.

Create a mini pond – you need the following materials

Create mini pond in mortar bucket or wooden barrel for balcony and terrace

For a simple mini pond you need a vessel with a diameter of approx. 45 to 50 cm and a depth of 18 to 20 cm, a small water feature pump, a gargoyle figure, suitable aquatic plants, transparent vinyl tubing, clean cat litter, pearl gravel or small ones Pebbles and a nylon stocking. Instead of a mortar bucket, you can also use a zinc pan.

First a few tips and pointers

  • The mini pond is created in two stages so that different conditions are created for the aquatic plants used. Water lilies, for example, have rhizomes that grow horizontally in the earth and drive up leaves and flowers. For a mini pond with a water depth of 10 to 20 cm, dwarf water lilies of the genus Nymphea, such as. B. Nymphaea Pygmaea, Nymphaea leibergii and Nymphaea tetragona, ideally suited. The pond edge plants, however, grow upright and prefer the flat spots. The two zones of the mini pond can be separated from one another with stone, bricks or another heavy material.
  • Pearl gravel embellishes the water garden and prevents the earth from floating in the water. Wash the gravel in a separate bucket before pouring it into the jar.
  • Pull over the pump before placing it in the cup. This is how you create an additional filter so that gravel and cat litter are not drawn into the pump and clog them.
  • Aquatic plants feel most comfortable in a sunny, wind-protected location. If possible, place the container near an outlet for the pump. Otherwise, you can use a solar water feature. Note that it is very difficult to move the container after filling it with water.

Build a mini pond yourself – how it works:

Attach the sparrow gargoyle to the mini pond

1. Attach the gargoyle

Drill a small hole in the edge of the mortar bucket to assemble the bubbling ornament. If necessary, you can bend the metal pin to align or position the gargoyle.

Plant a mini pond with mini water lilies

2. Spread out the cat litter

Fill the container with soil on one side and insert the water lilies or other deep-water plants. Then spread cat litter on it and level the surface with your hand.

Plant a mini pond in two stages with different water depths

3. Put the flat growing plants

Use a divider to split the mini pond in half. Plant the flat-growing border plants and spread more cat litter on the floor. In the lower level, place a plastic cup for the pump in the cat litter. Pull a film over it so that no gravel falls into it.

Create a mini pond in a mortar bucket - Instructions and

4. Spread the gravel

Spread the gravel over the cat litter. Make sure that one level remains lower than the other. The floating leaves of the water lilies also need enough space to spread out on the water surface.

Build a mini pond with a pump and water feature. Instructions

5. Connect the pump to the gargoyle

Connect the pump to the gargoyle with a vinyl hose. If necessary, use a 1.5 cm transition piece between the 1 cm tube and the pump. Push the pump into the cup so that the suction cups hold it on the floor.

Make mini pond with water feature yourself with sparrow gargoyles

6. Use nylon stockings as a filter

Cover the pump with a nylon stocking so that the gravel does not block the pump. Then cover the pump with gravel.

Now you can finally fill the vessel with tap water! It’s best to run it in through a saucer.

Caring for the mini pond properly

Mini pond in a halved wooden barrel with water lilies and duckweed

The maintenance of water gardens is child’s play. Fill up when the water evaporates and occasionally remove dead leaves. The plants keep the water crystal clear and free of algae. However, if the water looks cloudy, remove the plants, rinse and refill the jar.

To promote the growth of aquatic plants, you can use special fertilizer balls. They are printed into the earth and slowly release their nutrients. In summer it is advisable to get tablets against mosquito larvae. Half a tablet is sufficient for a mini pond.

Anti-mosquito and fertilizer tablets for aquatic plants

You can overwinter water lilies by wrapping them in a damp towel and storing them in a cool basement or in a garage corner. Other plants are relatively inexpensive and grow quickly. For this reason, you can treat them like annuals and buy new plants every year. As already mentioned, you should choose dwarf water lilies for a mini pond so that their leaves do not completely cover the water surface. For larger water gardens, e.g. in half a wine barrel, the water hyacinth (Eichhornia), Duckweed family (Lemnoideae) or the water salad (Pistia stratiotes).

Miniature water lilies feel comfortable in a large terracotta bucket

A mini pond in the mortar bucket is too small for koi or goldfish, but larger containers such as a halved wine barrel or larger terracotta tubs are ideal. (Note: Water in metal containers usually gets too warm for fish.) Fish keep the mini pond clean by eating algae, rotting plant material and mosquito larvae.

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