Post: June 5, 2026

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Water Features in the Home Garden

Looking to add interest to your garden, attract birds and wildlife, or drown out city noise with soothing sounds of water? Elevate your garden to the next level with a water feature. 

A water feature supplied with fresh water soon becomes its own ecosystem — especially in the hot, dry summers in the PNW. They encourage birds, frogs, dragonflies, and other wildlife into your yard. Many animals, especially raccoons, will visit for water. I have seen Cooper’s hawks make daily visits to my garden in search of prey. Hummingbirds take showers. In the spring, I sleep to a chorus of Pacific tree frogs. Water is essential to life.

There are many options for adding water features to your landscape. It is just a matter of finding a good fit and managing expectations. Options range from small to very large:

Bird Baths and Fountains 

A bird bath or fountain can add ambiance and focus to a garden. A fountain provides soothing water sounds for relaxation. Alternatively, you can have a “pondless waterfall” where a reservoir contains water out of sight. With the flip of a switch, you have a raging waterfall. Bird baths and fountains are commercially available in endless shapes and sizes, and making one can be a fun DIY project. A bird bath can be as simple as a shallow bowl filled with pebbles and water you refill daily. Vary the water depth with stones to attract a greater variety of birds. Use an automatic sprinkler system to fill it. Keep the reservoir clean, as birds need fresh water for drinking and bathing.

 

 
Homemade bird bath using trash can lid for the mold. Photo © Kay Torrance

 

Aquatic Container Gardening 

Take a large flower pot, a barrel, a livestock tank, a bathtub, or another container, and turn it into a water garden. Simply patch the holes and fill the vessel with water. Add potted water lilies or a mix of aquatic plants. It will attract birds, frogs, and dragonflies. Like a bird bath, containers need the water changed frequently to minimize algae and mosquitoes. If the container is large and heavy, make sure it has a drain plug to simplify water changes. A small filter fountain combo helps keep the water clear.

 

Ceramic container with water lily and papyrus. Photo © Kay Torrance

 

Tour the garden and check out our demonstration pond. Master gardeners will be on hand to talk about different water features and pond best practices.

Join Us for These Upcoming Master Gardener Events:

Discovery Garden
30th Anniversary Open House
Saturday, June 27 ~ 10 am – 2 pm

Talk to the people who maintain the gardens and learn more about:

• Noxious weeds
• Plant Clinic and gardening help
• Fruit trees
• Maintaining ponds and water features
• Pollinators
• Native plants for our area

Read all the details about the 30th Anniversary Open House.

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Fire Smart Landscaping

June Know & Grow

Free. No registration required.

Presenter: Marlene Finley, Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener

Updated tips for keeping your home and yard more fire safe.

Tuesday, June 16, 2026 ~ 1 p.m.

Sakuma Auditorium
16650 SR 536, Mount Vernon, WA 98273

Rain Gardens

Develop a seasonally wet area of your yard with plants that thrive with wet feet. Master Gardener Carla Glassman provides the details in our blog article “Dealing with Wet Spots,” which talks about turning these areas into an oasis. The blog article contains an extensive plant list. You can also create a rain garden by capturing runoff from home’s gutters.

Ponds

Ponds can be any size, ranging from fifty to hundreds of gallons, and can feature waterfalls, fountains, or bubblers. The possibilities are endless. They can be built from prefabricated shapes or DIY custom designs dug from the ground and lined with fabric. They can be built into decks or patios and are usually stocked with plants and fish. Some gardeners prefer the simplicity of a “fishless” pond.

Creating a pond is fun but challenging. Artificial ponds can become complex, as they require plumbing and electricity for filtration, aeration, and algae control. You are creating a self-contained ecosystem, so you need to understand the chemistry you are creating. You will need to control the pH, oxygen levels, and temperature, and encourage photosynthesis. Proper planning is key, and failure can be frustrating. It requires working with nature and then continuing to tweak what you have learned. The benefits are incredibly rewarding for those who persevere. Ponds are never maintenance-free.

