Lee Burkhill: Award Winning Designer & BBC 1's Garden Rescue Presenters Official Blog
Intermediate level
Water features can enhance your garden’s ambience by adding motion, soothing sounds, and visual interest, even in compact outdoor spaces. While traditional ponds offer a rustic charm, more contemporary designs like rills can create a sleek, modern look. Rills are narrow, shallow channels that guide water through the garden, blending style with practicality. Let me show you how to use rills in your garden design.
A water rill is a narrow, shallow channel that directs water through a garden, creating a dynamic visual and sensory feature. Originating from ancient irrigation systems, modern water rills have evolved into elegant landscape elements, blending function with aesthetic appeal. They can add both drama and movement to any garden.
The beauty of garden rills as a water feature is they allow you to use the rill as a feature of the garden layout. The rill can be used as a separator, divided into the design, or raised in the water feature (if used in raised drills such as troughs or rendered water features) to enable dynamic level changes in the garden.
Let's dive into why adding a rill to your garden design could help elevate it!
Design & Structure of Rills
Water rills are typically constructed from durable materials such as stone, concrete, or metal, forming a sleek, defined channel. They may follow straight lines for a formal look or take a winding path for a more natural effect. The channels are usually shallow, with gently flowing water powered by a recirculating pump. Their width and depth can be customized to fit various garden scales and styles.
Ading a water rill to your garden design has a number of benefits for both you and Mother Nature. Just like adding any pond will attract birds, insects, and bees, the rill offers additional benefits compared to a simple naturalistic pond.
A) Visual Impact of Rills
Water rills add a bold linear feature, contrasting beautifully with surrounding plants and hardscaping. They can take your garden to the next level in terms of design and bring a modern flare to it. I've used drills to split garden designs in half, use them as focal points, or navigate visitors around the space.
The soothing sound of trickling water creates a calming, relaxing atmosphere. Nothing is better than the sound of water trickling to drown out noisy neighbours, traffic noise or other annoyances with urban gardens. I find the sound of moving water very meditative.
C) Rills Can Attract Wildlife
Rills or any water feature open up opportunities for wildlife such as birds, bees, and other beneficial creatures. Water features offer a previous water source that is often missing in busy new-build gardens and urban housing estates. Birds will happily perch on the side of your rill to take a drink. If you use pond plants in your rill, you may notice dragonflies or insects using them, not to mention honey bees drinking in the shallows or edges.
The big tip is to remember to add some way for the wildlife to escape the rill. I use a staggered set of brick steps at each edge and marginal pond plants to ensure that wildlife can get in and out of the rill easily.
D) Cooling Effect of Rills
Water evaporation from the rill helps reduce surrounding temperatures in hot climates, so if you have a south-facing garden or live somewhere warm, then the rill can help keep the garden feeling cooler. Don't forget to consider adding shade to a hot garden so you don't feel frazzled when sitting in it. Protecting yourself from the sun and having places to retreat from blistering hot summer days is a wise move with any garden design.
Incorporating Water Rills into Garden Design
Formal Gardens: Create a symmetrical layout with straight-edged rills bordered by stone or tile for a refined appearance. Use block and k rend to create stunning, modern-looking raised drills.
Naturalistic Landscapes: To achieve an organic look, opt for winding, irregular rills edged with rocks, pebbles, and native plants. However, I find these look a bit lacklustre, so stick to meandering streams instead of deeper rills.
Urban Patios and Courtyards: Integrate a water rill alongside garden paths, patios, or seating areas to establish a seamless indoor-outdoor connection. This is my favourite use of the rill. I love using metal farmers' troughs to create low-cost rills in urban gardens.
Maintenance Tips for Rills
Just like all water features, they need monthly and yearly maintenance to keep them looking their best and safe for pond fish and wildlife. Below are my top tips for keeping your rill or any other water feature at its peak.
1. Regular Cleaning and Debris Removal
Weekly Checks: Inspect the rill for leaves, twigs, and other debris that could clog the water flow.
Skimming: Use a net or skimmer to remove floating debris.
Vacuuming: Invest in a pond vacuum if silt buildup becomes significant. You can then use the collections for your compost heap, so win-win!
2. Water Quality Management
Refill Water Levels: Regularly top up water levels to prevent pump damage due to low water.
Algae Control: Use eco-friendly algaecides or barley straw extract to inhibit algae growth.
Water Treatment: Install a UV filter to clear water, especially in sunnier locations. Change the UV bulb every year to ensure it stays active in clumping algae for you.
