Beautiful Pond.
Thats a pond to be proud of.
Congrats.
Cricket
My Pond Pictures - Almost done!
Very nice.
Is one of the plants near or above, Astilbe?
Hi Mdvaden. Yes, the pink and purple spikey plants are astilbe.
Your pond is stunning. I am amazed by all the work it must have taken for digging and arranging. Good job planning and designing, too.
Your pond is totally beautiful, you realy did a great job...
That is magnificent. How on earth did you ever move those big rocks by yourself?
You're all so kind. Thank you for the encouragement. Chiele - I was able to move about 95% of the rocks by myself using a dolly. It was still hard work wheeling that think uphill but sure beat trying to carry them. I had some help from my husband and brother-in-law on the largest rocks.
I took a couple more photos last night and most came out better than the first ones I posted, so I thought I'd add them on...
The stream.
Songs, that is absolutely astounding. Fantastic job. Wanna come finish mine?
And again (the stream is my favorite part of the whole thing. I love to sit in the patio area early in the morning when the sun is rising just over the head of the stream!
Cascades with patio in background
Better shot of all the waterfalls together
Couldn't believe I had three blooms in the shade! I have more buds coming up too!!! :o)
Ok - last one. Husband's building a shed to house/hide the filters and pump. It's a little more "prominent" than I was hoping (didn't want it so close to the ponds) but I think it will be cute when done.
Songs...I just keep coming back to this thread to see your pics. I drool everytime.
I'd like to ask some questions if you don't mind.
1. Do you use pebbles and stones on the bottom covering the liner throughout the whole stream beds, falls and ponds?
2. The whole thing looks like it is in the shade most of the time...is it?
3. What are your plans for winter time for the whole thing? Keep it all running...or what? I am in Zone5a.....and I just keep my falls going all winter for my Koi.
4. What size hose or tubing are you using to return the water to the top?
5. Do you have a natural stream or river running behind your property? I thought I noticed something in one of your last pics.
Although you said above you weren't artistic, I will disagree with you. You couldn't have made all of this beauty without an artistic eye, mind and heart. If you came by your plan with much research, you certainly used the information to its best use. You are one of the best landscape designers I have ever seen.
I am anxious to see all of this beauty when it is a year old.....Mother Nature herself will not be able to know you did it.
Just absolutely wonderful!
Bingsbell - thank you for your very kind comments. As for your questions, I've responded to each below.
1. Do you use pebbles and stones on the bottom covering the liner throughout the whole stream beds, falls and ponds? ONLY IN THE STREAM AND SMALL WATERFALL POOLS - THE PONDS ARE BARE LINER BELOW THE COPING STONES
2. The whole thing looks like it is in the shade most of the time...is it? YES. THE SUNNIEST SPOT IS THE WATERFALLS AND THEY ONLY GET ABOUT 3 HOURS OF SUN.
3. What are your plans for winter time for the whole thing? Keep it all running...or what? I am in Zone5a.....and I just keep my falls going all winter for my Koi. I'VE BEEN WONDERING THAT MYSELF :o) I'D LOVE TO KEEP IT RUNNING BUT I'M A LITTLE AFRAID TO - IF WE LOSE POWER AND THE PIPES FREEZE - WILL THAT DESTROY THEM?
4. What size hose or tubing are you using to return the water to the top? 2-INCH
5. Do you have a natural stream or river running behind your property? I thought I noticed something in one of your last pics. I LIVE RIGHT NEXT TO A NATURAL POND. MAYBE THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE. NO NATURAL STREAMS - JUST THE "ELECTRIC ONE" :o)
I think the shed will blend in as if it were a little cabin by the pond.
I had trouble with my pond's plumbing the first three years. It has a bottom drain as well as a skimmer. I have various valves to control the water throughout the system. I have finally figured out the best way to handle our Montana winters and the pond. I'd like to think you wouldn't have to replace plumbing like I did. It is expensive and NOT fun to do.
