Water is an essential element of the garden – cooling, soothing, reflecting and animating – as significant as planting or a place to sit. It works simultaneously on ecological, sensory, aesthetic and spatial levels. It nourishes and supports wildlife, and shifts the pace of how we experience a garden. And because it is not just seen or heard, but also felt, it helps to create mood – the felt experience of the sensory conditions of a garden.
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Sometimes water is the main event, commanding space; at other times, it is part of the discovery and journey of a garden. When thinking about introducing water in a form more ornamental than a pond, it helps to begin with the kind of experience you want it to create. Is it to support wildlife, or to reuse rain water in a practical but elegant way? Perhaps it’s about atmosphere – mirroring the sky, catching the light, creating sound and movement, or linking spaces. Whether your preference is for contemporary minimalism or a nod to historical forms, being clear about what you want the water to do will shape every design decision that follows.
The language of ornamental water in the garden is drawn from design legacies all over the world. Historical precedents such as Islamic rills, the Persian chahar bagh, the axial pools of Italian Renaissance gardens, Baroque displays and Victorian grottoes have all demonstrated how water can mark power, spirituality, contemplation or delight. The lesson here isn’t imitation, but understanding why these elements worked – scale, proportion, light and sound – and applying those principles. A rill may be ancient in origin, but how it’s used today, in minimal contexts, in tight urban spaces or with new materials: that changes it. The core idea isn’t new, but the expression is.
The size of the space in your garden plays a crucial role in determining the right location for a water feature. Smaller features such as water bowls or troughs are flexible and can fit almost anywhere; front gardens included. Larger ones require more dedicated space. Consider the scale that is appropriate for the space, and don’t forget maintenance and easy access for cleaning.
Water has a powerful liminal quality. Unlike a wall or a hedge, water doesn’t divide in a solid way; it introduces a gentle pause or shift in experience; a punctuation rather than a barrier. Think of the narrow rill running across a path like the iconic rill and pool at Rousham in Oxfordshire, or how long linear troughs of water can create a quiet divide between planting and hard landscaping.
We are currently designing a large courtyard garden in the Cotswolds, surrounded on one side by the main house and the other three by converted steading buildings. The west-facing end is given over to a long tree-shaded table for gathering. The east-facing side is a meandering network of paths that weave through richly planted perennial beds, with nooks and crannies for quieter moments. And for the middle third, we’ve introduced a linear pool that acts as a gentle form of spatial separation. The water creates a calm, reflective pause between sociability and intimacy, dividing the space softly while keeping it connected.
Water is also experienced. Stepping stones across water encourage us to become more aware of our surroundings. A fine mist that cools the air as you walk through it, or a quiet trickle at the edge of planting, can gently alter how a corner of the garden feels and is experienced.
Technical know-how for having water in your garden design
Now for the practicals. A compacted gravel sub-base, or possibly a concrete base for a larger feature, provides a secure foundation that prevents shifting or sinking over time, helping to maintain a consistent water level. It also reduces the risk of damage.
Water features such as streams, spilling bowls and sculptural elements typically require pumps to circulate water, keeping it moving and preventing stagnation. For more complex designs, a top-up chamber replenishes water levels as it evaporates.
If you’re using an electric pump, always consult a professional for safety, as water and electricity need careful handling. Solar-powered pumps are a simpler option, and if you live in a hard-water area, check the pump regularly for scale build-up. For larger ornamental pools, a skimmer helps collect debris, maintaining water clarity and pump efficiency.
To maintain clean, healthy water, we prefer non-chemical methods. Mechanical filtration removes debris, while UV clarifiers neutralise algae and bacteria naturally. Oxygenating plants, such as hornwort and anacharis, absorb excess nutrients, while beneficial bacteria help break down organic matter.
Depending on the nature of the feature, a blend of natural filtration, plants and regular maintenance keeps the water healthy without relying on chemicals. At the Barbican Conservatory in London, we are exploring the use of black food dye – a classic show garden trick – to highlight the reflection of the iconic flytower in water. The darkening of the water reduces the amount of sunlight that can reach algae, thereby limiting growth, and a food dye is safe to use with plants.
Just remember to be mindful of what you detail that is touching the water’s edge; a sedimentary stone coping with high porosity will absorb the colour through capillary action.
If you’re after something less complex, there are plenty of options to consider. At home, I have a couple of simple non-pumped water features in the form of a water bowl in dappled light and an old galvanised riveted tank in the sun, each planted with a combination of oxygenators, surface plants and emergents.
