Maturing Pond

The Finished Pond Rab Dingwall
The pond was built 3 years ago in 2003 (described in Part 1 - Building a Pond) and I thought you might like to hear how things have developed and what I would do differently if I was to start again
2003		2006
The Mistakes The loft insulation I used to protect the liner from the concrete blockwork seemed a good idea at the time and while it did the job OK it was a bit of a problem when trying to finish the top edge because there isn't any water pressure at the surface to compress the fibre against the sides. I had to pull handfulls of it out and slide strips of old carpet in its place to get a tidier edge. The pond is nearly four feet deep at its deepest but most of it is only 18 to 20 inches deep. I should have made more of it deeper to give the lillies a greater area of deep water. The terrestrial planting area at the back of the pond is too narrow. The plants there have filled out nicely but there is now no way to get into that 20 foot length to weed and prune so I have to get in the pond and wade across. Fortunately I am not too bothered by a few weeds so I only go paddling two or three times a year - in the summer Putting a pond right under a tree is never a good idea but I didn't have much choice in the matter. The Chestnut provides good shade but I have to heavily net the pond in Autumn not just to catch the leaves (which curl up and go through a one inch mesh!) but to catch the conkers and their shells. The shells are a real problem because of their sharp spikes so when I am in the pond (it is too big to maintain from the edge) I have to go barefoot and shuffle to avoid puncturing the liner - or my foot. A pergola with a mesh cover is in the planning as a better solution. It might also deter the herons. Progress since the first build Please click on the pictures for a larger image - and other views
	The pond as it was when the first article was written We still have not cemented the coping stones to the wall or finished the side that backs onto the shed but we have planted out the rear bed and installed a few marginals and lilies. Once the waterfall arrives and is sited we can move the filter box and finish the edging and do the landscaping in front of the shed. Other than that the pond is done and is home to a few small goldfish - until it settles and matures
	Waterfall and Filter My wife kindly bought me a nice fibreglass waterfall which was duly installed. The filter box was also moved behind the chestnut tree and the filter return pipe was hidden under the waterfall and then runs below ground along the back edge to feed back in at the opposite side of the pond. We entered our Club's Pond Competition and came 6th (out of 6)
	One year old One year later the plants both in and around the pond are beginning to fill out and we again took 6th place in the annual pond competition (but out of 9 entries)
	Two years old - 2005 Another year on and we moved up to 4th place in the annual pond competition but this time there were nine entries Note the heron deterrent over the pond - soon to be replaced by a pergola
	Three years old - 2006 After a long cold winter and a very late spring everything in and around the pond is later than usual in springing into growth and bloom - everything except the water cress and frogbit I made the mistake of introducing last year. I have just dragged 10 bin liners of it out for compost. The pomd competition is next week and I don't think the pond looks as good as it did last year
	Three years old - 2006 One week on the pond is looking better since I dragged out the water cress and as much of the frogbit as I could, but I still don't reckon that it is as good as last year but having just made the tour with the judges (they judging, me taking photos) - nobody's pond does. Idon't know the result yet I just heard -- I won!!!
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The Finished Pond

Rab Dingwall