• You can use stepping stones instead of a bridge to cross a garden pond.stepping stones water feature in manchester, engla image by green308 from Fotolia.com
  
  Water gardens have been popular since the time of King Nebuchadnezzar II, when the Hanging Garden of Babylon was constructed. With the availability of pre-formed liners and inexpensive pumps, the garden pond is now a feature that almost anyone can enjoy. If you have rocky soil, you can set aside each rock that you uncover in your pond excavation, and recycle the rocks for use in the pond. There are a number of ways to use rocks in your pond.
  
  

Rain Garden

• A rain garden is a pond that actually stays dry most of the time. Rain gardens are round or kidney-shaped depressions that homeowners build into a landscape to catch runoff from your roof, driveway or lawn to help prevent water from collecting in other locations. Since the pond has no liner, the water will absorb back into the soil within 24 to 48 hours. The bottom of a rain garden pond is filled with rocks and sandy soil, allowing the water to drain before mosquitoes can hatch eggs. The pond is also filled with plants that help to filter out pollution before the runoff drains away. Gardeners should fill a rain garden with plants that are native to their area, or to similar climates. For example, a rain garden in Northern California may be filled with California poppies. Or they may be filled with Mediterranean plants such as rosemary, oregano or lavender.
  
  

Wildlife Garden

• Rocks can encourage wildlife to visit your garden pond by providing cover for wild animals to hide behind and making them feel safe. By piling stones around your water garden, you can give animals such as lizards a place to soak up the sun. A shallow pond will give the wild animals a place to bathe and water to drink. Rocks around the pond can also help to disguise your pond liner and give the pond a natural look. Stepping stones will help to encourage animals to visit the deeper parts of your pond. Be certain to plant plenty of floating plants such as water lilies, marginals such as bulrushes and cattails, as well as plants on land that spill over the rocks and give your pond a softer look. Ponds without plants look like holes in the ground or stone necklaces instead of water features.
  
  

Stepping Stones

• Bridges across a garden pond provide elements of fantasy, romance, and mystery to a garden pond; but a bridge can also block your view of the pond from several angles. Even a small garden bridge can seem to overwhelm smaller ponds. Stepping stones provide an alternative means of crossing a garden pond without creating the issues that a decorative bridge creates. You can use natural stone for your stepping stones to blend into your pond and help the crossing feel more natural.