The Complete Book of The Water Garden

Publisher: Cassell Illustrated
Published: March 2004
208 pages
ISBN: 1-84188-171-6
ISBN13: 9781841881713
Paper
32 color photos, 147 b/w illus.

The Complete Book of the Water Garden, by Philip Swindells and David Mason is arguably the finest, most comprehensive water gardening book ever written. It begins with the history of water features in the garden, telling of the persistent theme of water in the garden since the early days of civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The first gardens were for food production and needed water. As time passed the irrigation ditches and holding ponds evolved into decorative water features with papyrus, lotus and goldfish.

Swindells and Mason discuss the use of water features from Persia to Spain, India, China, Japan, Greece and Italy. They follow water features to France, England and finally to water gardens use in the United States.

Swindells and Mason take us next to the practical matters of pond and water garden building. Where shall we put our pond? How big will it be? What will we use it for? Will there be a fountain? Does it need a circulating pump and therefore electricity access?

We read next about design. What must we consider? It is to be a formal water garden made from concrete or an informal one? Maybe our garden wants a stream or rill. These authors show diagrams of formal ponds, shapes, sizes, ideas for your garden. They do not omit the informal, natural pond that we love so much and have dramatic color photos to inspire us. How about a fountain? Water reaching high into the air and splashing down will be a focal point of any garden, but works especially well in a formal, geometrically shaped pond. Or perhaps your water feature may be in your house as a tabletop fountain with water falling only a few inches, but adding humidity to your indoor air and relaxing sounds to your room.　

After siting and design, Swindells and Mason take us through construction of all the kinds of ponds they have discussed so far. These ponds can be masonry, above ground or below, contain magnificent pieces of sculpture or be filled with aquatic plants and fish. Once again color photos accompany these chapters to give us ideas for our climates and individual tastes.

After the pond is built, we must put plants in it. We usually want fish as well. Other aquatic creatures find their way to our ponds. Are they beneficial or might they be harmful? What kinds of fish? What kinds of plants?

We all love water lilies. The authors start their plant part of the book with water lilies: how to propagate them, how to plant them, the ideal container, the best growing medium, even where to put them in your pond. They move along to submerged and floating plants and how to use them to balance your pond. Which plants do you need, how many and where to position them. Again the photographs show us finished ponds and close ups of water lilies and marginal, emergent plants.

Moving along to the introduction of fish in our water garden, we learn what to look for in a fish, how to tell if it is a healthy specimen and most important, what kinds of fish are best for our ponds. Do we want goldfish, Koi, Orfes? What about scavenger fish?

Other livestock often appears in our ponds. Snails, mussels are great for our ponds because they eat rotting vegetation and can give us a reading of water health just by looking at their shells. Smooth shells indicate healthy water; pitted shells tell us our water is too acidic. What about frogs, toads, newts? Do we want them? Do we need them? Swindells and Mason tell us.

After breezing through goldfish propagation and seasonal maintenance, we learn about plant propagation and segue into pond problems. What is that eating our water lilies? Are those aphids, beetles? What are those spots on my water lily pads?

Oh dear, my fish looks sick. What's wrong with it?

We are rewarded with more color photos of the beautiful emergent marginals that love to grow in our ponds.

The last part of this great book that indeed lives up to its name is an encyclopedia of aquatic plants: Water lilies, both tropical and hardy, deep water plants, lotus, marginal plants, both tender and hardy submerged plants, floating plants and bog garden plants.

Philip Swiindells is known as the grand old man of water gardening. He pioneered modern day water gardening all over the world and wrote many water gardening books. He died March 29th 2007. A cousin of his wrote a great tribute to him here:

http://www.watergardenersinternational.org/news/2006_philip/card.html

This book belongs in every pond owners or prospective pond builders library. It is considered the finest book about water gardens today. I award it five

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