Garden Projects #5

Thanks Jo, Allison and Marilyn!

Karen

Vey nice garden, Karen. I would guess that the aquilegia would be no problem, they put themselves all over my place, but how hard is it to germinate primroses? I've never seen them self-sow.

Pam

Thanks, Pam. I think primulas might be tricky. I just read the back of the package and it says not to cover them. Oops! I did, but not by much. Here's hoping they'll still take. Japanese primula self sows freely, but that's not one I sowed. I did plant a seedling of one in there from a friend's garden.

The plants I have in that garden are as follows: Campanula 'Blue-Eyed Blonde', Geranium 'Cheryl's Shadow', Geranium 'Orkney Cherry', Heuchera 'Malachite', Astilbe 'Key West', Nicotiana alata grandiflora (a species flowering tobacco), Brunnera 'Looking Glass', Hosta 'Orange Marmalade', Hosta 'Hoosier Harmony', Hosta 'Great Expectations', a large NOID blue hosta (which is small now and looking more green than blue, but will become huge and will have to eventually be moved), another Hosta whose name currently escapes me, and 2 hollies, 'Blue Boy' and 'Golden Girl'. Those hollies will eventually be moved, too, but for now they will stay. They had already been there.

Karen

You new bed is looking good, Karen!

I am in the planning phase of a pond renovation project. My husband thinks I've completely lost my mind (but secretly I know he likes the idea!) Since visiting the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, I have been trying to think of a way to incorporate this concept into my much smaller garden pond...

I finally came up with a plan. My pond is really two ponds linked together by a narrow channel. I'm going to eliminate the channel and make the pond larger. The hosta area on the left will become an extension of the pond and stepping stones will replace the bridge.

This message was edited Jun 14, 2011 12:03 PM

Here's an older picture showing the area (to the right) where I plan to expand the pond. The picture is a little awkward because you cannot see the entire pond, but basically, the little semi-circle seating area with the bench will be dug out and become part of the pond. I'll also make the pond a little deeper while I'm at it. I hope to start this fall...

This message was edited Jun 14, 2011 12:02 PM

soj- how big is the pond today and what will it be when expanded?

I think it's about 20 feet by 14 feet at it's widest points today. I have never known how many gallons it holds, but have always guessed it to be around 4000 gallons. I think the stream holds another few hundred gallons. I could be way off. After renovations, it will still be the same dimensions at its widest points, but widening the narrow section and digging a deeper section will probably add another 1000 gallons or so (again, this is a highly non-technical estimate :)

but I like bridges, have no place to bridge here.

so does this mean you drain the pond - remove the liner - replace with a larger liner after digging? how much deeper?

interested as i am now almost to the point of starting my water feature construction. although still struggling with the pump house/vault - really do not want either - just smallish stream into the pond - size to be determined.

a rock bridge or stepping stones across would be cool.

IrisMA, I like bridges too, but I could always move the bridge to another section of the stream. I just really liked the way the stepping stones looked at the botanical garden.

Bill, I would need to drain the pond and remove/replace the liner. It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm excited about the prospect. Plus, I've always feared that I'd have to replace the liner someday anyway because the current liner is actually two liners taped together at the "channel." The seam has held up without any leaks for 5 years now, but I'm always afraid it will eventually spring a leak. When I replace the liner, I will get one large piece that will cover the entire pond without any splicing. As for the depth, I will probably remove a few of the "shelves" and taper the depth down to about 4 feet in the center. It's currently only about 2.75 feet deep at its deepest. I don't have a problem overwintering fish at this depth currently, but as the fish grow, it could become a problem. Of course, my resident heron seems intent on ensuring that my fish don't get too big :(

You certainly don't need a pumphouse. You could get a submersible pump that fits in a skimmer and maybe add a biological filter or bog filter at the head of the stream. The first version of my pond was set up this way. I have to admit I like the results of my current setup better (much less maintenance and almost no problems with water clarity/quality now), but plenty of people use this kind of setup without any problems so perhaps my problems were due to something else. I do think a bog filter would be a great idea for you. Looks very natural, adds filtration, and gives you a place to grow bog plants.

This message was edited Jun 14, 2011 4:17 PM

Wow - will you be able to find one piece that big, Christina?!! When you re-fill, you can get a sense of the volume. Just see how long it takes to fill a 5 gal pail. Then see how long it takes to fill the pond and divide.

Yes, I do believe so. I'll have to do the research again because I've forgotten which size I'd need. But I remember discovering that I could have gotten one liner for the entire pond AFTER I finished splicing together my two liners. I was tempted at that point to redo it because I feared it would leak. I tried to measure the volume using the 5-gallon trick last time, but my husband kept turning the water off to let the well pump rest when I wasn't looking so I lost track of time. I do plan to try to track it better this time around. I also want to reserve a couple hundred gallons of the existing water to help the "new" pond achieve an "eco-balance" more quickly.

