How to make a natural waterfall at home

A violent gush of water over a perpendicular rocky precipice or simply natures way of treating beauty lovers, these descending cataracts inspire awe with their sheer majesty and beauty. Waterfalls, cascades, and rapids are found when an obstruction occurs in a rivers natural course. It could be a sheer perpendicular drop, or a slanting drop or maybe a step like descent.

Imagine having miniature versions of these picturesque natural forms in your own personal lawn. This article enumerates an easy way to create a natural waterfall at home. You can actually use pre-cast forms to build a pretty waterfall to add that extra dramatic effect to your lush lawn.

To begin with you must choose an area that when landscaped with a natural waterfall gives the best impact, especially at the eye level while sitting down. Basically the garden should have a little sloping area, i.e. the mound could be as high as 18 inches flanking a small pond or a flat garden area.

Clear the area around the mound, clean it up of all roots, rocks or any such waste. Use a landscaper’s spray paint to define the pond area. The idea is to mark a curving pattern to add that natural touch. Also demarcate the area where the waterfall will flow.

The next simple step is to create a retaining wall to separate the pond area from the base of the mound. The best way to do it is to use boulders and rocks of irregular shapes and sizes and create an aesthetically appealing wall that will also serve as a guide for the water flow, essentially it will form a cascade. Cement the rocks and boulders with loose earth and small stones, so that they stay in place. The boulder setting should be upright to achieve the real waterfall effect.

Smoothen the compact soil such that it is at level with the retaining wall. That will ensure the stability of ppre-cast forms once they are positioned and set.

Landscaping experts recommend using pre-cast forms as they are generally of the right height, affordable and durable. The best part is that you can choose from a variety of designs, colors and sizes to suit your taste. These pre-cast forms come with complete kits replete with plumbing, pump and tubing.

Most waterfalls are narrower at the top and wider at the bottom. Keeping that in mind you should preferably position the narrower structures over the wider pool structure. The smallest form that will also function as the source of the waterfall should adorn the crest. The water spillway points of the narrower forms should be placed such that they point outwards to the wider pool structure at the bottom.

The next step is to make the pond at the bottom of the pre-cast waterfall structure. Here again most landscaping artists suggest using a pre-cast structure. You can use a fibre glass pond cast. Just dig a suitable pit to accommodate the cast. Level the area with earth, small stones. Its good to secure the border with landscaping pins so that the mud does not get into the pond. Simply fill the pond with water.

Now fix the PVC tubing that came with the pre-cast form. Follow the instructions carefully so that the sytem allows constant circulation of water. Connect the PVC tube to the top form and fix it to the plumbing system.

Screen the pond shell with pretty plants, palms, ferns and rocks. You can even use cobblestones to cover the rim of the pond. Also cover the PVC tube with a green screen or plants. And your very own natural waterfall is ready. You can decorate the set up with attractively shaped boulders and paint the flagstones in different natural shades.

And your natural waterfall is ready.