You don`t have to hire the Pool-Master of all times, Anthony Archer-Wills to have a water-experience.
He started like everyone else, with an idea. Having struggled for several years to disguise pond edges, the eureka moment hit him in the bath. He had been working on a series of carefully shaped pools for a customer and attempting to follow the inside edges with rocks. With the rocks sitting on the ledge and partly submerged, the inside edges will be visible. Any construction material showing beneath a rock would instantly give the game away, so to speak. Furthermore, with the freedom of expression that this technique affords, one can create rocky outcrops to accentuate the promontories and bays for emergent planting. Having established the rock placement as creatively and naturalistically as possible, one can address the back of the rocks and planting areas.
For ponds and streams using a flexible liner, this has merely to be lifted up and secured behind the rocks. However, with a concrete shell, the voids between the back of the rocks and the walls need to be filled with gravel. To create hydric planting areas, use soil instead. It is essential to bring whatever medium is used right up to, and slightly over the tops of the rocks. They need to appear to protrude out of the ground as though they are exposed by the lapping of the water. Again, if any of the back is exposed, the Rock is seen as a finite size and not part of the surrounding geology. In any rock placement, one needs to create the “tip-of-the-iceberg” effect.
On large ponds, extensive beaches are suitable for children to play or just for sunbathing. These are very easy to construct and are a simple and cost-effective way to hide a liner or concrete shell.
For informal and all naturalistic ponds, this is where aquatic planting comes into its own. Apart from rocky outcropping or glacial boulders, most natural ponds will have extensive shorelines of native plants. I love to see mass plantings, as they read well when seen from the opposite shore. One can try to emulate nature by planting bold clumps, and their reflections will reward you greatly. Aim for good foliage contrasts, but they must be in large masses, or it will just look spotty. You could try Acorus calamus (sweet flag) beside Caltha polypetala (giant marsh marigold), and for striking contrast you could add Colocasia esculenta ‘Black Magic’ (elephant ear). Make sure the combinations you choose are suitable for your temperature zone.
Finally, when designing pond edges, try not to exceed three different types around the same pond. Just one type of edge would be fine for a formal pond, and it could be lawn, paving or even timber decking. However, with informal water shapes, many combinations are possible. Again, the combination of Rock, lawn and pebble beach is effective. Timber deck, bog planting and wildflower meadow is also beautiful. Just two can work well, but don’t exceed three, or it will look fussy and more like a garden center exhibit!
A mossy log trailing down into the water can add a touch of realism and beauty, while providing a safe launching ramp for small creatures. Close your eyes, bring to mind what you have seen in nature and use your imagination to create the perfect pond edge for your yard.
Each person has a different personality and so should their pool design. When decorating these spaces we are looking for comfort, a style that defines us, somewhere to run away from the stress of daily life. Therefore, we should not take this decision lightly, there are many aspects implied in it.
When choosing a pool design, their colour plays an important role on its efficiency and on how much are we going to enjoy it. Dark colours should be discarded since they absorb sunlight and will heat the water more than necessary. They can only be combined with lighter ones to make patterns or create a certain effect.
Flooring for around the pool should be also made with light colours and being anti-slippery. Mosaic tiles are the best option since they offer a great endurance in wet environments and are easy to maintain and clean.
Minimalistic pools are known for their elegance, modernity and sophistication. They are delimited by straight lines, resulting in rectangular surfaces and simple decoration details. The predominant colours are whites, greys, light blue and turquoise, and they are also enhanced with large-leaved plants that surround it.
This style can be combined both with wooden materials or concrete. A combination of them two is also a great idea. The mosaic pool design must be elegant but composed of only one or two tonalities, since the result must look uniform and be marked by simplicity. Colours with a matte finish are preferred over glazed ones.
There is no need for special patterns. Mosaics are meant to enhance the natural beauty of water, the main element in the swimming pool, which also receives the most important role in your garden decoration. Therefore, the simpler the mosaic pool design is, the better.
The flooring around the pool can be concrete material or grass. This type of swimming pools do not have to have a delimited pool edge since this would help to create the sensation of a more minimalistic style.Water Rain Forest and Water River are the collections we recommend to the nonconformists who seek to create a unique and exclusive place where to disconnect and hide away from the world.
We all want to retreat and have our own oasis of peace and relaxation. With this in mind, splash around in your garden.
Brad Smack