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12 Inspiring Pond Landscaping Ideas

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All water features can add visual appeal to your backyard, but the pond is a classic favorite. And they're really versatile too. Here are 12 pond landscaping ideas to inspire your own garden designs.

Stepped Waterfall Pond

Waterfalls look best if you have a sloped landscape to build them on. Large flat stones or paving slabs can then be used to create a stepped structure for water to flow into a large round pond at the base.

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Rocky Waterfall Pond

For a more natural waterfall look, use differently shaped boulders and rocks to construct edges for the water to cascade over. It's a good idea to extend this cragginess motif to the perimeter of your pond too, surrounding it with additional rocks.

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Traditional Brick Pond

A traditional pond surmounted with brick has a timelessly elegant appeal. Either new or reclaimed bricks will do; it's all about the shape you create. A thick-rimmed circular outline, for instance, can be far more striking than the sum of its parts.

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Shiny Pebble Pond

Some garden ponds are so integrated into the landscape that they could appear as little more than puddles. By extending the base material—in this case polished white pebbles—beyond the water's edge onto the surrounding lawn, you can make such a pond into more of a feature.

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Stone Geometry Pond

This one works well in gardens with a geometric design. A square, pentagonal or hexagonal stone outline framing a sunken pond works particularly well alongside angular borders and clean, straight-edged decking, for instance.

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Mossy Koi Pond

A rolling stone gathers no moss, they say, but stones next to your pond usually do. And it helps to create a dynamic, thriving ecosystem in which even your hard landscaping elements come alive. Moss is a common feature in outdoor fish ponds designs, so add some beautiful koi to complete the look.

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Concrete Channel Pond

This can have the feel of a British Victorian walled garden, so it looks great with classic architectural styles. An angular channel is created with pedimented stone walls either side, almost taking on the appearance of a sunken aqueduct, and fringed with topiary, grasses and other plants.

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Lily Pad Pond

A simple, circular lily pad pond looks great in any size. Even if you have only a tiny space available, your garden could benefit from one of these. Lily pads echo the shape of the design while adding a timeless appeal.

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Walled Reservoir Pond

By raising your pond and surrounding it with a boundary wall, it almost starts to look like a well or—depending on the size—a reservoir. Finding construction materials to suit the rest of your garden will keep it from looking out of place.

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Country Creek Pond

Plastic pond molds can be restrictive unless all you want is a self-contained pond in a traditional shape. Constructing one or more little channels out from your pond—ideally with a solar pump to keep water flowing through—can make your feature more unique. And a small footbridge can add to the rustic feel.

CC BY 2.0/Ian Sane/Flickr

Frog Sanctuary Pond

Frogs love garden ponds, and many pond-owners love frogs. If you want to encourage these vibrant amphibians to your yard, make your pond at least several feet deep (with shallower areas of at least two feet in depth) and keep the water circulating so it doesn't freeze over in the winter. Depth also protects frogs against predators.

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Sculpture Garden Pond

Ponds and garden sculptures often go hand in hand. Ideas include elegant bird sculptures in a densely planted boundary or focal point sculptures that emerge from the water of the pond itself, such as a central sundial, column or statue.