Barrel water gardens are an excellent alternative to inground ponds if space or physical constraints are limiting your alternatives (Figure 7). In addition, barrel water gardens are less expensive, quick, moveable, and require no edging. The basics of the barrel water garden are just like those of the inground ponds. These can be as simple as putting a flexible PVC liner in a whisky barrel, filling it with 6 inches of a good loam soil and planting lotus. Instead of planting into soil directly, choose some of the dwarf water lilies and put them in the barrel in their pots. Add water and snails and the pond is ready. If you live in the southern half of Texas and use hardy water lilies, they should overwinter successfully in the barrel. However, if you live in areas where the water in a barrel may freeze solid, or if you chose to plant tropical water lilies, you must overwinter the plants in an area that is cool but not freezing.