Maintenance Requirements – Don’t Fight Mother Nature! 

A bird bath is very simple to maintain. All you need to do is keep fresh water available daily. Fountains add a splash. Make sure to empty them at least weekly and scrub the surface with a brush to remove debris, bird droppings, and algae. This will reduce the risk of birds spreading disease and keep mosquitoes at bay.

Once you move beyond a bird bath, the maintenance requirements increase. Water features are not low-maintenance unless they are well thought out and properly designed. People who build them often give up during the first season, when the pond turns into a sea of green algae. For a pond to succeed, it is a careful balance of filtration, aeration, light, and temperature.

Filtration

Good filtration is the single most important element of pond maintenance! A good system will reduce maintenance, while an inadequate system will require cleaning messy filters several times a week. Water needs to be moving to allow biological processes to happen efficiently. Even the smallest pond needs a pump for circulation, aeration, and filtering out large debris. There are two methods of filtration, mechanical and biological. Though often discussed as alternatives, a pond needs both. 

Mechanical filters use a pump to force water through filter material, trapping solid particles. The filter medium needs to be periodically cleaned by the gardener. This process is essential to removing leaves and other debris that fall into the pond. These filters also keep the water moving and aerated, improving plant/fish health and water clarity. However, a mechanical filter will never remove all the debris from a pond, leaving some to settle to the bottom. The organic material trapped in the filter is also breaking down and, in a sense, polluting the water. This is where biological filtration comes in to transform the products of organic decomposition.

For biological filtration, you need a healthy supply of bacteria, which nature happily provides. These bacteria live on submerged pond surfaces, rocks, and even inside mechanical filters. The filter media in mechanical filters usually host a healthy community of natural bacteria, which is why you should never clean them with detergents. Just clean them with a water hose. Biological filtration needs help from a mechanical filter or pond vacuuming, as large debris (leaves) can take a long time to break down and ruin pond clarity. A bottom drain in larger ponds is essential for cleaning sediment out every few years. 

Nitrogen Cycle

Nature’s solution for removing nitrites and nitrates produced during organic decomposition is the nitrogen cycle. Bacteria feed on decomposing waste and convert it into fertilizer that pond plants can use. This is why plants are essential to a pond’s health. (See the insert on the nitrogen cycle below.) Nature was the first “chemist,” and this process depends on two types of bacteria working together. The aquatic cycle is similar to what happens in our soil, but there are some key differences. 

Aeration

A pond needs aeration, which can be supplied by a fountain, a rushing waterfall, or a dedicated pond bubbler/aerator. A waterfall or fountain filter will remove the need for a separate aerator. Submerged and surface plants also produce oxygen. Oxygen is needed by plants, fish, and the nitrogen cycle. Submerged and surface plants produce oxygen during the day, but at night they use it.  

Light, Temperature, and Algae Control

Plants need sunlight for photosynthesis. Too much light encourages algae, which is unappealing in ponds and can cause periodic pH swings that harm fish. Algae are simple plants lacking roots, stems, and leaves. A small amount of algae in ponds is normal. Algae blooms occur if there are too many nutrients in the pond. Fish can help with algae, but their waste can also encourage its growth, especially if the fish are overfed, which is common with most fish hobbyists. Surface plants steal sunlight from algae and keep the pond cooler, slowing its growth. Warm water holds less oxygen than cold water, and warm temperatures encourage algae growth, so partial sun is a good compromise for most water features. The single best method to control algae is to install a UV light to the pond’s filtration system.

Plants for the Pond

Surface and subsurface plants compete with algae for nutrients, making them great additions to a healthy pond. Aquatic plants can grow from the ground in an unlined pond, from submerged pots in a lined pond, or float on top of the water without the need for soil. (There are so many types that a separate article is needed to discuss them.) Hardy water lilies are a good choice, as their flowers and foliage enhance the pond’s beauty and shade the water while absorbing nutrients. Siberian iris (Iris sibirica) pairs nicely with lilies and grows well in partially submerged pots. Thalia (Thalia dealbata) has a tropical look but is very hardy. Many aquatic plants are tropical, like tropical water lilies, papyrus, taro, and water hyacinth. They should be treated as annuals in the pond unless you plan to remove and store them during the winter. 