3. Pump and Filtration Maintenance
Pump Inspection: Check the pump monthly for blockages and wear. Clean filters and impellers as needed. Always make sure you disconnect the electrics before undertaking any pond pump maintenance for safety!
Winter Preparation: In colder climates, remove the pump if the water might freeze. Store it indoors during winter months.
4. Seasonal Plant Care
Trimming Aquatic Plants: Prune any marginal plants or grasses around the rill to prevent overgrowth. Lift any tender plants and place them in a heated greenhouse in a bucket of water to ensure they survive the winter.
Plant Rotation: Regularly refresh aquatic plants to keep the area fresh and balanced. Thin out any oxygenation plants that have a habit of taking over, mares tail, we're looking at you!
5. Structural Integrity Checks
Inspect for Leaks: Check the rill lining for cracks or leaks, especially after winter frosts. Repair small cracks with a waterproof pond sealant.
Edge Maintenance: Ensure stones, bricks, or paving along the edges remain securely in place.
6. Winterizing Your Rill
Shut Down the System: Turn off the pump and winterise the rill if winter temperatures drop below freezing. Fish are usually fine in your rill is at least 80cm deep.
Cover the Feature: Use a pond cover to keep out leaves and reduce cleaning in spring.
Learn How to Design Your Own Garden
Why not level up your gardening skills with my Garden Design for Beginners course is the perfect place to begin! I offer several courses from £29 to £199 to help you learn the basics of garden design.
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Course Features:
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Certification upon completion
This course is available now for just £199. Start your garden design journey today and gain the skills to create stunning spaces with confidence.
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A water rill can transform a garden into a serene retreat, adding architectural interest and supporting local wildlife. Thoughtful design and regular maintenance ensure it remains a striking focal point, offering both beauty and functionality year-round. So what's stopping you from considering a rill in your garden? It may become the talk of the town!
If you liked this article, why not check out my social media, where you can Tweet, Facebook, or Instagram me? Why not visit my YouTube channel for garden design hints and tips? I'd love to hear from you!
Happy Gardening!
Brenda Coulson
2025-02-15
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In an hour's online consultation, Lee led us cheerfully through several aspects of design to think about for our front garden. It was really helpful and left us with plenty of ideas, which is exactly what we needed. Thanks, Lee
Emma Gilmartin
2025-01-28
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Had a speedy reply with lots of information on the question I asked in the forum on Stawberries. Thank you for being so helpful and friendly
Peter Kiernan
2024-12-06
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The one hour consultation was absolutely ideal. It gave us everything that we were hoping for. As well as being very friendly, Lee gave us a range of excellent ideas and advice which will be invaluable to us as we plan and implement our new garden. He also gave us the confidence that we could take on the project rather than asking someone else to design and build it for us. He explains things clearly and simply, allowing us to absorb the lessons he has learned as a garden designer tailoring his advice to our situation and garden.
We cannot speak highly enough about our experience with Lee.
Joannah Mitchell
2024-10-21
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A very informative hour long discussion with Lee. Lots of ideas which I can't wait to implement. I'm excited now about improving my new garden, I can see beyond the hard landscaping I have recently moved to. Thank you Lee 😊
Ellis Delmonte
2024-09-26
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Excellent tips and tricks for garden care throughout the year.
Sharon Harper
2024-09-13
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Really.clear and helpful advice. Lee is always upbeat and encouraging
HILARY FLOWER
2024-08-23
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I always find Lee very helpful and very thorough when I watch him giving any gardening advice; a brilliant young man with great winning garden designs.
Andrea Spataro
2024-08-19
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booked a hour consultation to brainstorm some garden ideas and the result was phenomenal! Lee is extremely knowledgeable and provide specific recommendations base don your needs and final goals. Also, he was available with any follow up questions (even silly ones) that I had, treated with professionalism and a practical angle. A shame he does not live in London otherwise it would have been my easy go-to!
Jim Simmonds
2024-08-16
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Love Lee's style, help and the fact he is always happy to share his knowledge - not many 'experts' do that. Love the videos tutorials too
Kath George
2024-06-21
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Having looked at Lee's website I decided a one hour consultation would be good to try. What a brilliant service! Lee was lovely, putting me at ease within the first five minutes. We went through my long list and Lee came up with some great ideas. He also emailed me notes and sketches from the session. A lovely person, with lots of practical ideas and knowledge. I would reccommend trying this to anyone.
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