Carnegie stream (MG Gardens garden design)

I finished this stream a few weeks ago. I can’t claim credit for the design – that goes to Meg Geary of MG Gardens. Meg came up with a great design for the space, and I just built the stream where she planned! The rest of the excellent landscaping was done by Jay from Eco Landcraft.

So… it’s about 10m long and mostly flat to work with the natural terrain. It’s a pondless system, with a reservoir at the bottom near the deck holding 1,000 litres at capacity. There is a small waterfall in the far corner that marks the beginning of the stream, that falls into a relatively deeper section of the stream (just like it would in nature). This waterfall adds sound, as do the rapids that fall into the reservoir at the end. These rapids surround a set of natural stepping stones that connect the lawn to the driveway.

Interactivity is key with this stream (as usual). My streams are ideally not just to look good and sound good, but also feel good. So the lawn runs right up to the edge of the stream so it is easy to access. I have used coarse sand for most of the stream base so it will be comfortable to walk up and down with bare feet. And the stepping stones give the kids (and adults) an interesting path through the water.

Some photos….