Avoid reeds and rushes as they grow quickly and can take over. Make sure the plants you are considering aren’t on the state’s invasive species list. A pond may seem contained, but birds can carry seeds for miles. Duckweed is easy to establish and good at using surplus nutrients and shading water, but it can quickly get out of control and create a layer 2-3″ thick.

Keeping Fish

Koi are the classic pond fish and are prized for their color. They can live for decades and become several feet long. If you are just getting started, Shubunkins are a colorful, hardy goldfish variety that is great for a first fish. They are readily available at pet stores and do well in small ponds. Start with one to three small fish in the first year. As with plants, make sure that a fish is not on an invasive species list and is suitable for pond life. Fish require extremely clean water. They need a balanced pH. Ammonia, phosphates, nitrites, and nitrates can kill them. Before adding fish, make sure the pond has been established for at least a few months to ensure a healthy nitrogen cycle. You will need a water test kit to periodically check the water. Don’t overstock the pond with fish, and don’t overfeed them. Both will be disastrous. The fish will need to be protected from herons, raccoons, river otters, and other predators. It is best to get your pond up and running one year and add fish the second year.

Tips for Successful Water Features

Planning

• Develop a checklist for maintenance and make notes. The list will change seasonally.
• Schedule weekly routine maintenance and keep a log.

Location

• Ensure easy access to water and electricity for filtration and pumps.
• Select a spot with good sunlight if you want plants that flower, such as lilies.
• Be aware of adjacent trees that will drop leaves and branches into the pond, increasing maintenance.
• Recognize that runoff from erosion, chemicals/fertilizers, and animal waste runoff will adversely affect water quality for in-ground ponds. Adequate vegetation around the pond can help to filter the runoff before it enters the pond.

Filtration

• Ensure the system is sized appropriately for the water volume, plant, and fish load. It never hurts to oversize a system. If the filter needs cleaning more than once a week, it’s undersized.
• Choose filters that are easy to clean. Some have backwash systems like swimming pools. Some have scrapers to clean the filters without removing them. Some filters for small ponds are 3-in-1 units that combine a pump, filter, UV light, and fountain in one unit.
• Use a UV light to control algae You can get a fine-mesh filter to trap algae, but it requires frequent cleaning.
• Don’t overclean the filter. It is actually most efficient right before it clogs. That is an extreme to avoid but figure out exactly the timing between cleanings.
• Never clean the filter media with detergents, as they will kill the beneficial bacteria.

Draining

• Incorporate a bottom drain in all but the smallest ponds.
• Complete draining should only be needed every 2-5 years.

Mosquito Control

• Mosquitoes lay eggs only in still water, so if you have any circulation, they won’t be a problem.
• Fish eat mosquito larvae, so again, no problem if you have fish.
• For small water features without circulation that aren’t dumped and refilled every few days, you can use biological mosquito control, which are pellets containing bacteria that disrupt the larvae’s life cycle.

Algae Control

• Install UV lights plumbed into the filter system — hands down the best way to control algae.
• Remember to change the UV light bulb annually. (They may look like they are still working, but what you are seeing is visible light, not UV.)
• Consider other options that include barley straw, chemical herbicides, or dyes that reduce sunlight.

The Nitrogen Cycle

The nitrogen cycle is nature’s process for decomposition. The nitrogen cycle works in water similar to how it works in the ground. Use organic decomposition and fish waste as fertilizer for the pond’s aquatic plants while simultaneously keeping the water clean.

Aquatic Ecosystem
A Healthy Nitrogen Cycle Produces Clean Water

Nitrogen is the nutrient plants need most for growth. Understanding how the nitrogen cycle affects nitrogen availability helps gardeners grow healthy, productive plants while keeping nutrients where they can be used.

