A pond is a great water feature to add to your backyard. It can provide fresh air, beautiful scenery, and a calming natural sound. Having a backyard pond, whether man-made or natural, is the dream of every homeowner. However, it can be expensive work and difficult to maintain, although it can give you a relaxing abode just in your yard.
Ponds offer many benefits, from conserving water by promoting a self-sustaining cycle of hydration that keeps the plants alive, to supporting local wildlife, reducing harmful chemicals, or creating a calm environment that’s great for kids and adults.
In this article, we will tackle the benefits of a backyard pond and will find out whether it’s worth it.
5 Benefits of Having a Backyard Pond
If you are looking for a property with a backyard pond or are considering building your own, it can be a tough thing to decide. Building a pond can be a lot of work and takes time depending on the design and size. But, after all the planning and building, you can be rewarded by its wonderful scenery and calm environment.
Aside from the beautiful scenery, having a backyard pond offers other benefits that can save you money and support nature. Here are five benefits of having a backyard pond.
- Conserving Water
One of the most common benefits of having a backyard pond is being able to conserve water, whether it is a man-made or natural pond. As you may already know, plants need a lot of water.
Having a pond in your backyard means saving on the water you pour for plants and grass by square footage. A pond can be a great basin for rainwater and can allow you to direct water runoff from your roofs to your backyard pond. Plus, it helps you survive drought and summer months when water is limited.
It also promotes a self-sustaining cycle of hydration that preserves the plants around your pond without watering them. You can use pond water to sprinkle it on other plants.
- Supports Local Wildlife
Having a backyard pond helps attract local wildlife if that’s something you like. As their natural habitat is being taken over by urbanization, a pond is one way to support them. Sharing a place in your residence provides a sanctuary for breeding wildlife like frogs, birds, and dragonflies. Ponds shelter not only fish but also other animals that can benefit your backyard.
You can add other features to your backyard that can be a perfect shelter for frogs, birds, and insects. Having a little biodiversity at home is a perfect way to help animals and plants populate and grow while avoiding the dangers of urbanization.
- Reduce Harmful Chemicals and Conserve Resources
You might soon notice that a backyard pond avoids the use of harmful chemicals. Indeed, it makes you aware that using chemicals can endanger wildlife and plants around it. Another benefit that comes with reducing chemicals is the fact that you get to conserve resources. For instance:
- Pond reduces the total lawn space, meaning you’ll have less to no area to fertilize using non-organic fertilizers.
- Fewer fertilizers and weed killers equal less pollution getting into groundwater. Pollution can find its way into your pond and kill pond critters.
- Less grass in your backyard means less mowing. Using gasoline and oil can harm Mother Nature.
Fertilizers and pesticides are harmful, especially when the runoff water ends in the pond. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency estimated that 35% of lawn fertilizers are being applied to grass plants, and the rest ends up in the air and mixes with groundwater.
According to the same agency, 54 million Americans mow their lawns weekly. It is equivalent to using about 800 million gallons of gas annually, thus causing air pollutants.
Gas-powered mowers produce as much air pollution as 43 cars, each traveling 12,000 miles. Even your gas-powered garden equipment can emit high levels of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds that produce up to 5% of the country’s air pollution. Aside from that, over 17 million gallons of gas are being spilled yearly while fueling garden equipment and lawnmowers.
A pond saves you from spending money on non-organic fertilizers and toxic chemicals. The silt gathered by the pond is a natural fertilizer that can feed your landscape. This silt is filled with nutrients from excess fish food, decaying leaves, and fish droppings.
- Great for Kids and Adults
Who said ponds are only for adults who want to divert the stress in their life? Ponds are great for children! One such example is that youngsters tend to find tadpoles in stagnant water and put them in a jar, watching them transform and grow.
However old you are, it is a wonderful thing to connect with nature, and having a backyard pond provides some great benefits that can be passed on to our children, such as curiosity, care, and responsibility. Getting your kids involved and aware of nature as early as possible encourages and draws them interested in it until they become adults.
You can also teach your kids the basic and light things regarding how to maintain a pond and how an ecosystem works. Let them explore and curiously try things that only nature can teach them. By doing so, you are also teaching your kids about responsibility, as well as plants, animals, and nature. If children start caring about the environment in their early life, it can boost their interest in building a better future.
- Create a Calm Environment
The most popular reason why families opt for a backyard pond is because of the beauty and tranquility it offers. Seating in your patio overlooking your backyard pond as a centerpiece is a beautiful sight to get hypnotized on while listening to nature’s sounds.
Bringing nature into your backyard is a great opportunity to spend with your family. You can do many things from camping to having a barbecue party, having a snack, or sharing anecdotes. There’s no limit to building your pond. You can design it based on your preferences.
Is It Worth Installing a Pond In Your Backyard?
You are probably wondering if your backyard pond will improve the value of your home. If you’re selling your property, you’ll probably think that buyers would be enticed to the setup of your backyard, especially if it has a water feature like a pond.
But a backyard pond doesn’t have the same functions as a swimming pool. In some ways, it can be difficult and expensive to maintain. Ponds require extensive care and attention for fishes and wildlife to survive in them. It can be a pleasing water feature and a work of art but art has a high value, from building to maintaining it.
According to a property appraiser, a backyard pond doesn’t guarantee adding value to your home if you plan on selling it in the future. If you live in a high-value subdivision or neighborhood, adding a backyard pond may improve the value of your home since it is an original feature that sets you apart from the competition.
Meanwhile, if you lived in a lower-value neighborhood, a backyard pond only represents extra work to buyers. With that, you have to consider the location and decide how your neighborhood fits this account.
Now that you know how having a backyard pond might affect the value of your home, let’s discuss why you do or do not need a pond.
Pros of Having a Backyard Pond
- Visually appealing and adds attractiveness to your backyard’s landscape.
- Creates a welcoming space for your guests and outdoor creatures.
- Serves as an environmental conservation area.
- Can support wildlife by having fishes, plants, insects, and other design elements.
- Add a relaxing atmosphere.
Cons of Having a Backyard Pond
- Expensive to build, a backyard pond can range from $1,500 to $10,000 depending on its design and size.
- Might not be permitted based on local building policies, which you should check before constructing it.
- Expensive and difficult to maintain.
- Requires attention and dedicated time.
- Requires constant cleanup and filtration.
- Can attract pests, unwanted bugs, and wild animals.
These are the perks and downsides of having a backyard pond. However, not every home can welcome this perfect water feature. Some challenges would come along with your pond.
Having a backyard pond means you take the responsibility of maintaining it. If you can afford to hire someone who can do all the maintenance, installation, and cleaning of your pond, it is a great option if you just want to chill and enjoy it.
With all these considerations, you’ll need to decide for yourself if having a backyard pond is worth it and if it can, in the future, increase the value of your residence. Will it add value to your home and lifestyle? Carefully think beyond the appearance of your backyard pond. Although it will surely be relaxing, calming, and a wonderful sight to see, are you committed to taking care of it?
Besides, do you have the money and time to maintain it? These questions are determining in determining whether to build your backyard pond or choose a home with a pond in it. A pond is a long-term and smart investment, so think about the pros and cons thoroughly before getting one.
Conclusion
A backyard pond is the perfect water feature and centerpiece for your landscape. Whatever its size, it sure does come with many benefits that are helpful to you.
Now that we have given you the top five benefits and downsides of having a backyard pond, you are ready to build your own and enjoy the therapeutic rewards it offers if you want to get your own!
