How To Create An Artificial Stream In A Summer Cottage

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

A stream on the site is not a luxury

Even the ancient philosopher said: "You cannot enter the same water twice." Imagine for a moment the seething water flow or the quiet murmur of a stream, which can give new sensations, new thoughts to a person and breathe life into the static appearance of your personal plot. Moving water on your site will become the center of the landscape composition, since it will be a dynamic and romantic element of the decor of your backyard landscape.

In order for the stream to naturally blend into the landscape of your personal plot, the design is based on the existing relief. After all, even a small difference in terrain in height determines the appearance of a stream on your site. Agree, because streams and springs on personal plots are very rare, and your task is to build a water body. Starting to translate this idea into reality, you should think that this object should naturally fit into the natural landscape in order to have the feeling: it has always been this way. You will be even more fortunate if there is a natural reservoir on your garden plot, and the appearance of, for example, a stream is even more appropriate, and it is much easier to build it.

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When creating a stream, it is important:

• first, build it correctly,
• secondly, to decorate correctly.

Stream construction

The construction of a stream on your personal plot should start with forming a bed along which your future stream will flow. There are several different ways to form a channel, but we will talk about one, the most commonly used method - the film-concrete method.

Starting to form a stream, you must first dig a bed for it. Pebbles and roots are removed from the surface of this bed, and then a sand and gravel pillow 25-30 cm thick is made, on which a plastic film is laid. The length and width of the film should be two to two and a half times the depth of the bed. The film fits freely over the entire surface without tension and sharp corners. After that, you just need to cut off the excess film around the edges, fixing its ends and hiding them between stones and sand. The edge of the film should be located 5-10 cm above the water level. This strip is a watershed between the inner and outer environment of the bed under the stream and prevents moisture from passing to one side or the other.

Concrete 10-15 cm thick is poured from above. A prerequisite is the reinforcement of the creek bed with a metal mesh, which makes it possible to simulate any turns of the creek. The mortar is laid out in the formwork of three-millimeter plywood and leveled. When concreting large surfaces, expansion joints are left every three meters, which are filled with bituminous mastic.

Also, do not forget that the stream must be equipped with a pump that will supply water from the reservoir at the mouth of your stream.

Choosing a pump for a stream

The mouth of the future stream is equipped with a pump that supplies water to the beginning of the water flow. The pump is placed in a reservoir for overflowing water. The main thing when choosing a pump is to decide what you want to see on your site - a stormy mountain stream or a gently babbling trickle. In any case, the pump must have a certain power reserve, and its performance at the outlet at the source of the stream is taken into account. It is most rational to use various submerged pumps, since they are compact, quiet and at the same time quite efficient.

During the construction of the reservoir, the same methods are used as for the construction of the channel. Its dimensions should take into account the length of the stream, as well as the speed of the water flow and its volume. If these parameters are large enough, water evaporation is also significant. If the size of the lower pond is small, you will have to add water to it. In order not to be mistaken, when building a tank, proceed from the following:

• firstly, it is necessary to observe the aesthetic proportionality between the parameters of the channel and the reservoir,
• secondly, the minimum volume of the lower pond should be at least four cubic meters.

The water from the pond rises to the source through a pipe, which is placed underground along the shortest section connecting the source to the mouth. Better to lay polypropylene pipes. They are frost-resistant and will not deteriorate, even if you forgot to drain the water for the winter. When connecting polypropylene pipes, hot welding is used, which greatly speeds up and simplifies the installation process.

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Stream decoration

The source of the stream can be planted with evergreens, this will give your backyard stream uniqueness and originality, or a scattering of stones imitating a forest spring. Local limestone and dolomite rocks are best suited for this. In the design of the channel, large granite boulders are used, preferably not rounded. Large stones, up to half a meter in diameter, are laid out the retaining walls of the stream. The bottom is usually covered with river pebbles, flat sandstone, granite stones - pellets.

Downstream, especially with a large difference in height, it is advisable to build dams with terraces, rifts and waterfalls. For their device, flat stones are used - flagstone. Accumulating in the backwaters, the water flows in a powerful stream along the terraces. Small streams are good to decorate with limestone. However, keep in mind that in terms of strength, it is much inferior to granite boulders.

Assortment of plants for decorating the coastal zone of the stream

The assortment of plants for the decoration of the coastal zone varies depending on the size of the composition and the light content. Preference should be given to compact forms of evergreens. For example, species that form carpets or pillows. They are effective on large areas and look like a multi-colored fluffy carpet. Among such plants are yarrow, tenacious, beetroot, breakthrough.

The central element of the whole composition is coniferous plants, dwarf forms of juniper, spruce, thuja, cypress, mountain pine, they give the area a unique charm. In addition, the combination of evergreens with stones has a special charm.

The Lawson cypress Minima Glauca 1 m high with very small bluish-green or dull blue scaly needles, the Cossack juniper Tamariscifolia, also up to 1 m high with open needles of a bluish shade, also look spectacular in groups. Due to its short stature and beautiful color of the needles, the Kobold Virginia juniper with needle-like needles, bluish above and green below, as well as the horizontal Vilo Toni juniper with small silvery-bluish needles and

• juniper Cossack Cupressifiolia with bluish-green needles. Ground cover forms are often found among junipers:
• juniper horizontal Hughes with silvery-blue needles and branches pressed to the ground,
• juniper horizontal Glauca with bluish steel needles.

For well-drained steep slopes in the shade, more drought-resistant and shade-tolerant crops will be required, for example: horizontal cotoneaster. Coastal plants and moisture-loving perennials can be planted at the mouth of the stream.

Sergey Tyunis, gardener-designer

Also read:

How to build an artificial stream in a summer cottage