Essentail Water Gardening Tools And Supplies

Need Help Building A Small Patio Water Garden Pond?

TL:DR - The Waterlily Bear provides step-by-step instructions for creating your own mini water garden paradise. It’s easy and affordable to quickly set-up and plant a tub watergarden for months of low-maintenance enjoyment of flowers, foliage and pond critters.

Here’s the best tips to create a small container water garden for a season of blooms. I recommend great containers and pond plants to enjoy small-space growing of water lilies, lotus, bog or other aquatic plants. Add a few goldfish and snails and you’ll have built a complete watergarden ecosystem that flowers beautifully with a minimum of maintenance.

Which Containers Make Good Water Garden Ponds?

Any sealed, leak-proof container might make a good mini-pond. Personally I'm fond of using medium and large, decorative resin flower pots that hold from 8 to 15 gallons of water & are ideally 18" (1.5') to 36" (3') wide. Small preformed PVC tubs and ponds are available at home building centers like Lowes and Home Depot. Rubberized animal feeding tubs are a good option from farming suppliers like Fleet-Farm.

Large Galvanized Laundry Tubs^#Ad
Pre-Formed Small Garden Ponds
Large Antique Ceramic Crocks
Plastic Resin Patio Planters
Storage Totes & Bins
Decorative Glazed Ceramic Pottery
Animal Water Troughs & Feed Tubs^#Ad

Pumps, Fountains & Underwater Lights

Add extra interest and dimension to your small-space water garden with night-time low-voltage pond lighting solutions or a small submersible pump to add musical water notes and shimmering motion to your pond vibe.

Bamboo Zen Garden Fountain Kits^#Ad
AC Powered Submersible Pumps^#Ad
Solar Powered Mini Fountain Pumps^#Ad
Low-Voltage Submersible Pond Lights^#Ad
Solar Powered Underwater LED Pond Lights

What Essential Water Gardening Tools Are Handy To Have?

A quick trip to a Dollar Store or ordering online can cheaply help you assemble most of what water gardeners need for a basic tool set for water gardening chores.

Sharp Hand Scissors
Handheld Pruner
Bottle Brush Set^#Ad
Scouring Pad Sponges
Aquarium Fish Net^#Ad
Kitchen Strainer
Lead Plant Weights
Pond Thermometer^#Ad

Lily Pond Heater Recommendations

If an AC outlet is reasonably close nearby, consider an affordable submersible aquarium heater to extend your lilypond's growing season like I do. Container water garden ponds are small enough to keep the water temps over 74 degrees to prevent complete dormancy in the fall - or to get an early start on the growing season in the spring. A thermostatically controlled 100 to 200 watt submersible aquarium heater^#Ad may be all you need for a 10-30 gallon tub garden pond. This can be a great option in cooler, northern climates to assure vigorous growth - epecially for tropical waterlily varieties you want to try!