The Many ‘Cool’ Benefits of a Water Feature in Your Garden
We may not have the sunniest climate on the planet, but water features have so many calming benefits, they’re well worth considering as a feature for your garden.
Let’s dip our toe in on why your water feature is far more than something beautiful to look at…
Keeping You Cool
We may not have a huge amount of hot weather during the year, but we are seeing longer hot spells than we used to and it can definitely catch us out. Our hotter days can feel like quite a severe contrast to the more temperate weather we’re used to, so having a water feature to sit near to during our heat spells can feel like absolute bliss.
Not only does it offer the tactile option of playing with the cool water itself, it actually cools the air around it, particularly if it’s running water. If you want the science behind it, running water is a fantastic heat conductor, whether it’s to cool or to heat. The moving water interacts with the air around it and cools it to the temperature of the water, so when you think that the air around moving water feels cooler, it’s because it really is!
Keeping You Calm
If you want an instant spa-like feel to your garden, you can’t get much better than hearing and watching running water. Natural sounds like this are incredibly relaxing – imagine the trickling of water after a hectic day where you can just get lost in the moment. Just ‘chilling’ for a few moments like this could be a fantastic reset after a day at work before you start your evening.
Water often sends us into a thoughtful space too, it’s a great place for mental reflection as well as the obvious aesthetic one. If you have a place which you know helps you to calm down, it could become your great ‘thinking spot’ where you and the water put your inner world to rights.
You can even build a few habits around it – our lives are so full now, that it’s important that we make time for ourselves. Putting technology down for just a few minutes every day, maybe even meditating or journaling or simply having your cuppa by the water, can add a few mindful moments to your day that over the course of the weeks can start to make a real difference to our sense of wellbeing.
Keeping You Quiet
An often-overlooked advantage of having a water feature is that they can mask background noise. If you have a road nearby or urban background noise that you’d prefer not to be the first thing you hear when you’re relaxing, moving water such as a waterfall or trickling water could easily become the focus.
If the background noise isn’t subtle, there are additional features you can include which will absorb or add a barrier between your garden and the noise. Strategically planting hedges, shrubs and trees, or positioning fencing between your garden and the dominant noise source can make a significant difference. Then, you can hear your water feature even better – win, win!
Keeping Nature Happy Too
Last, but most definitely not least, you’re giving mother nature a helping hand. Your pond, waterfall or water feature will be a source of water for the birds, insects and animals who would enjoy your garden as much as you do. It’s no secret that the wildlife on our planet is being impacted by the effects of human habitation – offering a regular supply of water to our fellow creatures and critters when they need it could be a lifeline. It wouldn’t be just you that sees your garden as a haven to be cherished – you’d be sharing it with equal appreciative nature lovers!
Next week we’ll be sharing suggestions on the type of water features you may like to explore. There are logistics to consider with many water installations, and we’ll walk you through some of that next week. If you can’t bear the suspense, you can watch the video from last week here where we discuss water features and what to think about when deciding which is best for you.
If you need any help or advice on any aspect of your garden landscaping, get in touch on 0333 202 1955 today – our team is always happy to help.