Garden path lit along its edges leading to a koi pond

A 24 V strip rated IP67 with a separate driver, in 2700 K warm white so it doesn't go blue over grey slabs. Buy it in runs cut to the exact length of the path: every cut and splice is a way in for water, and that's where it almost always fails. An aluminium profile with a diffuser is what turns the dots into a continuous line.

A cylindrical bollard around 50 cm tall in a dark finish, with light leaving only from the lower section. The version that throws light in every direction glares from the house and cancels out the path, which is the piece meant to stand out. In gravel, choose a spike-mounted model over a bolt-down base — a spike can be realigned when the level shifts.

A submersible pump sized by flow rate and head height, not just litres: a high-flow pump with low head won't lift water to the top rock. The usual rule is to turn over the pond's whole volume once an hour. With fish, add a sponge pre-filter at the intake so the pump doesn't draw in debris and stall.

A clipped ball around 30 to 40 cm across, repeated in a row so the bed gets a rhythm. Before buying box, consider Ilex crenata: it clips the same, holds the same sphere, and isn't affected by the moth now wrecking box across much of Spain. On gravel, plant into soil rather than straight into the pebble, with geotextile underneath.

Pale gravel in a medium grade, laid over geotextile so it doesn't sink into the soil or let weeds through. Grade matters more than you'd think: under 10 mm it sticks to soles and ends up on the path, over 30 mm it's uncomfortable to walk on. Under warm grazing light, white gravel is what makes the bed visible at night.