Starting with landscape design ideas

Visions of turning your landscape design ideas into successful projects?...

Landscape design ideas ... If the backyard water garden or garden pool is going to be raised or partially raised:

  • Place the pool liner in position and mark out the shape on the ground around it.

  • Carefully remove any turf within the shape and excavate to a level soil surface slightly larger than the shape. A long spirit level, or a spirit level with a long straight edge is essential.

  • The shape of the pool to satisfy your landscape design ideas must be marked on the ground plumb with the outside edge.

  • From this line inwards 2 ins (5cm) and outwards by possibly 4 inches (10cm) a small 4 inch (10cm) deep trench for a footing must be excavated and filled with a semi-dry concrete 5:1 mix of 'All-in' ballast and cement powder.

  • The width of the footing depends ultimately on the thickness of the facing stone or brick that the water feature is intended to have.

  • If the pool is to be partially set in the ground (landscape design ideas?), the base of the pool should be marked on the ground and the resulting shape excavated to the required depth at which the base should be flattened and levelled.

above ground landscaping ideas pond

Landscape design ideas:

Concrete blocks laid in place to support the fibreglass pool and the facing stone

  • A 4inch (10cm) concrete block wall will be built up to support the rim of the pool. A single line of concrete blocks is sufficient to support the pool out of the ground at marginal shelf level. The depth of a standard concrete block (9ins or 23cm with mortar) generally corresponds the depth of most manufacture's pools at the marginal shelf. Two high, they correspond to the complete depth to the base. Slight variations can be taken up with a layer of brickwork or thick mortar joints. Leave the vertical joints of the block work partly open to begin with, in order to facilitate the backfilling with sand.

  • With the block work in place, replace the liner on a thin 1 inch (25mm) cushion of sand. If it seems well supported fill it with water. Flimsy liners can filled to the marginal shelf level.

  • Leave it there full of water over night to do any settling that might occur, before you attempt any edging. If it shifts - empty it and build up the sand support where it has sunk. Gently ramming down the backfill further at the lowest point can make up tiny fractions in subsidence. If you need to do this don't overdo it because it can buckle up the rim of the liner, which you want to keep as flat as possible to take whatever edging you might want to choose to go round it. As you backfill the pointing to the upper parts of the blockwork must be completed

  • The facing stonework to the pool can be started at any point using the blockwork as support. You could alternatively use a wider block (6inch or 15cm) and just render the face of the blocks with cement. With the stonework built level, and edge can be laid in place. 'Profile edging' or segment paving saves cutting slabs, or in natural stone, crazy paving is most popular.

  • That's it your landscape design ideas now complete.