Well it was clean up time for my garden this week and part of it was to pull my pond apart and re-lay the facade covering the pond. I thought it a perfect opportunity to show you all how easily and inexpensively it can be made.
This following photo is what the pond really looks like. It is just a depression made in the earth then lined with black builders polythene. For me I chose the platform style made up from old fence palings and laid out to form the look below. You can choose to landscape yours with soil, stone plants , pother's or whatever you like - the possibilities are endless. Please note that I have not used any nails or fasteners for easy dismantling of maintenance
The advantage to the pond is that it attracts other animals plus what I like is adding another element to the garden - the missing one -Water. Bit too out there for some but I think the idea of the four elements air fire water earth is part of the balance in gardens. Introducing things like frogs, insects, fish and water plants creates a new eco-culture in it's own environment and this in turn has an effect on the culture of the garden you are creating. Diversity is the key to balance and this in turn determines the levels of health.
Anyway hope this may interest someone out there
NIce sharing... makes me want to try it on my own... I have a lot of maintenance to do once our fall weather starts.. I guess that comes first!
ReplyDeleteVery cool! The fence posts look like a nice place to sit and enjoy the pond.
ReplyDeleteI regret that I was unable to work on my pond earlier in the summer, right now I hope I'm able to do it before the weather gets too cold--luckily I have a good couple of months or more. In the mean time, I have a bird bath near my veggie patch plus an insect mud bath right inside the patch.
Ah nice of you to share the inner workings of your pond Keith. I like the way you have your pond looking so natural full of creativity and no fasteners. Very good ideas here and thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThis looks neat Keith. I like the idea of using just whatever lays around like the fence pailings, I also like all the little bits and peices you have around the pond. Youre a pretty inspirational guru
ReplyDeletethanks Milli - it is how I like the garden to be and feel - the slipshod energy.
ReplyDeleteIt is the Guru in you that is the inspiration! (very pious look here)
ReplyDeleteVery cool Keith, very inspirational. Weren't you the one who prompted Kev to build our pond? If anyone is interested I could show how he built our pond as well. I have all the before and after photos.
ReplyDeleteMia I was thinking the same thing- would be great to see - I almost mentioned it in thi9s blog and was gonna include a photo of your pond as an alternative to how I duid mine for those who want their pond to be part of a feature and not hidden like mine is in my vege garden - would be cool
ReplyDeleteBring it on please Mia!?
ReplyDeletehey sandy yep we need attend to things that are urgent and maybe during winter the fish might suffer from the cold days. Thanks for your reply to my post and glad it motivated you a little toward considering a pond
ReplyDeleteYeah Bird baths are good to have about - Birds'll love it and whats the insect mud bath????
ReplyDeleteSince moving here to a climate with cold winters I've been asking around about keeping fish outside during the cold weather and I've been told that the fish hibernate during the winter. If ice forms we need to keep a hole in the ice to let gasses escape, and this is accomplished best by floating an electric bird bath heater on the pond or by pouring hot water onto the ice just enough to melt a hole. I've been told NOT to chip away at the ice because the sound waves could harm the fish.
ReplyDeleteI also met a landscape designer who designed with a strong pump and a wide tube, and she said that by keeping the water moving it won't freeze. Something for me to think about as I redesign my pond.
I think I've convinced my friends to help me next weekend or the weekend after! So I'll enlargen my pond now but I won't stock it with fish and plants until next spring.
this is such great information amy - really great you took time to think and write about it. I would be keen to hear more abut your pond as it progresses or any other info you come up with. - Thanks again
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Oh! And I forgot to mention that ideally a pond that holds fish during the winter should be at least four feet deep. My USDA Zone 5-7 climate is in the high desert and I've been told I can probably get away with a pond that's 2-3 feet deep.
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