Surprisingly enough, it is usually in mid-summer that many
gardeners begin to think about installing a small pond or
water garden. Ponds don't need to be weeded or watered,
and they can supply exuberant color in the form of water
lilies and bog plants.
The sound of a splashing fountain or waterfall is more
appealing than weeding a flower bed or mowing that section
of lawn. Best of all, no matter how hot or wet it gets,
the pond just keeps on blooming!
At this point you may start to think about the expense
and labor of installing a concrete pond, and our 95 degree
days are just about enough to stop this pond daydream in
its tracks.
However, with the advent of newer pond liners and pre-formed
pools, the misery associated with concrete mixing and finishing
is a thing of the past. Heavy duty pool liners with 10 year
guarantees are now common, and can sell for as little as
$1.00 a square foot.
Preformed ponds in many different shapes and sizes are
also an alternative method to create a quick pond at less
cost than using concrete. Using these materials, the average
gardener can install a decent size pond in less than one
day, and have it stocked with plants, fish and fountain
by the following morning.
The simplest kind of pond to build is an above-the-ground
pond. Since no digging is required, it usually takes much
longer to fill this pond with water than it does to build
it!
There are many variations on this theme, but as an example,
one can use treated lumber planks which are at least 2 inches
thick by 12 inches wide, nail them together to form a rectangular
shape of the desired dimensions, and place the form where
the pond is desired.
This bottomless "box" can be placed directly
on the grass, concrete, a deck, etc., and then the bottom
is covered with some kind of padding or cushioning material.
Most books say to use sand, but I think the perfect material
is roofing felt. It is cheap, convenient, lies flat, makes
a barrier to weeds, and provides a good cushion for the
pool liner.
Once the roofing felt is in place, the pool liner can be
dropped into the form and you begin filling the pond with
water. A few staples on the outside of the pond form may
be needed to keep the liner from blowing into the pond,
but be sure to use just a few, and place them at the edge
of the liner.
As the pond fills, the weight of the water will do a good
job in smoothing out wrinkles, but if you are a perfectionist,
you can help smooth them out by hand before there is more
than one inch of water in the bottom of the pond. While
the pond is beginning to fill, you can check the level of
the form, and if it needs to be raised a little on one or
two sides, this can be done by carefully inserting some
shims to raise the forms where needed.
If you prefer the pond to overflow on a certain side (like,
into the flower bed, rather than onto the deck!) then you
may want to leave the overflow side a quarter inch lower
than the rest of the pond.
You should wait until the pond is completely filled before
cutting any excess liner or doing any permanent stapling.
This will give the water pressure enough time to pull the
liner into every nook and cranny where it needs to go; some
of those few holding staples which 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 really does take longer to fill this kind of pond than
it does to build it. I once built a twenty-by-thirty foot
pond in two hours but it took all night for it to fill with
water.
I think an ideal depth for an above ground pond is about
14 inches, but it can be deeper or more shallow than that,
depending on what materials you are using for the form.
Railroad ties, landscape timbers, concrete blocks, etc.
are all possible materials for pond building.
Remember that any kind of wood must be pressure treated
if you want it to last more than a year! Although I mentioned
rectangular shape, if you have some carpentry skills, you
can also do triangles, pentagons, ponds within ponds, etc.
Ponds built with treated lumber planks do not need any
side support if they are less than 8 feet or 10 feet long;
if you are building larger than that, you will want to drive
a stake into the ground where the planks are to be nailed
together, so the water pressure won't make the planks bow
outward. So, if you know how to use twelve nails to nail
four planks together, then you can build a pond. If you
are feeling lazy, have the lumber yard cut the planks to
size you need. Borrow your neighbor's staple gun, find those
scissors buried in the kitchen drawer, and you are in business!
Pond liners can also be used to make an in the ground pond.
The advantage is that you can make any shape pond you want,
and the ground itself supports the sides of the liner.
It is a good idea to use a flexible garden hose to lay
out the pool shape you want. Once everyone agrees that it
is a pleasant shape, and it is large enough, you can dig
a trench along side the hose, and start digging.
Remember, the pool does not have to be more than 12 to
16 inches deep, so don't get carried away. If you want a
waterfall, some of the excavated soil can be mounded up
near the pond for later waterfall construction. In some
cases, it may be useful to use some of the soil for a berm
around the pond, so that is another way to dispose of excavated
soil.
Once the pond is excavated, check the level, decide which
side you want excess rainfall to flow from, and then you
are ready to line the hole with roofing felt, running it
across the pond, up the sides onto the edges of the pond.
Drop the liner in, weigh it down lightly with some rocks
around the edges, and start filling.
Again, do not trim any excess liner until the pond is completely
filled. Some pond books say you should create a shallow
shelf in the pond before putting in the liner, but they
don't have our river sand and rainfall to deal with. I think
it is better to build the pond to a depth of 14-16 inches,
and just use bricks to prop up those bog plants that don't
want to sit too deep in water. This gives greater flexibility
in rearranging the pond plants as you wish, and avoids the
calamity of a shelf suddenly slumping into the pool. When
using pool liners, whether in the ground or above the ground,
it is important to conceal the edges from sunlight, since
that is what eventually breaks down most liners.
Using stones or lumber planks to finish off the edge of
your pond will make it more appealing, and enable the liner
to live up to its ten year guarantee. Even the heavier,
preformed plastic ponds should have their edges covered
by sod or some paving material, so the sun can't reach it.
Some final pointers: if possible, locate your pond away
from trees, in a place that gets at least five hours of
direct sun daily. This will allow you to grow a wide variety
of pond plants.
Be sure to use a dechlorinating product when you first
fill the ponds... the new chemicals in our drinking water
do not dissipate quickly and they will kill your fish and
damage your plants, even ten days after you have filled
the pond!
Be sure you are pleased with the size and shape of your
pond before you start - so you won't say "I should
have made it bigger, or longer, or rounder, etc.",
within two hours of filling it!
Rule number one in pond building is that no matter how
big your pond is, you always want a bigger one.
Last, but not least, if you decide to do an in-the-ground
pond, why not serve refreshments and get some friends to
help . . . friends will have all kinds of useful ideas on
how you should do it ... which is fine, as long as they
keep digging...
About The Author
Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water
Gardens and several pond-related websites including macarthurwatergardens.com
and pond-filters-online.com.
He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff!
with a reader circulation of over 6,000 pond owners. To
sign up for the free newsletter and receive a complimentary
'New Pond Owners Guide' for joining, just visit MacArthur
Water Gardens>
