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A garden pond? If you have a reasonably sized garden then you may have considered adding a pond or a water feature
Where better to start than reading our tips here! We give you some basic advice, as well as useful sources of information.
These are some of the steps that feature regularly in gardening magazines, in guiding you on the design and construction of a garden pond.
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STEP
No. 1
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Decide on the Position
Firstly, you need to think carefully about where you will place the pond.
If it has trees overhanging, then you will be driven mad by leaves falling
in. If it is too shady, your plants won't appreciate it (water lilies and
other water plants generally like plenty of sunshine). Above all of
course, however, do pick a place where you can see it and appreciate it.Incidentally,
this is the point where you really want to sit back and be sure that this
is what you want. Before long, you will be spending money and
digging a hole that takes just as much work to fill up again if you change
your mind. Make sure that what you are planning is going to add to
the value of your home and garden, and not be out of place.
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STEP
No. 2
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Decide on the Size
Now decide on the size. The best way to visualise it is to lay a hose pipe
on the ground to define the edge of the pond. Then look at it from
different viewpoints to make sure that it fits well into the view of the
garden. Even go into the house, and consider whether it looks right
from the window. In bad weather, when you are indoors, the pond can
still be an attractive addition to your view of the garden if you choose
the position well.
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Garden Pond sources on a map
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STEP
No. 3
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Now Start Digging!
Digging is hard work, and you will learn just how unpleasant your subsoil
is! Your first step is to remove the turf and any good topsoil and put
these aside - you may want to use some of this later when tidying up the
edge of the pond. You will need to hire a skip to get rid of most of
what you dig out, unless you are going to use it to build up height
elsewhere in the garden. (Yellow pages for Skip Hire).
If you buy a pre-formed pond, then of course you dig a hole to fit it,
but we will assume in these notes that you intend to dig a hole the shape you want, and
then use a plastic liner. You will need to dig much of it out to at least
30 cms deep, as even if you want 'marginal' plants growing near the edge,
it is easier to grow them in special plastic baskets sitting on a shelf
this deep. Away from the sides, beyond your 'marginal shelf', you can
dig down as deep as you like, but keep the walls sloping to stop the earth
falling down, and to make it easier to fit the liner later.
Right at the edge of the pond, you might want to think about how you are going to
finish it off. Usually, you drape the liner onto the bank, and cover
with stones or paving, but a nice idea for part of it is to have a gentle
slope into the water, which can be a pebble beach. Another idea
is to cut away a strip of soil about 8 cms deep, and 20 cms wide, so that you can
hold the edge down with partially submerged stones - this neatly conceals
the liner at the waters edge, but do allow for the extra liner width.
Finally, make sure the edge of the pond is perfectly level, as once
the liner is in and full of water, it is too late to fix (water lapping
over the edge at one end, and a cliff-face of exposed liner at the other
end!!).
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STEP
No. 4
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Buy your Liner and Pump
Buy your liner and pump by mail order (saving about 20%), but first do have a look at
these items in
the garden centres, to make sure you understand how the pipes fit on, and
what sort of fountain attachments there are.
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Bradshaws are a mail order company with keen prices, so call them (24
hours) for a catalogue on 01904 691169. Even if you decide to
buy at a garden centre, paying more but perhaps feeling more comfortable
with knowing what you are getting, the Bradshaws catalogue has some useful
tips for your pond. Their web site is at www.bradshawsdirect.co.uk
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As a minimum you need to buy a liner big enough to fit the hole:
length = length of pond plus twice the depth plus a bit for
the edges,
width = width of pond plus twice the depth plus a bit for the
edges.
You also need an underlay to put under it unless you are going to use
sand or a DIY job with old carpets. This is to protect the liner
from sharp stones and roots. In addition to the pump (check the
catalogues for the size you need), you need some piping and connectors if
you are going to send water to feed a waterfall. You may get away
with this lot initially, but be warned that you may need to buy a filter
later on especially if you have fish, and want to see them (ie. to keep
the water clear).
Just to give you a rough idea of the cost, for a garden pond 5 metres long and 3 metres
wide, expect to spend about £150 on a good quality liner and underlay, and
about another £100 on the pump and fittings.
