Practically, anything planted close to a pond edge needs checking against how it sheds. Trees and shrubs that drop heavy leaf litter in autumn add maintenance to the pond that a border further away wouldn’t, so it is worth weighing ornamental value against the extra debris a plant will send into the water each year.

For more detail, see garden pond design and build service.

None of this needs the existing garden torn up to make room. The strongest results generally come from treating the mature garden as the framework the pond maintenance packages Leicester has to earn its place within, rather than a blank space waiting to be filled.

Spring is when a pond starts to earn attention again after winter dormancy. Marginal planting breaks into growth, water levels often need topping up after a dry spell, and early flowering marginals bring the first colour back to the water’s edge well before the rest of the border catches up. Gardens that place early-flowering marginal plants prominently make the most of this period, when the rest of the planting is often still finding its feet.

When a garden redesign is built around a water feature, every other decision in the project has a reference point to work from. Paving, planting, lighting and layout all have something to answer to, rather than being decided independently and hoping they add up to a coherent whole.

Scale is the first honest conversation to have. A pond sized generously for entertaining or swimming needs proportionate space around its edges for planting, access and seating, and in a small garden that can mean the pond takes up more of the plot, proportionally, than an owner first expects. A smaller, well-proportioned pond that leaves room for planting and a place to sit generally reads better, and gets used more, than an oversized pond that swallows the whole garden and leaves nothing else.