Goodbye lawn. Hello pond!

Discussion in 'Water Gardening' started by kindredspirit, Nov 23, 2009.

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  1. kindredspirit

    kindredspirit Gardening around a big Puddle. :)

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    Well, I can't stand cutting grass. It's mindnumbingly boring. So, out goes the grass; in comes the pond.

    How our back garden used to look.

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    September 2008. Plan of pond.

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    November 2008. Pond has gone in. You can see the two pumps I installed.

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    December 2008. Plants nicked from neighbours starting to go in.

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    May 2009.

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    • kindredspirit

      kindredspirit Gardening around a big Puddle. :)

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      [​IMG]

      July 2009. Inundation of ferns. Giant Chain Fern and Southern Shield Fern.

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      Inundation of Cannas. (Florence Vaughan.)

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      Vegetation starting to fill out.

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      November 2009.

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      Loddon Lilies ready to go in. (I plant all the plants in plastic burger bun trays. That way they can easily be moved (or removed!)

      [​IMG]

      The pond is only in its early stages as it's only just a year old.
       
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      • watergarden

        watergarden have left the forum because...i'm a sad case

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        Thats not a pond, thats a lake. Very nice too. Any pictures of construction? It must have taken some time.
         
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        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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          Fabulous job. :gnthb: :ntwrth:

          You must eat a lot of burgers!!!!! :hehe:
           
        • Sussexgardener

          Sussexgardener Gardener

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          That's a lake! All you need is a small row boat to 'mess about on the water' on fine evenings :)

          Looks wonderful (and I agree about getting rid of the lawn being a good idea). Well done.
           
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          • lollipop

            lollipop Gardener

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            Just wonderful, not a bad idea actually about getting yourself a little boat. What are those little boats called that are for one, my mind keeps saying curricle but thats a carriage.

            Once those plants become established it will be stunning. Perhaps some insect repellant is in order though for all the midgies lol.
             
          • Doghouse Riley

            Doghouse Riley Head Gardener

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            They've got a boat! It's upturned by the side of the pond in the third picture! And a canoe!

            Very impressed!


            Now the questions,

            How much "professional" help did you have, or did you do it all yourself?

            And yes! We'd like pics of the construction stages.
             
          • Kandy

            Kandy Will be glad to see the sun again soon.....

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            Fantastic Pond/lake you have there and I love the stone wall you have built all the way down the garden.In fact it is all really nice and a job well done:gnthb:
             
          • shiney

            shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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            Lolli, it's a coracle :thmb: :luv:
             
          • kindredspirit

            kindredspirit Gardening around a big Puddle. :)

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            Thanks for the kind comments. It's only a year old and I'm new to this gardening lark but I'm enjoying it.



            Sorry, I haven’t actually any pictures of the construction. I was too busy working at my job and then constructing the pond. I should have taken pics but I didn’t have time.



            Very good! (Although I’m a coeliac and can’t eat wheat.)

            It’s not THAT big. It’s 90 feet long and max. width is 30 feet. Yep, I was sick of grass and didn’t want a sterile paving/gravel area in its place. It’s great that you don’t have to mow a pond!



            Shiney answered you with that one. Coracles are virtually impossible to steer. No wonder they went out of fashion.


            No professional help. I designed it (that wasn’t hard) But I got two local people to do most of the work whilst I was at work.

            The pond base is made of 4” of concrete thoroughly mixed through with wizard fibre and waterproofer. Then the walls were made of 4” concrete blocks laid on the flat and then plastered with waterproofed concrete. The hole for the pond was dug in one day by a guy with a Hymac and the concrete base was poured in one day. I got 6 people in for the day the concrete was being poured.

            I’m actually continually nervous that little cracks will appear in the concrete and the water will flow away but that hasn’t happened so far.





            The stone is sandstone which is blue but the surface has been stained over eons by iron-rich water flowing through the joints. I found a farmer who was able to give it to me at a good price from an old quarry on his land.. It’s backed by a concrete block wall which 6 Polish people built in two weekends! The total length is 160 metres. Then I got 8 Brazilians to build the stone part. They took 2½ weeks non-stop.


            The pond in the evening.

            [​IMG]
             
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            • lollipop

              lollipop Gardener

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              Coracle! That's the one, thanks Shiney, that last pic just sums it up, perfect ease and contentment. Hard work does pay off.
               
            • clueless1

              clueless1 member... yep, that's what I am:)

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              I think its great. Apart from looking good, I'm sure the local wildlife will really appreciate it too. Does the pond have routes out for the smaller mammals that might fall in when trying to take a drink?
               
            • Kedi-Gato

              Kedi-Gato Gardener

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              Absolutely fantastic! :gnthb:

              I love the design, the plants both in and out of the water, the rocks (I'm a rock fan), .... everything! A job very well planned and carried out. You can be proud of yourself, KS.

              Small animals that fall in can get out where the ferns are planted, Clueless.
               
            • lollipop

              lollipop Gardener

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              post 2 pic 3 are those dieramas?

              Because if they are, what prep did you do and how did you grow them or were they bought?

              Mine failed this year and I was really disappointed.
               
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              • kindredspirit

                kindredspirit Gardening around a big Puddle. :)

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                Thanks Kedi-Gato. It was literally designed on the back of an envelope. I wanted to put in two garages as well as I'm into classic cars also. And I wanted the positioning of them to run in harmony with the garden. Unfortunately, all I could afford were two metal ones so bamboo has been planted to soften the look.

                I'll put up a post later about pond plants and perhaps people could give me advice.

                Lollipop. They're 3 Angel's Fishing Rods which were very small plants which I got from my brother. I didn't do anything special. They're actually planted in sub-soil!!! because when I was digging the pond I had nowhere to put the topsoil and so had to give it away. I mixed a little bit of 20 year-old horse manure in with the subsoil and they grew fine. All three flowered but I wasn't impressed with them because the flowers only lasted about a week or two. I actually don't know anything about them. Will they grow big? Will the flowers last longer next year? Should I move them into the water?
                 
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