Outside: All tidied up and battened down for winter?

Pond-wise, if you are cleaned out, dredged up, cut back and neatly netted for winter, now is the time you can appreciate another role the water garden can play in your garden, and that is as a source of light and reflection.

Light and reflection on the top pond in the landscape garden at Hestercombe in Somerset.

To capitalise on this you need a view of the pool with the sun behind you and a backdrop. Alternatively plants can frame a view to the horizon or landscaping ornaments set either side. With the sun coming in from the side or from the front, plants like grasses glow in the morning or evening sun.

If you have good structure to the landscaping in your garden it becomes most apparent now, whether it is a formal or informal. So if there is no fear of herons, remove the net once all the leaves have fallen to reveal the unexploited qualities of your water garden.

If it snows and settles on an icy pond, brush as much off as you can to let some light down into the pool, and remember dont break the ice. Melt it with a pan of hot water sitting on the surface..Or switch on a pool heater to maintain a hole in the ice for gaseous exchange. Either way, melt it dont break it. A hole in the ice is particularly important for koi and or birds that might appreciate a drink, especially ducks.