Recently, one Friday evening, my wife, Lynn, and I were at the Lowe's garden shop picking up some plants for her to decorate the front flower bed with. I meandered my way over to their pond supply section and was casually seeing what was there. I glanced past a box containing a small fountain unit which you place in the middle of the pond and the pump at the bottom causes water to squirt out of the top. The photo on the front of the box triggered a thought of "how neat would that be in our flower bed?" (We have a raised, stone wall, flower bed in the back yard which is close to the house and near the deck and patio areas.)
Well, that was it. That tiny, mustard seed sized thought went nuclear...
...and over the course of that weekend I was envisioning large beautiful ponds...
...lush green plant life everywhere...
...world-class waterfalls...
... aesthetically pleasing bridges everywhere...
...and, of course, plenty of fish to feed...
With all the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas morning, I went out to gaze upon my flower bed...my blank canvas, my enchanted world hidden away from my day-to-day one, my garden city where I can wander for hours while making trails and paths never before touched by human foot...
Hmmm...not as big I as remembered it being...this could be a challenge. I could take the easy route -
...but no. Not yet anyway. Right now I will accept the challenge.
Following are a handful of pictures of the flower bed and surrounding area.
As typical, here is a list of goals and ideas of the work ahead of me...
- Dig out the middle of the flower bed to the desired depth
- Build a waterfall on the up-hill side
- Install both a bottom drain and a skimmer on the down-hill side
- Allow for a plant shelf around the inside edge
- Landscape the area between the pond and the house in such a way that combines all of those spaces, including the patio, into one cohesive area.
- Oh, and I need to get a Hickory tree cut down
Over the past several weeks I have been googling, reading, and learning all I can about fish ponds - fish, filters, pumps, pond liners, plumbing, UV lights, plants, and predator animals which like to eat fish. Of all I have seen and read, 2 things top the list - (1) there is A LOT of things to see and read and (2) building a pond ain't cheep.
I have recruited my son, Justin, to help with this project. It will be good for him as he will get an opportunity to learn many things (electrical, plumbing, general physics, etc). I also asked Lynn about helping. She said she was busy that day. A little confused I responded with, "That day? It will take more than one day to..." then suddenly she got interrupted with an important phone call. Funny, I did not even hear her phone ring. I joke - she is a trooper and will help also.
First things first though...I told myself that I can not start work on this project until after the patio pavers are installed around the arbor. That project is left over from last year and needs to be done first. Which, is OK. As I am working on that I can still read, learn, and plan for the pond.
Stay tuned.
