Patio Koi Pond It all began last year when I mentioned to my husband that I would like to add a small container of water plants, a few guppies (mosquito control) and a tiny bamboo water element to our small Townhome patio. Well, out came the shovels and the digging began. We knew we wanted to make it as large as we could for our small back area of our Townhome complex in a suburb of Chicago. We realized that even though the area is only approx 10' x 20' we could make it attractive. After living in Hawaii for 13 years, we missed the Koi, water lilies, water hyacinth, hibiscus, bamboo, sea shells and of course waterfalls. We were actually able to incorporate all of our favorite things into this small area. We currently have one 6" and nine small Japanese Koi, a Red Fantail Goldfish, a Shubunkin and a few feeder Goldfish. There are two water lilies, water hyacinth, and of course, oxygenating plants in the pond. The pond is surrounded by flagstone, rocks, pea gravel and river rock. Some ground cover was planted last year, however, most of the plant life was planted this spring. It is growing by leaps and bounds – nothing better than pond water to water your plants – great organic fertilizer! We have added solar lights, which is just the perfect amount of lighting, along with a Japanese lantern and 2 tiki torches. To muffle the neighbors’ very noisy air-conditioner situated only a few feet from the pond, we purchased 2 bamboo plants from Seattle and planted them in front of a piece of wooden lattice. Vines were planted to eventually hide the brick building and a rhododendron will eventually be the focal point behind the pond and camouflage the windows. The varieties of grasses, ground cover and perennials have made for a very peaceful setting – but there’s nothing more peaceful than listening to a waterfall and watching the very playful Koi. We look forward to summer all winter long! Thank you for all your great tips! Couldn’t have done it all without you. Gary & Linda Provance Orland Park, Illinois =========================================== Want to see your pond featured here?  Send us one or two of your best pond pictures and we'll add them to the gallery.  pondpics@macarthurwatergardens.com =========================================== Back to Galleria Index - Click Here