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Water feature – formal ponds
There is probably no garden feature as spectacular as a formal pond. A simple rectangle, often with statuary, it will form a focal point for the garden and constantly changes with the weather and the seasons, balancing reflection and shadow, stillness and movement, solid outlines and shifting surfaces.
The main features of a formal pond are a clearly defined geometric shape, often with raised edges, a highly restrained planting system that does not mask those edges, and an absolute symmetry of design and location. This is the key to a formal pond and careful siting is crucial. Finding out your pond is a few inches off the centre of the garden, or not quite parallel to the path, can make it look misshapen and ‘plonked down’, while getting it just right gives the whole garden a severe harmony that is unmatched by any other kind of feature.
The pond must be deep enough to be kept clean and clear and so you may find a semi-raised design is more accessible and easier to work with. The relationship between the material you use: concrete; brick; or pre-moulded liner, and the statuary or other features needs to be carefully considered. A concrete cherub is okay with a brick pond, but a terracotta urn can look out of place with concrete walls. Traditional designs such as tritons, dolphins etc are lovely but can look a little over the top in smaller modern gardens, where more abstract fountains or bowl fountains may make the space look larger and less as if somebody left you a statue in their will and unsure what else to do, you’ve stuck a hose pipe up its bottom!
