Old Pond

Furuike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto

17th Century Japanese writer, Matsuo Bashō, produced this poem about an Old Pond which has since become one of the World’s favourite Haiku.

Many esteemed experts have tried to come up with a fitting English interpretation and British philosopher Allan Watt came up with perhaps the most fun translation:

The old pond,
A frog jumps in:
Plop! Water Gardens and ponds have been an important feature in gardens throughout the ages and certainly as far back as the time of the ancient Persians.

As well as bringing rich aesthetic qualities they were utilised for cultivating aquatic plants and harbouring fish and animals for sustenance.

In Britain lakes, water features and ponds became integral to the 18th Century movement of landscaped gardens championed by designers such as Capability Brown, Henry Hoare and Harold Peto.