Surprisingly, the middle of the summer is the time of year when the majority of gardeners start to consider the possibility of constructing a water garden or a small pond. Ponds do not need any maintenance in the form of weeding or watering, and they may provide an abundance of color by way of water lilies and bog plants.
It is preferable to listen to the soothing sound of a waterfall or a fountain splashing water than it is to mow that portion of the grass or weed a flower bed. The best part is that the pond never stops flowering, even when the weather is very hot or extremely rainy.
At this point, you may be starting to think about the cost and effort of creating a concrete pond, plus the fact that our days average 95 degrees Fahrenheit is almost certainly enough to put an end to your pond reverie.
The pain that was connected with the process of mixing concrete and completing it is, however, a thing of the past thanks to the development of more modern pond liners and pre-formed pools. Heavy-duty pool liners that come with warranties that last for 10 years are now widely available and can be purchased for as low as one dollar per square foot.
Creating a pond using concrete is one way to do it quickly and cheaply, but there is another option: utilizing preformed ponds, which come in a wide variety of designs and sizes. When using these resources, the typical gardener may construct a pond of respectable size in a matter of hours, and by the time they wake up the next morning, the pond will be complete with plants, fish, and a fountain.
An above-ground pond is the kind of pond that has the least amount of construction challenges. Due to the fact that there is no need for excavating, it often takes a great deal longer to fill this pond with water than it does to construct it.
There are many different takes on this general concept, but one example would be to take treated lumber planks that are at least 2 inches thick and 12 inches wide, nail them together to form a rectangular shape with the dimensions that are desired for the pond, and then position the form in the area where the pond is going to be built.
This “box” does not have a bottom, so it may be set straight on the ground (grass, concrete, a deck, etc.), and then some type of padding or cushioning material is placed on the bottom of it. The vast majority of guides recommend using sand, however, in my opinion, the ideal substance is roofing felt. It is inexpensive, easy to use, lays down level, creates a barrier that prevents weeds from growing, and offers an excellent cushion for the pool liner.
When the roofing felt has been properly installed, the pool liner may be lowered into the form, and you can then start adding water to the pond. If you want to prevent the liner from blowing into the pond, you may need to put a few staples on the outside of the pond form. However, you should only use a few staples, and you should position them at the edge of the liner.
Even while the weight of the water will do a wonderful job of smoothing out irregularities as the pond fills up, you may still help smooth them out by hand before there is more than an inch of water in the bottom of the pond if you are a perfectionist. You should check the level of the form while the pond is starting to fill. If the form has to be raised slightly on one or two sides, this may be accomplished by gently inserting some shims to elevate the forms in the appropriate places. You should do this while the pond is beginning to fill.
If you would rather have the water flow out of the pond onto a certain side (for example, into the flower bed instead of onto the deck! ), you might consider leaving the overflow side of the pond a quarter of an inch lower than the remainder of the pond.
Before cutting off any surplus liner or performing any permanent stapling, you need to wait until the pond has been entirely filled with water. This will provide the water pressure with enough time to pull the liner into every nook and cranny where it needs to go. Some of those few holding staples that you used to hold the liner in place may actually tear loose as the pond fills, but if you stapled the liner on the outside of the form, near the edges, then no harm is done… you will be trimming some of that excess liner off, anyway.
It is true that it takes much more time to fill this sort of pond than one does to construct it. I once spent two hours building a pond that was twenty by thirty feet in size, but it took the whole night for the pond to fill up with water.
In my opinion, a depth of around 14 inches is perfect for an above-ground pond; however, the depth may be more or lesser than that depending on the materials that are used to construct the design of the pond. It’s possible to make a pond out of a variety of materials, including concrete blocks, landscape timbers, railroad ties, and more.
Keep in mind that every form of wood, regardless of species, has to be treated with pressure in order for it to endure for more than a year! Despite the fact that I indicated a rectangular form, if you have some talents in carpentry, you can also make triangles, pentagons, ponds inside ponds, and other variations on this theme.
Using treated lumber planks to construct a pond does not require any additional side support if the length of the pond is less than 8 or 10 feet; however, if you are building a pond that is longer than that, you will need to drive a stake into the ground at the location where the planks are to be nailed together to prevent the water pressure from causing the planks to bow outward. You will be able to construct a pond if you are proficient in the use of twelve nails and four boards and if you know how to fasten them together. If you are in the mood to be lazy, you can ask the lumber yard to cut the planks to the dimensions you require. You just need to borrow the staple gun from your neighbor and dig those scissors up from the bottom of the kitchen drawer, and you’ll be ready to go!
Liners for ponds may also be used to create ponds that are dug into the earth. The benefit of this method is that the pond may be formed into whatever shape you choose, and the edges of the liner are supported by the earth below them.
It is a good idea to use a garden hose that is flexible in order to lay down the design of the pool that you desire. You may begin digging if everyone agrees that the form is pleasing and that it is of adequate size. To do this, dig a trench next to the hose and then go to work.
It is important to keep in mind that the depth of the pool does not need to be more than 12 to 16 inches, so try not to get carried away. If you desire a waterfall, you may save part of the excavated earth and mound it up near the pond so that you can use it later to build the waterfall. Another option for getting rid of the dirt that has been dug is to construct a berm around the pond using part of the material that was removed from the excavation site.
After the pond has been dug, the level should be checked, and you should pick which side you want excess rainwater to flow from. After that, you are ready to line the hole with roofing felt by running it across the pond and up the sides until it reaches the boundaries of the pond. After placing the liner inside, and carefully weighing it down by placing pebbles around the outside, you can then begin filling the container.
Once again, refrain from cutting away any extra liner until the water in the pond has been totally absorbed. Some pond books recommend that you build a shallow shelf in the pond before installing the liner. However, the authors of such publications don’t have to deal with the river sand and rains that we do. I believe that it is best to construct the pond to a depth of 14 to 16 inches, and then just use bricks to hold up any bog plants that do not like to sit in water that is too deep for them. This provides you with more freedom in rearranging the pond plants whatever you see fit and protects you from the catastrophe of a shelf unexpectedly falling into the pool. It is essential that the margins of pool liners, whether they are installed in the ground or above ground, be shielded from direct sunlight since this is the primary factor that leads to the deterioration of most liners over time.
You can finish off the edge of your pond and make it more appealing by using stones or lumber planks. This will also allow the liner to live up to its ten-year guarantee and remain in good condition. Even the more substantial plastic ponds that come performed should have the edges covered with turf or another type of paving material to prevent the sun from damaging the plastic. One last piece of advice: try to position your pond in an area that faces south and receives at least five hours of direct sunlight each day. Doing so will help prevent algae growth. Because of this, you will be able to cultivate a broad range of pond plants.
Be sure to use a product that dechlorinates the water before you fill the ponds for the first time… the new chemicals that have been added to our drinking water do not dissipate quickly, and they will still kill your fish and cause damage to your plants even ten days after you have filled the pond.
Make sure you are satisfied with the size and form of your pond before you begin the construction process. This will prevent you from saying things like “I should have built it larger, or longer, or rounder, etc.” within the first two hours of filling the pond with water.
The first and most important thing to remember when creating a pond is that no matter how large your current pond is, you want a bigger one.
Last but not least, if you decide to build an in-ground pond, why not offer refreshments and ask some friends to help? Friends will have a variety of helpful suggestions on how you should go about doing it, which is good as long as they keep digging.
