One of the benefits of having a water feature is that it will become the cool watering hole for the neighborhood critters. I’m working with a landscape design client in northern Fauquier County to rejuvenate the existing decades-old landscape, and one of the assets I have to work with is a small water feature adjacent to the back patio.

As you can see, it’s really overgrown (but look at that Hakonechloa. Look at it!!!) but the local fauna still love it.

This cute little fella was hanging out and enjoying the warm sunshine. Yes, you will likely get the occasional snake around your pond. There’s water, abundant food, and big flat rocks on which to sun themselves. It’s ok, they’re no more interested in you than you are in them.

This little guy was chilling with a few of his friends. If you have a shallow, relatively still section of water you’ll create a great hangout for birds to bathe, and I’ve seen deer and foxes coming right up to backyard ponds. As we build out and slap houses on more and more habitat, we’re doing a good thing by creating little pockets like this for wildlife.