Garden Machinery
Garden Leisure
- Greenhouse Heaters
- Loungers
- Midgeaters
- Gas Barbecues
- Charcoal Barbecues
- Masonry Barbecues
- Furniture Sets
- Benches
- Greenhouses
- Water and Light
- Garden Sheds
- Gazebos
- Firepits
- Wildlife Boxes
- Rock and Stone
- Weather Vanes
- Rabbit Hutches
- Urns & Planters
- Sundials
- Birdbaths
- Garden Swings
- Climbing Frames
- Croquet Sets
- Wildlife Cameras
- Bird Feed
Water feature bridges and landing stages
A bridge has two purposes, function and appearance, and the former should always, always outweigh the latter. A bridge should always be placed where there is practical justification for it or it will look silly.
Construction materials may range from wood, brick, steel, through to solid concrete spans or simple plank bridges made of old railroad timbers. Japanese moon bridges are currently on sale in many of the larger garden centres and while they are pretty to look at, you should be aware, before choosing one, that they can look incongruous or just plain daft in the wrong setting and that their design is specific to a certain purpose. A moon bridge should be reflected perfectly in the water below it, so the real bridge acts as a half moon and the water reflection as the other half too big a bridge over too small a pond fails to achieve this and the high arch of the bridge is therefore very odd looking.
Bridges, like stepping stones, should be built securely, either resting on the solid bank on either side, or on pontoons in the water, or if necessary both. If you are using pontoons to help support your bridge you need to build concrete footings to hold them, and to consider how long the supports will last. Concrete or well mortared brick should survive several lifetimes, but timber baulks, used as supports, not only need replacing more often, but they need adequate waterproofing, which has to be done well before they are set in place, as the chemicals used in the paint or spray can be lethal to fish.
