Ever since I was small I've wanted a pond. I've always been too lazy to dig one and too mean to buy a liner. When my mate Martin offered me a liner for free I snatched his hand off!I did some research and found a helpful leaflet/download on the British Dragonfly Society website.
Working from that leaflet the size of pond I could expect to get from the liner was about 8ft by 9ft so I staked out a rectangle of those dimensions and outlined it with string. Then, following roughly a plan I had sketched out, I laid some rope out to get an idea of how the pond would be sited.
Happy with that I sprayed the grass with paint to create a better outline and began removing turf.
By the time I had the shape of the pond-to-be cleared I was ready for my evening meal.
The two 'bays' will be shallow and gently sloping, and there'll be deeper water opposite the 'point'. Some of the spoil might be used to make a mound, most will be spread over the dip in the garden by the fence. Meanwhile I shall quietly contemplate the next move.
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Another layer dug out yesterday.
It rained today so I shifted the spoil.
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Things were slow drying out but I jumped in with the spade nonetheless. Deepened the deep bit and spread more spoil. More drying time required before the final shaping I think.
Saturday, 28 August 2010
Sunshine got me out making tweaks yesterday. The trough for the edge of the liner to sit in is cut, so it' now ready for the final contouring and levelling before getting some sand to line it.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Daft as it seems today's job was putting soil back in the hole! I'd overdone the digging and wanted to re-profile to provide a greater shallow area. Once things dry out a bit the contours will be smoothed and then the task of levelling the edge will begin.
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
I managed to get the pond dried out a bit more this morning in the hot sun. Pity the days are getting shorter and the sun isn't on the pond for so long now. After my evening meal I hope I managed to get the edge level. It doesn't look much different in the photo below to how it did last time. Now I have to decide if I line the hole with sand or carpet. Another day of drying won't go amiss.
Friday, 3 September 2010
Having been offered some carpet FOC I decided to go with carpet and sand!
Not a lot of sand, just enough to smooth the contours under the carpet.
The carpet was just about the perfect size.
The liner was quite a bit larger than the hole required. I suppose I could have dug a bigger pond.
Instead I made a last minute bird bath.
All that is left to do now is some landscaping, and then the pond can be populated with plants - I saw a midge laying eggs while the water level was rising!
Friday, 3 September 2010
My mate, Martin, who gave me the pond liner said I could have some rocks too. Yesterday I called round to
And so to work. The rocks have been piled up loosely to provide hidey-holes for frogs and toads. Some of the pile of sods have been used to level out the pond edge and the rest upturned in the dip by the fence, which is levelling off nicely. I'll top up the levels later today and start planning the planting
Sunday, 1 May 2011
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
It's almost a year since the water first went in the pond and it's now full of life. The recent cooler weather has seen the floating algae sink and reveal more of what lay beneath.
Emergent plants are yellow flag, purple loosestrife, water mint. Surface plants include water forget-me-not, brooklime, broad-leaved pondweed and bog bean. The pond life includes water boatmen, lesser water boatmen, diving beetles, three species of snail, water louse, leeches and others. Last week a dragonfly came to have a look and the birds which visit the garden use the pond for bathing and drinking. A little more marginal cover to conceal and shade the liner and I will be almost done with the tinkering.
