Ponds

The sound of the water
says what I think. If there is magic on the planet, it is contained in the water.
- Chuang Tzu - Loren Eisley

The Lord is my shepherd,                                    We can't help being thirsty, moving toward the voice of water.
I shall not want.                                                      Milk drinkers draw close to the mother.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;               Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists,
He leads me beside still waters...                                 Hindus, shamans, everyone hears the intelligent sound
- Psalm 23:1-2                                                                and moves with thirst to meet it. - Jeladuddin Rumi (1207-1273)

No one can see their reflection in running water.                From pent-up aching rivers,
It is only in still water that we can see.                                 From that of myself without which I were nothing...
- Taoist proverb                                                            - From Pent-Up Aching Rivers Walt Whitman

A pool is the eye of the garden in whose candid depths is mirrored its advancing grace. - Louisia Bebe Wilder

By means of water, we give life to everything.                Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water;
- Koran, 21:30                                                                she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.
                                                                                   - Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Sun

How often it is that a garden, beautiful though it be, will seem sad and dreary and lacking in one of its most gracious features, if it has no water. ;
- Pierre Husson

We call upon the waters that rim the earth,
       horizon to horizon, that flow in our rivers and streams,
              that fall upon our gardens and fields,
                         and we ask that they teach us
                                and show us the way.
                                      - Chinook Indian Blessing

Few things have as much impact on us as does water. Water is what our bodies are primarily made of, water is what primarily covers the surface of the earth, water is the single most important sustenance that we take into our bodies. (Well, next to oxygen...)

Water is a key ingredient of most of the stories and myths that we have about how the world it put together. From the Scandinavian tradition that the "fountain of life" Mimisbrunnr is beneath the roots of the Great World Tree to the final words of Jesus, from the many ties to water and fountains in the Koran, Hinduism, and Buddhism to many Biblical references.

Here in our High Prairie Savannah climate, there are few things that can bring the impact to a garden that a water feature can. Water features can vary from rivers and ponds to small trickles in a pot or fountain. The design of a water feature should surely be in harmony with the garden design overall, but there are generally many ways to achieve this.

Water features require good planning and design so that they are in harmony with the garden that they are part of, and also in harmony with the lifestyle of the gardener.

Here is a sample of "pools", where fish live and a "pond" culture is gardened