Floating flower beds: how to make a miniature garden on the water

Recommendation points

• Plants for various types of floating beds
• Methods for arranging a floating mini-garden
• How to cut a stable foam structure
• Using aquaparks (noodles)
• Creation of a mini-island from polyurethane foam and non-woven filters
• Mini rafts made of wooden planks and plastic bottles
• Methods for fixing floating flower beds

The floating island, covered with bright flowers, will help to revive and decorate any, even the smallest, body of water on a site decorated in any style of landscape design. This article will discuss practical ways to arrange floating flower beds with your own hands..

Floating flower beds, introduced in 1999 in England at a landscape design exhibition, quickly gained popularity, although the idea itself is not new: the Aztecs created floating islands used for agricultural planting.

For the construction of these rafts, chinampas, branches of trees and reeds were used, on which fertile soil was covered. The same technology is used for the construction of modern floating beds and flower beds, however, today the material for their construction is presented in a larger assortment..

The buoyancy and stability indicators of these rather large structures are still impressive. In addition, the island drifting on the water surface, covered with greenery and flowers, performs not only a decorative function – it can become a kind of filter for a small reservoir, as well as a place for rest and feeding amphibians and fish.

Plants for various types of floating beds

It is quite natural that plants that love high humidity and frequent watering, as well as those that grow in their natural environment on the banks of reservoirs, will feel most comfortable in such flower beds..

These are various daylilies, irises, marsh calamus, loosestrife, cyperus, calla lilies, astilbe, hosts, geychera. Most ornamental grasses and herbal mixtures thrive on a floating lawn. Some cereals are also not averse to “swimming”: sedge, reeds and bluegrass. Ground cover plants, such as sedum, as well as creeping inhabitants of swamps – cranberries or cloudberries, will allow you to hide the edges of the flower bed, giving it a natural look.

If you use pots or containers isolated from water, then almost any plant can be planted.

Methods for arranging a floating mini-garden

There are a lot of options for arranging floating beds; stores offer ready-made forms of various configurations and sizes. But, you must admit, it is much more interesting to make this decoration for a reservoir with your own hands.

How to cut a stable foam structure

The most successful material for the device of a floating mini-garden for a small reservoir is foam. Water does not penetrate inside its cells, and therefore it does not sink in water, but seeps between the cells, exactly in the amount that is necessary to ensure soil moisture.

The height of the base is calculated depending on the immersion depth, which, in turn, is selected for the plants. For moisture-loving, it can be 10-12 cm, for land no more than 6-7 cm.

For the device of such a flower bed you will need:

1. Polyfoam brand PSB-S-25F (this facade foam is best suited for cutting curly elements, and also has a maximum sheet thickness of 200 mm).
2. Marker.
3. Sharp knife or hacksaw for metal.
4. Needle with line.
5. Coconut mat.
6. Flower soil.

Operating procedure:

1. Mark the contours of the structure with a marker on a sheet of foam (the simplest form of a flower bed is a circle with a diameter of about 500 mm).
2. Cut out the foam base along the markings. It will be easier to do this if you work with a heated tool..
3. Distribute the coconut canvas on the base, carefully cutting it along the contour.
4. Secure edges with frequent line stitches.
5. Rubbing motions liberally soak the canvas with flower soil moistened with water.

The flower bed is ready and you can start planting plants. This must be done taking into account symmetry so that unevenly growing plants do not overturn it.

In this way, sufficiently large and tall structures can be created, and polyurethane foam is used to glue foam sheets.

Styrofoam can also be used as a base for floating flower beds used in swimming pools. For this, a “bump” is cut out of the sheets glued together, in which niches are made for plastic flower pots. The depth of these niches should be equal to the height of the pot plus 2-3 cm for ventilation and the outflow of excess liquid.

Using aquaparks (noodles)

Noodles are poles for aerobics on the water and learning to swim, which can also be used to create a drifting mini-flower bed. This option is suitable for plants that prefer moist soil..

For work you will need:

1. Plastic flower pot (if there are holes in the bottom of the pot, they must be sealed with sealant).
2. Aquapalka.
3. Wire for attaching the pot to the noodle.
4. Awl.
5. Coconut containers.

Instructions for making a floating flower bed from noodle:

1. Insert a coconut container into the pot and cover the entire surface with it (to make this easier, the coconut canvas needs to be wetted).
2. Make several holes with a hot awl along the edge of the pot..
3. Cut off from the aquapalka part equal to the diameter of the upper edge.
4. Wire the noodle through the holes made.
5. Plant the plants evenly, stretching the fibers of the container with your hands. You can add some moss to strengthen the plant roots..

The flowerbed is ready and you can send it sailing.

Creation of a mini-island from polyurethane foam and non-woven filters

This option of a floating flower bed, or rather a bump, is best suited for small ponds and other mini-ponds..

For work you will need:

1. Filter nonwoven fabric.
2. Thick cardboard for template.
3. Polyurethane foam.
4. Thick curve needle and line.
5. Sharp knife for linoleum.
6. Flower soil.

Work order:

1. Cut a template of the desired size and shape from cardboard.
2. Cut several identical blanks with scissors using a template from the fabric of the material.
3. Using a needle and fishing line, sew all the blanks together. In this case, it is better to sew not over the edge, but stepping back from it 2-3 cm. This will allow aligning the finished structure.
4. Cut a recess with a knife in the central part of the structure, leaving bumpers at the edges.
5. Make several evenly spaced puncture holes along the perimeter of the structure.
6. Fill them with polyurethane foam. This will ensure the buoyancy of the structure..
7. Leave until the foam dries completely.
8. Rub as much soil as possible into the pores of the nonwoven filter.
9. Plant the plants carefully, strengthen the roots with soil, peat and moss.

The flower bed is ready to swim.

Mini rafts made of wooden planks and plastic bottles

A very interesting solution can be a real raft, on which you can place containers with flowers, plant a shrub or a small tree.

Consider how you can make a meter-by-meter raft flower bed using plastic bottles.

To work, you should stock up on:

1. Board (can be used used, not edged).
2. Plastic bottles. Their number depends on the weight that the raft must hold. For each kilogram of weight, one 1.5 liter bottle is required.
3. A coil of plastic rope.
4. Sealant.
5. Nails.

The procedure for making a raft:

1. The frame is made of planks – a square frame with cross bars for rigidity.
2. Plank flooring is stuffed onto the lintels.
3. Bars are arranged along the edges of the raft.
4. Bottle caps are lubricated with sealant and tightly closed.
5. Each bottle is screwed tightly to the bottom boards with a rope.

Important! Spread the bottles as evenly as possible along the bottom..

6. To make the bottles “fit” tightly, you can fill the gaps between them with polyurethane foam. This will also provide additional buoyancy to the structure..

The raft is ready. It can serve as a pallet for containers with flowers, but if it is covered with geotextiles and the sides are made higher, then you can fill in soil and distribute plants around the entire perimeter of the raft..

Methods for fixing floating flower beds

Floating flower beds can freely drift on the water – this is a very beautiful and unusual way to decorate a pond. But for convenience, floating flower beds are made static – they are fixed in a certain place. There are two ways to do this.

Bottom fixation

The mount should be located strictly in the center of the bottom of the structure. A cable with an anchor is connected to it, which can be equal to the depth of the pond and ensure the complete static nature of the floating flower garden, or it can be longer – in this case, the flower bed will drift in a certain place.

Anchorage to the shore

The mount is arranged on the side so that even a strong wind could not overturn the structure.

There are many ways to create floating flower beds, it all depends on your imagination. At the same time, it is important not only to create a stable and balanced structure, but also to think over how to arrange it for the general style of your site.