At Groundscapes, our team of landscaping experts have covered all of the most important and new landscaping trends on the horizon: What Landscaping Will Look Like in the 21st Century, How It Is Valuable for Personal Relationships, and even the Sustainability Benefits of Landscaping. Today, our team takes a close look at water features: Why are water features valuable for your landscape? What added personal or monetary benefits might they bring? And what new types of water features are trending now?

A Water Fountain, Water Weir, Water Fall or a Bubbling Boulder are only some of a quickly growing class of landscaping features designed to bring some form of moving water to your yard. While the benefits of different water features may vary depending on where you build it (front or back yard), and what additional landscaping features you combine it with (fire place, swimming pool, patio, etc.), three core benefits are found in any context in which you build a water feature:

Benefit 1: Personal Benefits:

According to Total Pond, there are a number of psychological benefits around building a water feature in your yard: At the top of the list is positive mental health.

“Many studies have been done to prove that exposure to nature can induce positive thoughts, pleasure, aesthetic joy, promotion of spirituality, and psychological restoration. Water is among the top features of nature tested in these studies to promote good mental health.”

To compliment the positive benefits, water features have also been shown to have strong effects on diminishing anxiety and negative attitudes. As the article explains, “the sound of running water has been shown to be effective in the reduction of the stress hormones epinephrine and cortisol, which are associated with many health ailments when levels are high.” In reducing these hormones overall anxiety can be relieved allowing you to enjoy life, your relationships and the outdoors much more.

Ultimately, a water feature is first and foremost a stress-reliever and mood enhancer. The sound of flowing water is perfect therapy after a stressful day, or simply to reconnect with nature.

Benefit 2: Aesthetic Appeal and Environmental Ambience:

Second, water features are as good as it get's in landscaping, when it comes to aesthetic appeal and natural environmental ambience. As the Chicago Tribune, explains water features are perfect for attracting wildlife, dealing with a flood-prone area of your yard, or simply for the elegant contrast they can provide to a green background. According to Surrounds Landscaping, moving water specifically, has the capacity to “energize” your yard through both “sound and motion”. Combined with the aesthetic appeal of your water feature, you are able to essentially create an artistic home improvement that is both visually and auditorily appealing or relaxing.

Benefit 3: Longevity and Low Maintenance:

Last but not least, many homeowners - especially millennials - are concerned about the need to maintain their landscaping features. This makes a water feature especially appealing: on top of the fact that your standard water feature is aesthetically beautiful and personally beneficial, it is also low maintenance!

According to Surrounds Landscaping, the average homeowner will only have to:

  1. Periodically check the water level of the fountain (especially in warm weather).

  2. Clear leaves and other debris that may build up around the feature.

Beyond these two small routine maintenance checks you can fully enjoy your water feature for years at a time without having to worry about any major cleanups or problems!

Conclusion: Get Your Water Feature Today

At Groundscapes, we bring 20 years of experience in luxury landscaping to the Omaha Metro and La Vista Area. Water features are the hidden gems that most homeowners come to love, but few actually know about. As expert advice we recommend getting started on your water features before the springtime, to make sure you can properly design and plan it on your own schedule! To get started just fill out our unique design consultation form and wait for our representative to call you!