Making a water garden is easy and fun. There are a lot of options, but a cheap and easy way to get your feet wet (ha ha get it?) is to use a half wine barrel. Half wine barrels are available at home stores, and can also be had at most good gardening places. Prior to writing this article, I checked at my local home store and found that a half barrel can be bought for $25 US.

While you're at the home or garden store, you'll need to get a liner for the half barrel. Unfortunately, the half-barrels you get at the store are not water-tight. Some stores will have plastic liners that are the exact size and shape of the half barrel, so ask someone at the store if they have those. If they don't you'll need to get a liner. If you care about the longevity of your water garden, you'll want to get a good quality liner. You should get 45 mil EDPM liner. This liner resists punctures, does well in sunlight, and is flexible. The standard size barrel I got was 19" high and 28" wide at the top. If you have the same, then you'll need a liner that's at least 7 x 7 foot. This will leave you a lot of overlap.

Once you have your liner and your half barrel, find a good place in your yard for the water garden. It's a good idea to put your water garden in a place where it's going to get lots of sun. Most water plants need a lot of sun, especially lotus and lilies. There are a couple of reasons why you might want electricity handy for your water garden. If you plan to add fish, a light, or a fountain, you'll want to pick a spot where there is an outdoor electrical outlet nearby. You'll need to either find a flat spot, or move soil around until your spot is flat. If you end up moving soil to flatten a spot, make sure you compact the soil before you put your barrel there, or the garden will tilt as the soil moves. Whatever you choose to do, remember that once you fill your garden with water, you won't be able to move it without draining it first.

After you've chosen your water garden spot, place your barrel, and then put the liner in the barrel. If you got a barrel with a premade liner, then add the liner. If you got EDPM liner, you'll want to put the liner in the barrel carefully such that the liner overlaps all the edges by a couple of inches. Since you're putting something flat into a round object, the liner will crease. Fold the creases carefully so that they will sit as flat as possible against the sides of the barrel. It's best to do this with the barrel already full of water. The EDPM stretches, and will settle some, so it's good idea to leave it for a couple of minutes after filling. Once you have the creases arranged how you like, get a staple gun, and staple the liner to the barrel. There are probably a lot of ways to do this, but I stapled the liner on the outside of the barrel. Remember that if you staple the liner on the inside of the barrel, the staple holes will leak.

Mosquitos - One thing to keep in mind is that you are building the perfect habitat for mosquitos, and will need to take steps to prevent them from using your water garden to breed. Most garden and home stores will carry mosquito "dunks" that you can put in your garden. These won't hurt your plants or pets, or even fish and will kill mosquitos. Another thing you can do is put "mosquito fish" in your garden. These are small cold-water fish that will eat mosquitos and their larva. Last, you can also put some feeder goldfish in your barrel. If you add goldfish, though, you should add a filter. See the section on goldfish, below.

Now your water garden is ready for some plants!

Now your water garden is ready for some plants! Here are some popular water plants:

Lotus: Has large round leaves that rise above the water, and are famous for their beautiful flowers. Lotus grow best with lots of light and need higher temperature water to survive, so if you live in a cooler climate, a lotus might not grow as well. Lotus can grow really huge. For a half barrel, you will want to find a miniature variety. There are a number of these available.

Water Hyacinth: These floating plants have roundish leaves that are held above the water. The leaves grow from round bulbs which sit in the water. Hyacinths have roots that hang down into the water. Water Hyacinth are practically a weed, and as such aren't available for sale in some states. In favorable climates, they can double their numbers in two weeks. They do better in higher temperatures. Have beautful purple flowers. They grow in about any size container.

Water Hawthorne: These plants have oblong oval leaves that sit on the water surface, and beautiful white flowers. Water Hawthorne like cooler climes. In hot areas, they will bloom in spring, go dormant in summer, and then bloom again in the fall. Many people who purchase water hawthorne throw them out in the summer because they think the plant must have died. Water hawthorne grow well in smaller containers and also seed readily.

Water Lilies: These plants have round leaves which sit on the water surface, and have a multitude of different colored flowers available. There are two different kinds of water lily, hardy and tropical. The hardy lilies can overwinter in most places in North America. Tropicals must be brought inside during the winter in all but the warmest of climates. Hardy lilies grow well in a half barrel.

There are more! I could keep going, but maybe I will add them later. A quick note: Although your local garden store will most likely have some water plants, there is an enormous variety available online. In particular, there is a mind-boggling number of water lily and lotus varieties. Do a web search or check on ebay for water plants.

A half barrel isn't very big, but with the addition of a filter, you could probably put a few feeder goldfish in one. Feeder goldfish are available at most fish stores.

Before you decide to get fish, remeber that if you live in a cold climate, you'll need to bring your fish indoors for the winter. Something as small as a half barrel is going to freeze solid during winter in most places in the United States. Contrary to popular myth, goldfish will not survive being frozen. ;)

One thing to note about picking out fish for a pond is: black fish tend to blend in and disappear. I got a black moor for my pond without thinking about this, and I never seem to see him unless it's feeding time! :0

When picking out fish, make sure you get ones that are healthy and happy. It is usually easy to tell when fish are sick. I'm including this information because almost all general pet stores don't take good care of their fish and will sell you sick fish. You should probably go to a fish store. I recommend going to your local mom-and-pop fish store. Here are some warning signs to watch out for. Avoid buying any fish who:

• Hang out the the bottom of the tank or in a corner, and look depressed.
• Look grey and washed out or dull.
• Have tiny white spots on them.
• Have fuzzy white stuff growing on their fins.
• Bob around at the surface of the water (unless it's feeding time.)
  
• Swim upside-down or appear to have trouble staying right-side-up.
  
• Have stuff growing out of their gills.
• Rub their sides on objects in the tank or on the bottom of the tank (this is called "flashing".)
  
• Have red streaks in their fins (although red veins are normal.)
• Be picked on by other fish in the tank.
  
• Generally look sick or be sluggish.

To pick out a healthy fish, look for ones which are active, are shiny and colorful, and seem to be interacting with the other fish in the tank. I usually pick out one I like and then watch it for a while to make sure it isn't doing anything sick fish do, and also to make sure it doesn't pick on other fish in the tank.

A good filter for a barrel water garden doesn't have to be expensive. I use a cheap sponge filter, which is powered by an air pump. The one consideration with an air pump is that you will have to plug it in somewhere, and also that you will have to protect it from rain and water. To cover this subject well enough, I would need to make a whole other hub, but a good place to get more information would be you local fish store.

Finally, read up on the care of fish. Don't feed them any more than they'll eat in five minutes, and remember that pond fish will also get to eat plenty of bugs that will visit your water garden, so you won't need to feed them as much as you would indoor fish. Change out 10% of the water once a week and clean the filter at the same time. With my setup, I use a syphon to drain the water into a bucket and then squeeze out my sponge filter in the water that I put in the bucket. EZ.

With a half-barrel, you can put in a tiny fountain or even lighting. Get creative!