The small pond above my waterfall, I now cover full time with a piece of styrofoam insulation board covered by a piece of exterior plywood, covered by a water proof cover, covered by sandstone slabs to hide it all. That keeps my upper pond from freezing as it is only a couple of feet deep and the rest of the year, algae from growing up there and pine needles from getting in it. I am too old to move those slabs off for the good weather so I just made it permanent after giving the upper pond a good cleaning.
I turn off the bottom drain for winter, and all the water goes from the skimmer to the upper pond, through the biofilter (housed in a shed beside the pond) and over the falls. It is kept open all winter. Just in case, I have a small pond heater right by the skimmer to make darn sure it doesn't freeze up. It is only plugged in when it gets darn cold here. The water has never frozen deeper than three inches.....mostly just nearly two inches.
One thing different from where you live is that we rarely get much snow so I don't have that extra insulation that snow provides....you get much more snow there than I do. I live on the eastern side of the Rockies and they are so tall that snow doesn't make it over here much....just the cold weather whipping down the side of the mountains.
The shed is insulated and I have a 60 watt light bulb on a thermostat that keeps the shed at the right temp all winter.
One great thing about keeping the falls going through the winter is that the birds use it for drinking and bathing...yes...I said bathing all winter long. I try my best to have a back yard habitat that welcomes anything that won't eat my Koi. ;^)
I can only offer suggestions as to what to do with your system.
If your water pipes are below your normal frost line...that is one thing...but if they aren't..you will have to drain your pipes completely....not your pond..... You can add a pond heater for the coldest of weather to keep your pond open so the gases are released if you are leaving the fish in the pond and worried about oxygen...you can add an air stone and air pump to make sure there is plenty of oxygen for them. Gold fish are pretty hardy....all you would really have to do is have the pond heater handy for the cold weather.
I had two other ponds running in the winter with just gold fish and they did just fine as long as there was a hole for gas to escape. No pumps running at all.
Maybe this info will help you decided what you want to do for the winter....
Absolutely and totally beautiful Songs!!! I LOVE it!!!
BingsBell - thanks for the information. That is very helpful. If do hope to keep my pond running as long as possible. But I am still concerned about the possibility of a power loss. Sometimes we get snow and ice storms that cause power outages. If that should happen, the pipes would undoubtedly freeze. We do get a lot of snow some winters, but other winters, like last winter, we didn't get much at all.
You mentioned a light in your shed that keeps it the right temperature - what kind of light is that? And what temperature does it maintain?
By the way, I checked out your pond too. Very nice. I love your large koi! I decided against koi mostly because I didn't want to dig any deeper than 3 feet - LOL!! But they are quite impressive.
Thanks again!
I am so excited and it is not my pond. Absolutely gorgeous. Very well done. Nice job. And the astilbe is beautiful. Thanks for the idea i will incorperate astilbe with my new pond now. Just a big hole in the ground right now.
SongsofJoy...I envy all your natural boulders you used...I am curious...did you find them along your property by that natural pond you spoke of?...or did you have them trucked in from somewhere else...if so did they cost you alot?...I used to vacation in New Hampshire when I was a young teenager and I'd go climbing around in the woods/forest over all the natural waterfalls...with moss on them...all slippery and used to give my mother near strokes when she found out I'd been doing that over high ravine type falls..AGAIN!...anyways...nice job and I REALLY LOVE the rockwork!...especially the mossy ones...I LOVE moss!...and I try to cultivate it as much as I can here in my New Jersey yard....I have quite a few moss covered boulders by my pond and on my old brick patio...I am always transplanting it and just stick it anywhere in the shade with a slurry of mud under it and it takes...
Hi SusanaLyn,
How I can relate to your stories of tormenting your poor mother while you explored the rocky terraine of New Hamsphire! I'm a lifetime resident here so there's not many places I haven't explored.
As for the large flat rocks around my pond - I did buy them. Mostly because I didn't want to spend the time and energy collecting them little by little. I got three pallets of small steppers (you should have seen how big the large ones were!) which cost around $900. All the other stones in my stream and waterfalls came from my property or from nearby woods, construction sites or alongside the road. I've had it on my todo list to make a moss slurry to spread over the rest of the rocks - I just haven't gotten to it yet. I love moss too!! I can't believe some people go through so much trouble to get rid of it! Have you posted your pictures here? I'd love to see your pond too.