Terrestrial Ecosystem

Four sources of nitrogen are found in soil. Ammonium and nitrate can be used immediately by plants. Atmospheric nitrogen and nitrogen in organic material must be converted before it is useful to plants. Excessive nitrogen levels lead to runoff that can harm plants and pollute waterways. Nitrogen can also leach into groundwater. 

References and Resources

Aquatic:

Enjoying Ornamental Ponds – Louisiana State University Agricultural Center

Neighborhood and Urban Pond Management (NREM-9210) – Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service

Aquatic Plant Selection – Clemson Extension

Ornamental Garden Pools – Alabama Cooperative Extension System

Terrestrial:

The Nitrogen Cycle. University of California, Berkley, California

Cogger, C. (Rev 2020) Soil Health. Washington State University Extension, Pullman, WA

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kay Torrance has been a Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener since 2019. She has maintained water gardens of various sizes in different climates for over 30 years. She is the Garden Coordinator of Naturescape in the WSU Extension Skagit County Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden. She has a B.S. in Chemistry and enjoys combining science and gardening.

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Questions about home gardening or becoming a master gardener may be directed to Skagit County WSU Extension Office, 11768 Westar Lane, Suite A, Burlington, WA 98233; by phone: 360-428-4270; or via the Skagit County WSU Extension website.

Washington State University Extension helps people develop leadership skills and use research-based knowledge to improve economic status and quality of life. Cooperating agencies: Washington State University, US Department of Agriculture, and Skagit County. Extension programs and policies are available to all without discrimination. To request disability accommodations contact us at least ten days in advance.

Garden Open House and Ask a Master Gardener Day:

Eight acres, three gardens, infinite inspiration

Open House to Showcase Master Gardeners, Native Plant Society, and NW Fruit

May 1, 2025

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By Kari Ranten, Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener

Kari Ranten

Want to know about gardening – from roses to vegetables? Want to learn more about including native plants in your landscape? Ever wonder how to grow, graft, and prune fruit trees? Learn about all of this and more at the annual Garden Open House on Saturday, June 28, 2025, in Mount Vernon.

Eight acres of gardens showcase amazing trees and native plants at the event slated for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 16602 State Route 536 (Memorial Highway), just west of the Washington State University Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center.

The event, sponsored by the Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener Program, takes place at gardens maintained by volunteers representing the Master Gardener Program, NW Fruit, and the Salal Chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society. In addition, several partner organizations will present interactive displays and information on clean water, noxious weeds, maintaining healthy landscapes, and promoting pollinators, birds, and other wildlife.

This annual event offers home gardeners in Northwest Washington the opportunity to experience a wide range of gardening skills, view hundreds of plants and trees, and learn ways to respect the environment. Master gardeners and many partners enjoy this opportunity to share the gardens and educate our neighbors. And it’s a great, free summer event for the whole family.

Join Us for a Three Garden Open House

Saturday, June 28, 2025
10 am – 2 pm
Discovery Garden
16602 State Route 536 (Memorial Hwy.)
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Fun Activities for Kids  ~  Plant Sale
Water Conservation Experts  ~  Noxious Weed Information
30+ Garden Rooms  ~  Plant Clinic and Gardening Help
Native Plants  ~  Pollinators
Talk to Fruit Tree Experts

The open house is a great venue to talk about the mission of the Master Gardener Program and to provide evidence-based scientific information for the home gardener. It is also a wonderful event and very rewarding to meet and exchange ideas with local gardeners.

The open house will feature three gardens:

The Discovery Garden

The Salal Garden

The NW Fruit Garden

Discovery Garden:
This is truly a hidden gem in Skagit County that merits discovery! Nearly half of the guests at the 2024 open house said it was their very first visit – including those who live locally! June is a great time to experience the garden where visitors will find beautiful blooming colors, including many perennials and dozens of rose varieties, all selected to thrive in the Pacific Northwest.