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STEPNo. 5
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Lay the Liner and Fill the Pond
Laying the liner has to be done carefully, but in fact it is the fun
part!
It also signals the end of all that digging, so is really something of a
milestone event. Our first tip on this is to make sure you have some
drinks ready for the minor celebration on seeing water in the hole!!
You start the process by draping the liner over the pond, and then
making sure it is roughly fitted to the shape, by folding it in the right
places. Place a few (smooth) stones on the liner around the edge to
stop the wind catching it , and to hold it in place. You will need
to walk over the liner inside the hole, so you are best to be in bare feet
to avoid damaging it. Then start filling with water.
(Incidentally another wotnext tip
is not to switch over to a water meter just before doing all this!).
As it fills the bottom of the pond, walk around, and smooth out any
wrinkles, and adjust the folds as needed, so that the liner stays firmly
against the sides. And continue like this until the pond is
full. You may have to adjust the stones around the edge as the liner
shifts into place.
You might now want to trim off any surplus liner (leave at least 30cm
overlap beyond the pool edge), and then that is it for a while, giving you
a chance to relax and admire your handiwork, and giving the pond a chance
to settle down over the next few days.
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STEPNo. 6
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Finish things off
You now need to finish the edges, as we mentioned earlier, with rocks,
or paving, or with pebbles and cobbles for a beach. If you just want
to buy a few large rocks as part of this, you can get them at B&Q for
about half the price of a garden centre. If you want a large
quantity, then it is cheaper to order from a building stone supplier (in
the yellow pages); rockery stone is sold by the ton (about 40 large
rocks), and the more regular building stone is sold by the size of wall
you can build with it, ie. by the square metre.Installing the pump is
straightforward, the main issue being to conceal the mains cable and the
piping. You will probably find that you need to tie a few stones or
half-bricks to the pump and piping in the water, to stop it all drifting
to the surface!
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STEPNo. 7
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Put in the Wildlife
Finally, you need to put in the wildlife that you want. Everyone
(well nearly everyone at least wants some plantlife, and you can put water
lilies in the deep water, irises and other plants in the 'margins', and
floating plants like water soldiers anywhere you want. At this
point, you start to discover how water garden centres make their money -
while many marginal plants are only about £3 each, the water lilies will
set you back about £15 each. If you are going to have fish too,
then get the credit card ready!!
Interestingly, as soon as the water has settled, from somewhere or
other, wildlife will gravitate to your pond. You will soon find
mysterious bugs and things in the water, and before long birds will start
to visit, especially if they can easily walk down to the water's
edge. All very nice.
Finally, you will probably want to plant some flowers around the pond, to serve as a pleasant backdrop. You can buy a good selection at low cost though mail order, using crocus.co.uk. It's a nice web site with lots of interesting gardening hints and tips.
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MORE
HINTS
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These are some bits of advice that
wotnext found in various information sources:
- If you buy a pre-formed garden pond, then be aware that however big it looks
standing up at the garden centre, it will look half the size when in the
ground.
- Make sure the pump is strong enough to do all you want - most people
underestimate (Don't forget that if you add a filter later, this is an extra
strain on the pump)
- If you have fish, make sure there is deep water, otherwise a heron can
devour them in minutes
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If all this advice isn't enough for you, then why not buy a book, and here's our
suggestion!
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A Practical Guide to Creating a Garden Pond and Year-round Maintenance ,
is aimed at the first time water-gardener, with step-by-step guidance on all aspects of setting up
garden ponds. Packed with ideas for creating ponds, stocking them with fish & plants
and maintaining them all year.
The book will help you decide between different types of pond or water feature, including
all the technical advice you need on pumps, liners, etc.
for more information, or to buy it
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A final thought:
Don't expect your garden pond to instantly become 'natural'.
It does usually take a year for things to settle in, and for
plants to grow, and for edges to soften, so a little bit of patience is
also needed.
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Some useful links to wotnext pages:
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Getting Value,
Security
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©2001-10 wotnext.com
This information is for the UK
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