Filling with rainwater is the ideal choice; an imperfect second is what we do – let the tap water sit for a few days to allow treatments such as chlorine to dissipate. The shady bowl has a combination of Anemopsis californica, Eriophorum angustifolium, Acorus gramineus ‘Variegatus’, Isolepis cernua and vital oxygenation from Ceratophyllum demersum (hornweed), and we have to make sure we fish out any fallen leaves from the Cornus kousa tree above as they fall into it.
The sunny tank has waterlily Nymphaea ‘Pygmaea Helvola’, Mentha cervina, Iris versicolor, Myosotis scorpioides ‘Alba’ and, again, the oxygenating hornweed. I’m far from an expert in marginal and water planting so asked the specialists at Waterside Nursery in Leicestershire for advice. The combination of the aquatic plants provide natural entry points for insects, while bits of wood and stone help the creatures in our garden get closer to the water safely.
Water safety
It is completely natural to have concerns about water features when young children are around. But rather than removing water altogether, consider how it can be included in a way that feels comfortable for everyone, by designing thoughtfully, rather than avoiding it entirely. Shallow rills, water bowls, raised dipping troughs and brimming blocks are all ways to keep water engaging and safe for everyone to enjoy.
Edges can be softened by planting or raised to slow access, and features placed where they’re always visible. Rain-fed basins or channels fill during downpours and so are more transient, and rain chains are another playful, low-risk option, turning rainfall into a visual and musical moment with no standing water left behind. The key is not to let fear strip away the enriching elements that make a garden sing, but instead to find ways we can balance beauty and care.
Top tips for using water in garden design
This garden on the Isle of Man draws on the island’s rich heritage of engraved stones. A yew parterre gives structure to beds planted as a feminist salon of roses, including Rosa ‘Constance Spry’, R. ‘Sappho’ R. Gertrude Jekyll (= ‘Ausbord’) and R. Jacqueline du Pré (= ‘Harwanna’). Inspired by the contemplative quiet of a cloister, a simple cruciform path centres on a raised water feature as the symbolic heart of the garden.
A concealed reservoir with a recirculating pump supplies water; a carefully set flow-control valve ensures the surface only just gently overtops. All the kit is accessed via a recessed inspection chamber (IC) cover – a lid with a tray-like top designed to be filled with paving, allowing it to blend into the surrounding surface. Wherever possible, we set any ICs into the hard landscaping – not planting beds. This avoids bare patches in planting, keeps maintenance easy and prevents trampling and soil compaction when access is needed.
A gently brimming copper bowl brings quiet movement to this reflective space, offering a contemplative focal point. The flow rate is carefully regulated to maintain a sense of calm in the movement of the water, and it is positioned to catch reflections of the sky from within the garden and above from the views from the house. Set perfectly level on a well-compacted gravel sub-base, the bowl has a smooth rim to allow water to spill uniformly, to ensure the meditative quality of the water.
A circular rill amplifies the water’s focal point in the garden. In contrast to linear rills that use gravity and falls to maintain movement, this design relies on a pump for consistent circulation. A soft and continuous flow rate ensures it is not overwhelming or forceful. The rill is lined with a durable liner, and the stone is granite – a material vernacular to the Isle of Man’s landscape. Unlike more porous stones such as limestone or sandstone, granite is more resistant to water absorption, reducing capillary action that could lead to discolouration.
Decorative grates enable crossing of the rill while maintaining the visual and auditory experience of the
water beneath. The decorative style of the grate reflects the details from artistic tradition of Manx crosses. The grates are securely fixed but made in sections, allowing access in case of any maintenance requirements.
Beneath the paving and planting beds, we’re experimenting with passive irrigation crates as part of a broader water management strategy. These crates create a reservoir, and the passive irrigation system uses gravity and capillary action to distribute water upwards to the planting beds, mimicking a natural water table. While this is typically used in podium projects and roof terraces, the work of Ton Muller, head of landscape design at the Municipality of Amsterdam, opened our eyes to its potential for domestic use.
An example of ornamental reflecting pools in garden design
There are many compelling examples of how water can hold a bold yet not loud presence in a garden, and none more so than at the iconic Jardin Plume (left) in northern France. Here the water sits at the heart of the orchard garden. It is a clean edged, purposeful, geometric gesture that cuts through the looser, natural textures, creating a deliberate tension; a strong, still architectural presence that acts as a canvas also for the sky.
Another similarly simple and striking use of water appears at Lur Garden (above) in northern Spain, the experimental and expressive testbed of Lur Paisajistak, the landscape architecture studio led by Iñigo Segurola and Juan Iriarte. Among a sequence of bold, contrasting spaces, a large oval pool sits low in the landscape. Like at Le Jardin Plume (below), its simplicity is what gives it strength.
