Splash Back

We all need a place to decompress. With a few additions, your backyard can be the relaxing retreat you envision. Water features can set the calm mood.

“The tranquility of water can add a lot of peace to someone’s hectic life,” says Brian Kenny, president of Edenscape.

Choosing the right feature can change the flow of your backyard. A bubbling fountain is a nice accent and noisemaker on a patio, while rushing waterfalls flowing into a pond and a babbling stream make it a complete escape.

Safety and maintenance can help you boil down your choices. Typically with less than 6 inches of pooled water, smaller pondless features like fountains with basins or shallow waterfalls and streams are lower maintenance because the water keeps circulating. They’re also less risky for children since there isn’t much water to fall into or splash onto the surrounding surface. Bigger pondless features generally have no aquatic life, so you can maintain water quality with chlorine or other chemical cleaners that may otherwise be too harsh.

“You don’t have this open water, so it’s safer,” says Kenny. “The water is constantly moving, so it’s not going to be a nesting ground for mosquitoes.”

Ponds, which can be at the bottom of waterfalls or connect to streams, require a large space because these typically have aquatic life and require upkeep. You’ll have to make sure any products you use are animal friendly, and the water needs to be aerated, so there is generally a more involved system of filters, skimmers and pumps.

Here’s how to find the water feature that will fill out your retreat.

Small Trickles

Fountains are the simplest way to add a splash of water to your backyard. Bubbling fountains can often be fashioned out of pottery like a vase or urn. Smaller pondless versions can also be built out of rocks for a falling water effect with a shallow pool.

“People will drill a hole into a rock or rocks, and then it would overflow from the top of the structure and go into the water basin,” Kenny says.

The water keeps circulating, so maintenance is a smooth breeze.

“It’s going to drop down into a reservoir where that water is holding and then recirculate up to the top,” Kenny says.

The cyclic running water creates a soothing noise that transcends in a big way. “It brings peace to people,” Kenny says.

Big-Time Rush

Flowing waterfalls can add lots of bliss, no matter how small or big you build them. From a modern angular spillover with a pond to falls rushing down a natural hillside and into a stream to a tiny pondless feature as described above, there are many ways to get creative with waterfalls.

A natural aesthetic works especially well with a hilly backyard the waterfall can be built into. If not, a tiered waterfall can be created by digging out some space with an excavator. The natural look is in, so natural stones of all shapes and sizes — from 250 pounds to 2,500 pounds — are stacked higgledy-piggledy to make the falls look imperfect as it would be in the wild.

“In a more natural setting, you’re going to have water flowing in a couple of different directions off one rock,” Kenny says.

For a more polished modern feel, angular stones can be stacked evenly for a linear stream.

“You might see a beautiful sheet of water cascading into a pond or reservoir,” says Kenny.

Those with swimming pools don’t have to build a reservoir; they can just have water fall right into the existing pool for a resort vibe.

Nature Center

With plant and animal life, ponds can really transform a backyard into a natural oasis. Ponds are a deeper water feature and can connect with a stream. This environment allows more botanicals to grow, such as picturesque lily pads or irises.

For a contemporary Asian-inspired flair, you can add symmetrical stepping stones arranged linearly or an arched wooden bridge that crosses a stream.

The depth also allows for aquatic life to flourish, like popular orange koi fish. You’ll find that ponds organically draw in other wildlife like frogs, mosquitoes, turtles and more, as they create a mini ecosystem.

“If there is water, it’s going to attract certain creatures,” says Kenny.

He’s seen some homeowners get quite close to their pond life. One man has named his fish and goes swimming in the 6-foot pond with them. “That’s just his way of unwinding, enjoying what he’s made important in his life,” says Kenny.

Lights On

Get joy from your water features day and night by adding lighting. Have some fun by installing rotating color lights to shine various hues on your water. For smaller features, simple spotlighting makes for a striking accent.

Add some drama with backlighting. “You’re going to illuminate the backside of the waterfall, and have more of a glowing appearance,” Kenny says. “You can also have some uplighting inside of some pooled water, so say you have a fish in there at night that you can watch swim around.”

However you choose to accessorize your water feature, get ready for the happiness it will bring you and your family.

“People get warm and fuzzy about it, even tears in their eyes, when they come home and see the waterfalls out the window,” Kenny says. “It impacts them.”