In landscape architecture and

garden design Garden design is the art and process of designing and creating plans for layout and planting of garden, gardens and landscapes. Garden design may be done by the garden owner themselves, or by professionals of varying levels of experience and expe ...

, a water feature is one or more items from a range of fountains, jeux d'eau, pools,

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

s, rills, artificial waterfalls, and

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

s. Before the 18th century they were usually powered by gravity, though the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon are described by Strabo as supplied by an Archimedean screw and other examples were supplied with water using hydraulic rams. Ancient water features were powered using gravitational forces, human power or

animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...

to pump in the water. Since the 18th century, the majority of water features have been powered by

pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes Slurry, slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic or pneumatic energy. Mechanical pumps serve in a wide range of application ...

s. In the past, the power source was sometimes a steam engine, but in modern features it is almost always powered by electricity. There is an increasing range of innovative designs as the market becomes more established and people become more aware of alternate installation methods, such as solar power. The advantages of using solar power include environmental benefits, no electrical lines in the garden, and free energy. Modern water features are typically self-contained, meaning that they do not require water to be plumbed in; rather water is recycled from either a

or a hidden

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

, also known as a sump. The sump can either be contained within the water feature, or buried underground (in the case of an outdoor water feature). A water feature may be indoor or outdoor and can range in size from a desk top water fountain to a large indoor

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

that covers an entire wall in a large building, and can be made from any number of materials, including stone, stainless steel, resin, iron and glass. Most water features are electronically controlled, ranging from simple timer actuators to sophisticated computerized controls for synchronizing music to water and light animation. Water features often offer additional benefits to homeowners, such as increased curb appeal, home value, reduced

noise pollution Noise pollution, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with potential harmful effects on humans and animals. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems.Senate Publi ...

(due to the sound of water overpowering outside noise), increased humidity in dry regions and improved air quality.

History

early modern Europe Early modern Europe, also referred to as the post-medieval period, is the period of European history between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, roughly the mid 15th century to the late 18th century. Histori ...

, fountains were found in the elaborate gardens of the mansions of the wealthy, and in modern times can be an element in

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes based on geographical location. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, city, ...

provided by the municipal authorities or public subscription. Water features are often found in gardens of middle class houses. A notable modern example is the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in London, England.

Types of water features

* Categories ** Natural water feature ** Man-made water feature ** Naturalistic water feature ** Disappearing water feature ** Live water feature ** Sterile water feature * Pools and ponds ** Fish pond ** Formal pool ** Garden pond ** Koi pond ** Lake ** Lotus pool ** Naturalistic pond **

Plunge pool A plunge pool (or plunge basin or waterfall lake) is a deep depression in a stream bed at the base of a waterfall or Shut-in (river), shut-in. It is created by the erosion, erosional forces of cascading water on the rocks at the formation's bas ...

** Reflecting pool ** Shallow pool/tide pool ** Stream pool ** Swimming pond **

Swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

** Wildlife pond/habitat pond * Water courses ** Brooks ** Creeks ** Streams ** Rivers ** Runnel ** Rill ** Wild river * Fountains ** Bubbler fountain ** Disappearing fountain ** Drinking fountain ** Floating fountain ** Formal fountain ** Jeux d'eau ** Kugel fountain ** Spitter fountain ** Tabletop fountain ** Wall fountain * Water falls ** Artificial waterfall ** Chadar – a textured water ramp of Indian origin. ** Weeping wall ** Water wall ** Water stair ** Water ramp * Cultivation ** Hydroponics ** Rice paddy * Habitats ** Wildlife garden – ''with water-source component.'' ** Bogs ** Wetlands ** Mangrove swamp

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

** Bog garden ** Rain garden/bio retention system/rain harvesting ** Aquatic container garden ** Riparian zone restoration * Water sources ** Spring (hydrology) ** Seep (hydrology)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Water Garden features

History

Types of water features

See also

References

External links