Ponds & waterfalls

Top - water flows from underneath the corner of this deck.
Below left -  how you interact with water in a garden setting is as important as the design of the water feature its self. Here the sound of the waterfall and the view down the fall to the pond are seen from a high overhanging vantage point.
Below centre and right - the pond curves away from the deck so that it is not all visable at once giving the impression that it is larger.

Left - this stream has four waterfalls in its course from the Thai Pavilion down to the star patio in the Tropic of Henstead. The cascading of 4 different falls creates a continually changing sound, richer and more varied than one fall.
Centre - the stream emerges from underneath the Thai Pavilion and rushes through the huge leaves of Gunnera manicata down to the pond which wraps itself around the star patio. This photo was taken from the front bench of the pavilion where you can look down into the stream and listen to its sound as it is captured underneath the roof. 
Right - the stream that links the small lower and large middle pond in a completely different system from the pavilion falls.

Top left - even a small waterfall such as this, where the water simply re-enters the pond from a filter system over a stone can make enough sound to block out background noise. This garden - Exotic Woodland In The City - is in central London so the fall seen here was an important part of the garden's relaxing qualities.
Top Right - the 'island' was a finger of ground that we dug out around the base of a mature Trachycarpus fortunei. The fern on the island is Blechnum chilense growing beneath a Rhododendron rex hybrid.
Below - the excavations for the pond. Filling after the liner and stones are installed. After installation of the deck.

Left - This pond stretched almost right across the width of the Hawaiian Garden with the deck overhanging it. This combination brought the pond into close day to day contact rather than it being a feature to 'go and visit' in the garden.
Right -  At RGC we like to make our ponds look totally natural and you can see clearly our method of disguising the liner here with stones. Wildlife of all kinds use the stones; birds as drinking and bathing platforms, fish feed on algae growing on them and hide between them, newts and most species breed amongst them and plants root around them.

Left - this small stream and pond in the far corner of The Architect's Garden gave interest and character to a hidden patio away from the main entertaining area. With its own sound and visual character the water here made this area a relaxing retreat surrounded by bamboo, a red flowered Abutilon 'Nabob', a tree fern Dicksonia antarctica overhanging the stream and behind it a large shrub Hebe parviflora 'Angustifolia'.
Right - just after construction, you can see the main deck in the background.

Top left - this large pond at West Lodge Guest House has a 'beach' at one end to allow wildlife easy access to the water and a stone bank riding much higher than the water level with ferns growing out of it.
Top right - one side of the pond was close to the walls of this victorian house and at a lower level so we built a very strong block work structure to support the side of the excavation and the 10 tonnes of stone used to line the inside of the pond.
Below left - the finished sub structure. The large flat area in the foreground formed the 'beach' .
Below right - the finished pond at the end of its first full season. Marginal plants will obscure about 50% of the stones around the edge and many more ferns will grow out of the north facing bank on the right.   

Left - water is pumped from a reservoir below these upright stones and flows back down over them in the Steep Terrace Garden You can see the waterfall in the higher part of the garden in the background.
Top right - From the top of the garden a stream flows under a stone slab bridge and rushes down a waterfall.
Below centre and right - after flowing under the bridge the water crashes down a fall into a small pond. You can see the wall and the lower terrace with the standing stones - centre. 

Top left - emerging from dense foliage and flowing through moss encrusted stone this is RGC's most natural water design in the Carribean Home From Home Garden.
Right - becuase this property is situated on a hillside there is a gradual level change throughout the garden. By digging into the slope we created a vertical drop where falling water would naturally occur. This is perhaps our noisiest waterfall to date, with the water crashing over a 1m drop into a catchpool. 
Below left - a view from the top pool where the water re enters the system from the filter before dropping over the fall.

Top left - 2001 after heavy landscaping, Top centre - 2003 after planting, top right - 2005 established planting. 
Below left - the earliest photo we have of the waterfall construction. You can see the concrete bowl at the top that catches the water before it spills over the fall, down onto the second 'bowl' which is the catchpool and then onto the the stream under the bridge. 
Below 2nd left - you can see that the stone bank stretches right across the garden with the stream flowing under the bridge and onto the pond which it enters over another fall.
Below centre and right - views of the top pool. Ferns enjoy the humidity around fast flowing water and the crevices in the stones.