| Most of us want our water features to look 'natural', | | | | decisions when creating a stream is how to make it |
| but ponds often need to go against walls, or next to | | | | suddenly 'appear' in the garden, and then 'disappear' |
| (or indeed on) patios: hardly 'natural' settings. But a | | | | further along. A gurgling stream usually ends up |
| garden stream can look really natural. Even though it | | | | emanating from large pipes or from beneath a stone |
| is merely a stretch of water going from one place to | | | | slab; it will almost certainly disappear in the same |
| another, this is exactly the sort of phenomenon that | | | | way. Most of the gullies the water will travel along |
| is found in the wild. | | | | are made from concrete, stone or brick, and are |
| In all cases, of course, a man-made stream will | | | | either straight or gently curving. Flexible liner can be |
| contain water that is circulated by a pump. Pumps | | | | used, but use gravel, sand, stones, bricks or boulders |
| obviously vary hugely in their performance, and it is | | | | to give the water a rippling texture and help conceal |
| crucial that you choose one that will provide the | | | | the shiny PVC or plastic. |
| desired effect. For example, a small pump in a very | | | | If an abrupt change of direction is required some |
| wide or deep stream would produce an imperceptible | | | | way along the stream, it is best to cover the stream |
| and completely ineffective flow. | | | | at that point with some sort of chamber, so that |
| The stream should be made dead level, so that it | | | | water can enter it from one direction and leave in |
| remains full once the pump is switched off. And, | | | | another. Such a chamber could also be used to hide |
| when the pump is off, your 'stream' will become a | | | | the beginning or end of the stream. |
| shallow, elongated pond. One of the trickiest | | | | |