Now I need to research how to "mount" the giant stepping stones...

thanks Chistina - 4 foot deep - enough to take a dip in if it is really hot! when i get closer to knowing what i want here we will talk more. i do not plan on fish. plenty of herons here too.

carefully place the stones on the liner - i am sure there is some fabric barrier that goes over the liner - i bought a cheap book on pond construction that covered doing that - i will take a look.

i get a couple catalogs that have one piece liners in all sizes

The stepping stones I'm thinking of would only be about 8-10 inches thick or so. I'm thinking they'd have to be elevated on cement blocks or pillars so that the surface of the stone is just a couple inches above water level - and the fish can swim underneath/between the stones

If you don't plan on fish, you definitely don't need an elaborate filtration sytem.

yes, i heard that the fish cause some of the dirty water issues - of course if the better half wants fish.................

pillars/cinder block sound dicey

WAY better off without fish. Major headache with them. Take it from me!

Wow - four feet is deep. Why so deep?

I don't find them troublesome at all. But I only have about 15 or so and they are small (because the heron got the bigger ones). I'd probably be ostracized in the water gardening forum for saying this, but I actually don't mind too much when the heron gets a few. I didn't build the pond for fish; I just added them for additional "interest." They are fun to watch and I enjoy having them, but they are not the main thing for me so I want to keep the population down and keep the water clear.

Why four feet? I don't know - why not? LOL. I think I read somewhere that four feet is a good depth for koi. I do have 3 koi and the rest are goldfish, comets and shubunkins. I may stop at 3.5 feet. Depends if hubby lets me drive a backhoe on "his" grass or not. If I'm digging by hand, it will definitely stop at 3.5 :)

Oh - didn't know you had fish.

Bill, I've seen some instructions on putting stepping stones on cement pillars. I think they need to be cemented in place, but it does sound a little dicey to me too! I'll have to do some more research. I don't think I want the water to be too shallow...

This message was edited Jun 14, 2011 3:58 PM

lovely area

Looks great now can't imagine what it will look like when you enlarge it.

I want a water feature and hubby says but I don't want fish....don't have to have fish in a water feature, DUH

You don't want fish, believe me!

The pond is really lovely, SOJ.....

If no fish, what do you do about mosquitos? Those are really rampant here!!

Thanks on the pond comments. I do like my pond as is. I just can't stop tweaking things. Gardener's curse :)

As long as the water is running, no skeeter probs, Lucy.

Love the pond Songs, tweaking only makes it better. ^_^

I know what you mean- it's hard to resist the urge to improve something once the idea presents itself. I see the new picture so clearly, I have to make it happen. Sometimes I think I have no idea what my garden looks like now, I only see what it is in my mind... Poor J, he looks at these little specks of green and tries to follow as I burble on about how it's going to be. But somewhere during the second summer of my involvement he gave me carte blanche to do whatever I want, so he must have a glimmer!

Pam

Thanks, SOJ! I love your pond, and can't see how it would be improved, but I know how it is to always want to be tweaking things. That one at the botanic garden is gorgeous. That will be a huge project, and sounds quite daunting. I have always wanted to make my pond bigger, but really don't have the extra money nor the ambition to take on such a big project, as I would have to do it myself. It would cost a lot to buy all the rocks I would need, plus a bigger liner, bigger filter and whatnot. Would want to get more pond plants, too. Someday.....

You know I've seen large koi at ponds at a couple of garden centers around here. I wonder how they keep the herons from eating them. Do they not eat them when they get to a certain size? There is no netting over the ponds. I tried keeping the feeder goldfish in my pond, but the herons always got them pretty quick. They disappeared, anyhow. Whether it was herons or something else that got them I don't really know.

Are there any regulations on how deep a home pond can be? Do you have to keep it fenced for safety if it's a certain depth? I'm wondering about building codes, laws, etc. I'm sure each town/area/state is different on that.

Victor's right on no skeeter probs if you keep your water running. They only breed in standing water. You can put mosquito dunks in standing water, such as bird baths and such.

Karen

Have to fence swimming pools here, don't know about ponds.

When you have fish,you get Herons.Then you have no fish.
This happens here a lot,in the hood,not at my gardens. There isnt a level spot for a pond.

Don't need a level spot, Jo! You just dig it with a level bottom.

that will be what i have to do.

It's actually better with a slope if you plan a waterfall.

Bill has those!!!

yup and i will have more than one waterfall

Bill plans to have a waterfall that flows UP.

Plans sound wonderful, Bill......I'd love a pond with a waterfall to attract the birds....