I want one of everything. So natural looking I can almost hear the water, how soothing! The whole thing- AWESOME- what a retreat, what a woman!
My gosh Songs- that is just amazing!!!!! It really truly looks like something out of a nature magazine- you did a phenominal job on it!!! :)
Absolutely amazing!
I absolutely love it. You should create a journal as a how to for the rest of us!!!! Please!! I must admit that you have done as I have imagined in my yard. Perhaps sized down just a bit as my yard is smaller. I hope you don't mind if I use your photos as inspiration for my own pond. I have a few questions...
1. What would be some pointers that you could give us newbies to the world of pond/stream builders?
2. What book did you find the most helpful?
3. If you had the chance to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
Thanks for any advice you can give.
Anita
Thank you AuntB, beccalynns, bgentle and Anita for the compliments on my pond. Anita - I have been wanting to create a journal so that I will have a record of how it progesses year to year, but I just haven't found the time yet. Full-time job keeps getting in the way! Hopefully this fall/winter I'll get to it. In the meantime, I'll try to answer your questions. First, please note that I too am a "newbie". I say that hoping that it will be encouraging to others. I think planning and "dreaming" about the project was the most important part of the process for me. I started with a smaller pond and waterfall last year. While it came out nice and I got many compliments from neighbors and friends, it wasn't everything I wanted. So, over the winter I spent a lot of time reading and looking at pictures and dreaming about what I really wanted to have in my yard. I read every book on water gardens that I could get my hands on. At first I actually read them, but eventually I mostly just looked at the photos because they all seem to say pretty much the same thing. I cut out pictures of every waterfall I liked, every stream, every pond, pond edging, etc. and put them together in a scrapbook. I ended up with many different styles and looks, but when I was able to view them all together, it made it so much easier to pick my favorites and from that I was able to piece together and envision the whole feature before it was built. This was definitely the most helpful thing for me - and it was what I was missing the first year. I kept changing things as I built my first pond - kind of designing it as I went. It went much smoother the second year having done all my research first. Of course, I owe much of the credit to my yard as well. It lends itself naturally to the stream and waterfalls.
What would I do over again? I would use a single piece of liner for the entire stream/waterfalls, and then a single piece of liner for the two pond areas. I have not had any leaking problems so far, but I worry about that possibility where the seams are...I think if it was one piece, I wouldn't worry as much. I also wish I had brought in a crane and some larger boulders for the stone wall that the largest waterfall goes over (instead of the more "formal" wall built out of neatly stacked flat stones). But other than that, I am quite happy with it. Of course, I see things that still need some "tweaking" and I'm not totally happy with the largest waterfall yet, but those are things that can be adjusted over time.
My bridges and shed are almost done. Hopefully I will post some more pictures soon.
Thanks - I look forward to the updated pics
SongsofJoy- your pond/waterfalls is absolutely spectacular...last month I decided after reading many of the pond threads to make a pond..sounded easy..I started to dig, then dig and had to purchase a liner 24' x 24' + one for the waterfall...now what? well reading a thread on faux rocks it sounded like it would solve all my problems...being a little gal of 58 - bad back- it would be easier than going on a hunt for rocks...well I did step one - getting sand for the form - step 2 - sprinkling several inches of dry cement on a watered base and then sprinkling with water...that's not bad...left for work and two little imps (girls about 9 and 10) decided to come and play with my cats and dog...guess they through the ball and it would land in pond and they would go in - breaking up the thin layer of cement..not wanting to hurt their feeling, I began with a second coat...same thing happened..so I'll wait till school starts and begin to complete that phase...I've had a lot of rock and shale brought over to me by my girlfriends husbands so I now look at the mound of earth I've built up from the dig which is at the far end and sit, and sit and sit and ponder...not sure where to go now...now it seems overwhelming...but I have all weekend if weather co-operated to begin....just not sure where..but you have given me encouragement...thanks and I sure enjoy your photo's..what a serence setting!!