Tips on Creating An Amazing Koi Garden

Making and keeping a koi garden is a wonderful pastime if you’re prepared to look after it. Whenever a garden is designed a water feature is nearly always considered but a koi garden goes one step further. The fish themselves may be decorative additions but keeping koi is far more than that. You will get to know each fish, distinguish between fish with similar markings and enjoy their company at feeding times.

The most important part of a koi garden is the planning and design. There are many aspects to consider when setting up your pond or altering an existing pond ready for koi fish. Koi can grow to over three feet so unless you want to keep replacing your larger fish with smaller ones the pond will have to be large enough to accommodate the number of fish you are considering and the sizes of them.

The first consideration is the location of the pond. Although you want to avoid direct sunlight it isn’t a good idea to build it under the shade of a tree that will shed leaves, twigs and other debris in the pond. The depth of the pond is also important to maintain temperature during winter and to avoid predators. Three feet should be considered as a minimum and you should have a drain at the lowest point of the pond, located ideally at a depth of around six feet. The shape of the pond will be the most visible and aesthetic element. You should avoid square corners where debris will gather, though some sheltered spots should be included for the fish. A koi pond will need regular care and maintenance and this aspect needs to be allowed for.

If you are growing a lawn around your pond, be careful about using chemical fertilizers and weed killers. These are toxic to koi and can easily be blown into the water.

The plant life you put in and around your pond needs to be suitable as well. Koi and plants tend not to get on well together though they needn’t be dismissed. Water lilies are a good addition to your koi garden because they offer shelter and protection from predators. Other aquatic plants, such as duckweed, may provide additional food for your koi but potted plants need to be large enough that they won’t be damaged by the koi eating them or banging into them and spilling the soil into the water. Netting and pea gravel can prevent the koi digging into them.

The koi garden is a place of peace and tranquility and often designed to reflect their Japanese history but it need not be oriental in design. Apart from the few minutes of feeding you will also want to walk around your pond or have a seat where you can just sit and watch them. A water feature such as a fountain or small waterfall will add to the tranquility and repose of the place, aerate the water, and also drown out extraneous and distracting noise. The sound of water is one of nature’s best backgrounds for meditation and the visual aspect of the koi garden will give you complete freedom from the stresses of an otherwise busy lifestyle.