There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that connecting with nature is beneficial for both mind and body. Tonight, Melissa visits her old friend and garden designer Steven Wells, to explore a therapy garden he’s created at the Austin Health’s Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre. Previously a barren space, specially designed paths take you on a journey through this bold and beautiful garden. It offers a full sensory experience that fosters respite, relaxation and recovery for patients, their family and friends, staff and visitors to the site. Not content with just looking at gardens, Melissa shows you how to make a peaceful addition to your own garden with a simple water garden in a bowl.
WATCH: How to a make a water garden in a bowl
Filling a water bowl with water-loving plants can create a calming atmosphere in your garden. Choose plants that grow to different heights so you get layers of visual interest.
Gather your supplies
- Water bowl, at least 51 x 22cm
- Pond sealer
- Aquatic epoxy putty
- Range of water plants
- Pea-sized pebbles
You’ll also need
- Sponge or cloth
- Paintbrush
- Disposable gloves
- Spirit level
- Trowel
- Sandy loam soil
For you to note
If you want to add fish to your pond, let the water stand for at least 24 hours so chlorine can evaporate.
Here’s how
Step 1
Clean your water bowl inside and out, then apply pond sealer with a paintbrush. Wearing gloves, fill any drainage holes with aquatic epoxy putty, then leave to cure.
Step 2
Put bowl in desired location and use a spirit level to check for level. Use a trowel to fill bowl with a layer of sandy loam soil, to a depth of about 15-20cm.
Step 3
Fill your bowl with water-loving plants such as rush, Vietnamese mint and syngonium, and also oxygenating plants appropriate for your area to reduce algae.
Step 4
Add a layer of small pea-sized pebbles to the bowl to stop the soil muddying the water.
Step 5
Add water very slowly so you don’t displace pebbles and subsequently the soil.
The final result
You might also like:
How to build a pond in your backyard
How to turn your pond into a vegetable patch
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