This amazing 1.5-acre oasis is maintained by the volunteers of the Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener Program. The Discovery Garden features 30 garden “rooms” ranging from herbs and heathers to roses and vegetables. The garden paths are ADA-accessible paths and include the Enabling Garden to illustrate ways to adapt the joy of gardening for those with mobility issues. Master gardeners will be on site to answer questions, demonstrate best practices, and inspire home gardeners.

Salal Native Plant Garden:
Adjacent to the Discovery Garden, this half-acre oasis of native plants is maintained by volunteers of the Washington Native Plant Society’s Salal Chapter to demonstrate how native plants can be incorporated into the home landscape. A shaded trail leads visitors into a natural setting featuring dogwood, salal, cascara, vine maple, ferns, trillium, and more. Volunteers, representing north Snohomish, Skagit, and Island counties, will be on hand to guide garden tours and answer questions. For information, go to https://www.wnps.org/salal.
NW Fruit Garden:
Adjacent to the Discovery Garden, the NW Fruit Garden encompasses six acres of fruit trees, berry bushes, and other fruit-bearing plants, along with nut trees. Altogether, the garden features 606 plants – from peach and persimmon to apples and Asian pears. The garden features a growing collection of larger antique apples, many of which were grown during the 1960s and 70s. The mission of the NW Fruit Garden is “to advance fruit horticultural practices for the unique Western Washington maritime climate through advocacy, research, education, and demonstration for the benefit of the general public and the small farmer.” Volunteers will be on hand to answer questions, offer tours, and provide demonstrations.

A popular feature and photo op at the NW Fruit Garden is the welcome espalier – using grafted and supported fruit tree limbs to spell out the word WELCOME. The welcome and the entire tree fruit garden were designed in the 1990s by the late Kristan Johnson, https://nwfruit.org/fruit-garden-designer/ a landscape architect.

Booths and more features of the open house:

Get your “passport” and enjoy the open house:
Upon arrival at the open house, guests will receive a “passport” to track their visits to each of the activities offered at the event. Complete the passport and take home a prize!
Check out the Children’s Garden:
A wonderland of activities for children of all ages awaits visitors to the Children’s Garden with fun surprises and interactive features. During the open house, children can enjoy free rock painting and bubble blowing within the whimsical garden space.
Container gardening display:
Using pots and containers for gardening – from flowers to vegetables – is a popular method in the northwest. Containers can be useful options for gardeners with limited space or accessibility issues. The demonstration will feature containers for growing food as well as decorative elements, show how containers can allow hardy indoor plants to spend months outdoors, and provide opportunities for children to have their own mini gardens.

Nearly anything can provide a home to successfully grow plants, and volunteers will show examples to stimulate visitors’ creativity. The educational display will also feature information on soil types and amendments, as well as what contents to look for in commercial soil products.

Interested in Becoming a Master Gardener?

Application period is now open through August 15, 2025.

Stop by the WSU Extension booth to learn more about the new Washington Green School, the newly launched training platform designed to provide comprehensive research-based horticulture and environmental stewardship education. The Washington Green School offers two distinct tracks:

• Washington Gardener Certificate Track
  This option is ideal for individuals seeking to enhance their gardening skills without the commitment of volunteering. This self-paced, online-only course provides a certificate upon successful completion.
• Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Track
  This track is for those interested in becoming certified WSU Extension Master Gardener volunteers and includes the Green School online coursework, in-person, local volunteer training, and a commitment to volunteer service hours.

For more information, go to https://skagitmg.org/home/green-school/

To apply for the Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener Program, go to https://extension.wsu.edu/skagit/mg/apply/

 

Master Gardener Plant Clinic:
The plant clinic, located in the Pavilion structure at the center of the Discovery Garden, is a popular part of the annual open house and the Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardeners Program’s year-round outreach to assist home gardeners in diagnosing plant problems. The variety of issues routinely brought to the clinics include identification of poison hemlock; treatment of rust on red raspberries; tent caterpillars; powdery mildew on grapes; how to mitigate damage by deer; and questions about soil testing. Guests may bring a plant sample and photos to the plant clinic to help the master gardeners identify the problem and provide advice.

