Finishing off pond edging on a tight budget

Morning all

I dug out this pond a couple of years ago, lined it and filled it and it’s sat there ever since! The stones I have around the edges were leftovers from a project at my parents house but wasn’t enough to give a proper finish. I’d love to get a load of slate to properly finish this off all around but I can never seem to squeeze enough out of the budget to afford it.

Are there any other ideas anyone might have as to how to finish this off, be it temporary or permanent?

Not sure if it’s relevant but it’s on the north side of the fence so the far side is very shady. I do have plans to have some water plants but as of yet have no idea what, I keep putting off buying any until the hard landscaping is done. I will also put a pump and a water feature, properly just a pipe coming around between some rocks to drop water back into the pond.

Thanks!

 

I think you need some plants that will droop over the edges or plants, like marsh marigolds, that you can plant in baskets in the pond by the edge to hide the pond liner. Does your budget run to that? Have you any shelf shallow areas along the edges of the pond that you can sit baskets on?

 

Hi @Busy-Lizzie yes, there’s a shelf all the way around.

You think plants in the water first rather than try to finish the hard materials?

 

The area in the bottom right of your pick could just be planted up - either cut the liner back to expose more of the soil, or bury it a bit and perhaps add some more liner orplastic bags etc, with a few holes in it, to create a boggier area to use for ferns or things like Ligularias etc.
A single bag of a mortar mix would be enough to set the existing rocks into edges, and you can add various plants as and when you can afford them, although you can always take cuttings or grow things from seed to put into various places. Heucheras will be good, along with ferns and even just encouraging some moss to cover the rocks and make them less obvious. Varying heights will always be better than having everything a similar size and shape, just as you'd do in any border, and you can add some potted annuals too. If you can create a few gaps in between some of the rocks, you can tailor the planting a bit more too.
If you want to make it safe for wildlife to get in and out, some rocks/bricks - anything really, can be put in at that end too, so that it isn't a sudden drop. Alternatively, you could dig that bit out a bit more to make a slope for them, and then a bag of gravel will form a 'beach'. You can still have planting too, and that's always a good idea anyway, to give them cover.

The pond plants themselves will have to suit the location, so you might need more of the ones which prefer some shade. Water hawthorn is particularly good for that. I use cotton grass in mine, and it's fairly adaptable and will also be fine in the shallows or just in the boggier area if you do that.

 

I'm a plantaholic so I like ponds that have plants clumped around the edge between the stones. I think you could cut off some of the black pond liner.

However, if you want a pump it would be easier to fit it before planting.

 

I was typing with @fairygirl and I agree with what she says.

 

I would always do the hard landscaping first - same as in any garden setting. Then you can see what room you have. That would include the pump if you're having that.

 

Yes - we're overlapping @Busy-Lizzie !

 

I'm wondering about using a bag of two of gravel to create a beach on one side?
...or an old log or two...

 

It's always hiding the liner and creating a stable edge around the pond that is the most difficult part I think.

If you want some kind of water fall I would set that up first. Possibly a small preformed one set higher than the pond and allowing the water to flow into the pond.
As for the edges I'd lower the water level and dig out another very shallow shelf all round, drop the liner into it and up around the back then drop your stones into the new ledge with the liner underneath.

You can then top the pond up and semi submerge the stones around the outside.

 

Logs can look attractive as part of the hard landscaping around a pond, they also create another wildlife habitat.

We also did as @pete suggested and created a shelf for the stones to sit on (only one side of our pond) we then buried the lip of liner behind them. It took a season or two but planting soon covered the gaps and visible edges. I also put a little soil with sedums in some of the gaps between the rocks and it’s done very well, interestingly it’s even seeded itself into part of our beach where it is usually wet.

To help on budget, I scavenged around the garden for bits of ground cover, trailing plants I could pinch a bit of which I then tried around the pond. Sedum, as mentioned, Ajuga and Persicaria (the low evergreen one affinis?) have all done well and as they are evergreen it means the cover is year round. Family/friends may have plants you can snaffle from.

We are also lucky in that our soil is very stoney so when gardening I have a bucket in hand to collect any nice pebbles and larger stones. It’s amazing how many I get and all have gone onto the beach or been used to fill in gaps between larger stones. I know not all soils are the same but maybe worth asking family. Also maybe look and ask on freecycle (or similar) for unwanted rocks

 

Totally agree with @pete. Pond liners should be sold with strict instructions to get a solid edge in place! Even with my formal ponds, which were dug in pure clay, the edges haven't stayed stable and the slabs tend to tip. In my 'pond bible' Bill Heritage showed how to run the liner up behind a couple of rows of mortared bricks. Whether stones or plants are used to cover the result, it will last. Access and egress for wildlife isn't a problem if you have baskets of plants on a shelf.
In the natural pond, after years of trying to get pond plants to go up and edging plants to drape, it was obvious that it would always look awful in winter when the plants died down and the liner was exposed. I found the solution (which won't please everyone )....fake grass! It's not all tacky and bright green. Pinned down into the surrounding soil, it drapes over the edge of the liner to the bottom of the shelf, protects the liner, the frogs love sunbathing on it and it has faded to a natural-looking finish. The surrounding plants flop and creep over it beautifully

 

I think the crucial thing is that the liner has to run 'up' behind the edging stones or whatever you chose to use, so that you can fill the pond halfway up the stones.

I have some Heather's around my pond and they do spread and I have to cut them back as they go right into the water if I let them, but it is as usual, not something that happens in on year.

 

The pond hasn't yet had it's spring clear out thanks to the dire weather, so you can't actually see any water, but on the bright side, you can't see the liner either!




The dark green blob in the centre is the latest bit of fake grass. Not the most subtle colour that was available and it hasn't had time to fade or get mossy yet. The frogs don't mind, though, and I prefer it to black Butyl....

 

It looks really natural which is what you aim for in a wildlife pond but it won't happen overnight.
Even with formal ponds the last thing you want to see is any liner.