For all the ideas that arise in the field of landscape design, there is not enough money, time and space. But many people will surely like this venture. Especially for those who have at least a small reservoir on the site. A floating flower bed pleasantly diversifies the serene water surface: it will sparkle in a new way. A drifting flower island will not require special funds, even if you decide to buy a finished product. What can we say about the flower bed, which you can easily do with your own hands. It will not take much time for this. But first, decide whether you need such a design in principle.
What are we going to build?
Man-made island is arranged quite simply. It has a light floating base in which cells for various plants are made. Usually it is made of a porous material, which allows the roots of the flowers to be easily saturated with nutrients and moisture from the reservoir. However, in any basis, you can make special holes for the same purpose. This method of growing is easy to compare with hydroponics, when there is no soil and no need to spend energy on watering and top dressing.
A floating flowerbed is good in that it can organically fit into any design style and will not look like a foreign body
Among the finished models you can find those that are specifically designed exclusively for flowers in pots. They are designed so that the immersion of pots in water occurs only partially. The soil is moistened, but not completely wet. Such facilities are also good in their own way. They are most often used in pools. Island design can be quickly changed. To do this, just remove some pots from the cells and insert others.
This is what a flower bed for a pool looks like. In fact, it is a stand for plants in pots. You can change the pots and your pool will change
Why is there a flower bed in the pond?
Indeed, what are the advantages of this floating flower island, except that it is very beautiful? Although, aesthetic appeal in itself is a value. But, as it turns out, far from the only one.
- Benefit for residents of the pond and garden. If your pond is inhabited, then innovation will quickly be appreciated. The flower bed will be visited by water turtles and frogs, the fish under it will be able to rest from the summer heat, birds will also like safe rafts.
- Compact design. Your mini-garden will keep its shape perfectly, because the planting will not be able to grow uncontrollably, as there is nowhere to go.
- Pest protection. Moles, bears, ants and other underground inhabitants will not disturb the peace of flowers. By the way, in the water you can put not only them, but also a small garden.
- Growing without watering. Watering hygrophilous plants whose roots are already in the water, there is no need. If an improvised raft is planted with vegetation that does not like excess moisture, its bottom will have to be solid and watered as usual.
- Cleaning function. The presence of hygrophilous plants as water is good for the reservoir, because their roots will clear it of organic substances and will not allow unnecessary algae to grow.
As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to create a small but spectacular structure. By the way, such structures can be safely left in the pond for the winter, their inhabitants will not freeze.
A small island is a real gift for the fish that live in your pond: they will be happy to hide under it in the heat
We select the right plants
Almost all plants are suitable for our purposes, you can even use small shrubs.
- Divers. Absolutely any hydrofoil can be used.
- Not moisture lovers. The owners of the superficial root system should be chosen.
For a water lover, instead of soil, you can use a hydrogel or pebbles that can hold it in position. But note that in the absence of soil, plants should be fed with substances from the water, so in the pool it is better to use a design with pots and soil in them.
As you can see, the plants in the flower beds can be very different. The pleasant neighborhood of the bright flower islands with water lovers refreshes the pond
The plant is selected taking into account its size in adulthood, so that in the future it does not drown the islet on which it grows. However, nobody especially tries to plant dimensional views in such designs. Therefore, it is wiser to focus on flowers.
Lilies, hosts, astilbe, papyrus or cyperus, marsh irises, callas and daylilies proved to be great lovers of water travel. The company they can make heather, clover, formium, heichera and a variety of decorative herbs. They will never refuse to swim sundews, forget-me-nots, horsetails, creeping buttercup, swimsuit, mountaineer, shift, kaluzhnitsa, wing-wing, cotton grass and sedge.
The handsome fern and grass framing it look very impressive, like chic feathers on the royal hat of the royal musketeer
Do not forget about those who are used to living in swamps. If possible, be sure to use cloudberry bushes, lingonberries and cranberries. As for the design with pots, absolutely any motley and bright flowers can be placed in it.
General rules for all designs
Ready-made models of floating beds can be bought in the store, but this option has two significant drawbacks:
- have to spend money;
- It remains to be content only with the standard option.
It is much better to do something according to your own taste, decorating your pond with your favorite petunias or callas in a container, the shape of which you yourself will like.
That is how simple, neat and very functional look like floating flower beds, which we offer in stores. We ourselves will definitely do no worse
For such a homemade product, you need to choose the material, determine the size, figure out how it will stay on the water. It is always necessary to correlate the parameters of the reservoir and the future floating island.
Depth of immersion depends on the type of future plants. If they are among those that usually grow on land, then the waterline should run no higher than 7 cm from the plane of the bottom of the island. If you have to land marsh inhabitants and other water lovers, the draft can be 10-12 cm. The depth of immersion is easily regulated using gravel.