The certified master gardeners provide science-based information to home gardeners about sound and sustainable gardening practices, including integrated pest management, efficient watering technologies, recycling garden waste, and cultural methods for preventing and treating plant disease.

Ask a Master Gardener Blog:
Master gardener volunteers who write, edit, and take photos for the twice monthly “Ask a Master Gardener” blog will staff a booth where guests can sign up to receive blog posts, pick up copies of popular articles, and offer suggestions for future articles. The blog features a wide range of articles written by Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardeners on topics relevant to gardeners in the North Puget Sound area.
Plant Sale:
Master gardeners will offer a variety of perennial plants for sale at the open house, all propagated and nurtured over the past months. Ferns, figs, grapes, native trees and shrubs, epimedium, Douglas fir, and more will be available for sale.
Skagit County Noxious Weed Program:
Skagit County’s Noxious Weeds program surveys, treats, and supports landowners in treating invasive plants around the county. The program has a particular focus on knotweed, which often infests river and streambanks, and spartina, an invasive grass that grows in salt marshes.

County program staff will be on hand to show photos of and information on many of Skagit County’s most notorious and harmful noxious weeds. Staff will answer questions about what weeds may have infested visitors’ properties, offer suggestions for treating them, and provide informational materials to take home.

Skagit County Clean Water Program:
Skagit County’s Clean Water Program uses a variety of efforts to keep pollution out of local waters. The program team works to reduce stormwater pollution and monitors local waterways to spot bacterial pollution from dogs, failing septic systems, and farms. Their projects reduce dirty runoff into streams and work with the public to help protect water.

At the Garden Open House, Skagit County Clean Water staff will focus on how beautiful gardening and landscaping can go hand in hand with protecting our water. The booth will include a display and information on permeable pavement (paved surfaces that still allow rainwater to soak into the ground underneath). Educational materials will address how to garden without adding harmful chemicals and excess nutrients to local waters, as well as how planting native plants can create a habitat, protect water, and look amazing in the garden.

Skagit Conservation District
The Skagit Conservation District’s mission is to bring voluntary, incentive-based natural resource solutions to the citizens of Skagit County and beyond by providing technical, financial, and educational resources.
​The district works with landowners and farm operators to plan and implement conservation practices on private land. The district is a non-regulatory agency, which means that all practices implemented by landowners and farm operators who participate in its programs (cooperators) are voluntary.

The district’s booth will feature information on creating and maintaining healthy landscapes, rainscaping, and planting for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife.

For home gardeners who can’t make it to the open house, master gardeners have work sessions at the Discovery Garden from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays through September, and visitors are welcome to stop by, ask questions, and learn some tips from the experts.

All three gardens are open year-round and are free to the public seven days a week from dawn to dusk. Visitors are invited to stop by throughout the year to view the seasonal changes, colors, and blooms. Signage in each garden identifies the plants, making for interesting and educational self-guided tours.

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES:

Kenny, E. (2007) Bob Norton, the king of apples, brings his passion for fruit to Vashon.

NW Fruit. (2025)

Skagit Conservation District. (2025)

Skagit County Clean Water Program. (2025)

Skagit County Master Gardener Foundation. (2025).

Skagit County Noxious Weed Program. (2025) 

Washington Native Plant Society Salal Chapter. (2025)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kari Ranten is a retired journalist and health care communicator who became a certified Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardener in 2024. 

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Questions about home gardening or becoming a master gardener may be directed to Skagit County WSU Extension Office, 11768 Westar Lane, Suite A, Burlington, WA 98233; by phone: 360-428-4270; or via the website: www.skagit.wsu.edu/mg

Washington State University Extension helps people develop leadership skills and use research-based knowledge to improve economic status and quality of life. Cooperating agencies: Washington State University, US Department of Agriculture, and Skagit County. Extension programs and policies are available to all without discrimination. To request disability accommodations contact us at least ten days in advance.