The natural water feature is mans attempt a recreating the look of a natural body of water in the landscape environment.
A well executed water feature should take its design cues from the surrounding natural landscape. If that landscape does not exist it needs to be created. One must look at the local topography and existing bodies of water to understand the sense of place. This is where self restraint is important. We do not try to recreate a rocky mountain stream in the middle of a corn field. No mater what your taste it is important to look at the land and the local environment and let it tell you what would be appropriate. What would fit into an old farm field? Perhaps a structure that looks like the ruins of an old spring house and a pool that looks like a natural pond with decking on only one or two sides. We let the planting come up to the edge wherever possible and create planting pockets at intervals around the pool.
You never see a natural body of water without plants or grasses close to the edge, nor do you see a pond with red brick coping and concrete on all sides. We obviously know these things do not exist in nature so why would we ever create a representation of them that looks nothing like the real thing. Remember you will spend a lot of time around the pond why not let it feed your soul by connecting you to the environment, and someday when you sell your home someone else will appreciate that the pool looks like a piece of the landscape and is appropriate to the surroundings.
