How to Turn a Slope into a Gorgeous Water Feature

Landscaping a sloped yard can be challenging, as the uneven surface can add some complications to projects like deck and patio builds. But there’s one kind of landscaping project that slopes lend themselves to well: water features!

Having a sloped yard makes it easy to create a whole series of water features, including waterfalls and streams and ponds. That also means plenty of opportunities for beautiful planting, unique rock work, and intimate seating areas to enjoy the sound of running water.

Adding a water feature to your backyard has many benefits beyond the obvious aesthetic value. Listening to running water can help us feel more relaxed, increase blood flow to the brain and heart, and ease anxious feelings. Water features can also inspire us, and they’re great for capturing the imaginations of children!

Having ponds, streams, or waterfalls in your yard is also good for the environment. It provides an easily accessible water source for local wildlife, including those all-important pollinators like birds, bees, and butterflies. Running water can also mask external background noise, like traffic sounds or chatter from neighboring properties.

How to Turn Your Yard Into a Water Garden

Since water features can be complex to build, we recommend choosing professional landscapers to help you achieve your desired look. There are many different aspects to consider, from the pump systems to materials to planting to the water system’s actual design. Furthermore, the build should consider factors like submerged power lines, structural integrity, and the flow of rainwater. Professional landscapers approach these projects with years of experience that can ensure your water feature looks beautiful and functions smoothly for years to come.

Our landscape design team has designed and built an astounding number of water features, all around Iowa. We’ve been working closely with Iowa homeowners for 37 years now, and we know all the tricks in the book. Our team of expert designers can work with your yard’s slope to create a water feature that looks like a natural part of the landscape or something completely unique and different. From rustic, to ultra-modern minimalist, to traditional Victorian, we can design and build your dream water feature.

Having your water feature designed and installed by an expert landscaping team will save your time, money, and sanity. There are many ways a water feature project can quickly go wrong for DIY-ers. While our team is always glad to assist homeowners whose home installation have gone sideways, these situations inevitably end up costing the homeowner far more time and money than anticipated.

Furthermore, hiring professionals also means you don’t have to find sources for the right materials, understand water engineering, or do the hard digging and heavy lifting. A professional design team will also ensure that your water feature is designed for kids or grandkids to safely play around or interact with.

We also offer water feature maintenance and spring open and fall shut down service, so you can enjoy your water feature without the work!

How Can You Help Your Landscape Designers

When you first chat with our landscape designers, it can help to have photos of your yard handy to show us if we are not meeting at your house. Ideally, we prefer to see photos from each corner of the yard to see as much of the current landscape as possible.

It’s also helpful to bring along a little inspiration. A picture of your home from the street will help designers get an idea for your property’s style. It’s also helpful to have a few inspirational photos of water features you love. Pinterest is a great way to set up an “inspiration board” for pictures of water features you like. Looking through it with your designer can help them start to get an idea of the style and features to include in your water feature design.

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If you’ve always wanted a water feature or are struggling with how to landscape a sloped yard, give our landscape designers a call. We can help you build the backyard oasis of your dreams, so you can enjoy it for many years to come.