The degree of immersion of a plant in water depends on how much it loves this water. The higher the need for moisture, the lower you can plant a flower bed
We make a floating flowerbed on our own
We suggest you familiarize yourself with several very simple options for self-production of such a flower bed. For this we need familiar and affordable tools and very inexpensive materials. All four options presented to you have been tested in practice and passed successful tests.
Option # 1 - multilayer nonwoven filter structure
For work, we need: a piece of cardboard, a non-woven filter material, mounting foam, fishing line, a mixture of peat and flower soil. Tools: pen or pencil, scissors, needle, stationery knife. Do not forget about the flowers for planting. Getting to work.
On a piece of cardboard we draw the outline of the future structure, after which the template needs to be cut. With it, we cut out so many blanks from the filter so that they can provide the desired height for the future flowerbed. We thread the line with a needle and sew all the layers of the filter together. No need to sew around the edge. It may well be that you will have to trim the edges of the workpiece with a clerical knife.
The first way to create a floating island is not at all complicated. You just need to be patient and do everything carefully and without rushing
In the resulting platform, cut out a recess, leaving along the perimeter of the sides. After a few punctures, fill the workpiece with foam. To ensure good buoyancy, an object may need ten or more punctures. Now let's wait until the foam becomes hard enough. Let’s test the raft for buoyancy. If the flowers have large roots, you can make additional cuts or indentations in the filter or in the foam.
We rub moist soil into the pores of the filter, fill the recess with a mixture of flower soil and peat. Everything, you can put the finished island in the reservoir.
Despite the fact that the raft’s tests took place in some kind of open water reservoir, he will have to swim in a barrel in which a small pond is reproduced
Option # 2 - a simple design from the furnace filter
This is an elementary structure for which you will need: two reusable furnace filters, staples, flexible wire, scissors, mounting foam and a spray of green paint.
On the first filter, mark and then cut holes in the places where the flowers will be planted. Put together two products and fasten them with brackets around the perimeter. Between the formed layers, carefully insert the mounting foam, thereby ensuring the buoyancy of the structure. Foam cannot be added in large portions because it can tear the surface.
The furnace filters turned out to be similar to ordinary pieces of not too thick foam rubber, but much more rigid. You can, while maintaining the general meaning of the structure, make it of another material that is easier to find
When the foam dries, it is better to color the island in green so that it looks as natural as possible. A wire should be screwed to the side to fix a certain position of the raft in the pond. We plant plants in the holes and lower the finished product into the water. We fix the wire either on the shore or at the bottom.
Option # 3 - foam island
Polyfoam will be needed in order to cut out a base from it for a future flower bed. Still needed: a coconut mat, a needle and a strong thread, a little soil. If one of the components is missing, read the replacement tips below.
The third method is also not complicated. If we want to make a large flowerbed, you can take either a thick piece of polystyrene or several thin ones that will have to be joined together
From the foam cut the desired shape with a recess for seedlings. Wrap the workpiece with a coconut mat and fix it with a strong thread so that it holds firmly to the base. You can sheathe it in the lower part, hidden from the eyes, and in another 6-8 directions. Rub a little soil into the coconut fiber, and then plant the flowers. Lower the finished product into the water.
Option # 4 - Noodle + Coconut Fiber
To make a very small, but pretty nice design, you will need plastic flower hanging pots, noodle (a flexible stick for water aerobics), coconut fiber. Noodle is better to choose blue or green. However, if you want to make the raft more visible, you can, on the contrary, give preference to contrasting colors.
With the help of such simple and bright details, you can build a holiday on your pond. Let it be colorful, unique and very positive
Hanging elements from the pots will have to be removed. The openings at the bottom of the hole can be sealed with sealant. The noodle must be placed tightly under the edge of the container and secured with a wire to the holes in the pot from the hanging parts. So the product will keep well afloat. Noodle, of course, will have to be cut to size.
Wrap the pot with coconut fiber on both sides and moisten it with water so that it swells. To fix the seedlings, the fibers should be stretched. Filling the tank, you can release it into the reservoir. To improve buoyancy, reduce the contents of the pot or add another noodle.
A few general tips for last.
If you decide to decorate your garden and pond this way, take a few practical tips:
- coconut fiber can be replaced with moss;
- if you plan to run the islet into the pool, then several coffee filters under the roots of seedlings will help to clean the incoming water from unnecessary impurities;
- it is better to anchor at the bottom of the pond than on the shore;
- Styrofoam can be replaced with polystyrene foam, styrofoam or other foam insulator.
It should also be noted that if there are fish in your pond, the plants will not need soil: they will get everything they need from the water.
Of course, the options described by us do not exhaust the whole variety of possibilities. It’s just important to understand the general principles of such structures and you can do something your own no worse
This popular idea can be implemented on your site more than once. It all depends on the size of the water body. A few static or slowly floating rafts in water will very much revitalize your landscape.
