Merlins Pond

[Merlin]

Ok compared to some of the ponds I have seen, mine is just a puddle, but it is a puddle that holds 2000 gallons, is 5ft deep. And most of all it keeps me happy :D http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Chateauwizard/Picture166.jpg

The roof of the pagolla is now covered in Chinese rush matt, and there is a net ( although hard to see) running right round the pond.

[Terri]

Now that is neat! I really like the look... wil you be ading vines tot he trellis? More pics please, got some close-ups? Filter?

I'm such a pond geek :lol:

[Busy B]

Making you happy is the ideal :wink:

How long have you had it Merlin? Do your winters get cold? Do you have problems with it being above ground? Maybe not since it's 5 ft deep..

[Jackie Ramo]

Great looking pond. I've aoften regretted not having a place where I could sit on the edge of the pond and have the fish swim up to me. A raised pond just brings them closer.

Have you had a preditor poblem that it is netted?

More pics.

[Merlin]

OK Pond filter, I need to have a clear up behind the pond before I can take a photo, all the spare pipes and pumps etc were placed there at the start of the cold spell, but this is the type I have http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Chateauwizard/PondFilter.jpg.

Do our winters get cold, well compared to yours no, I am also lucky to live in the south of England, so we do not get the really bad stuff that the north of the UK always gets. I have not had any ice on the pond in the last 4 years. As my garden is postage stamp in size, the pond had to be raised as it gave us extra seating for all our garden parties , and a nice place to sit on a warm night. I built my first pond when we moved in to this place 21 years ago, the pond has not changed much in design, but has been made deeper to accommodate the Koi.


Predators , well the main one we have is the Heron, and yes he found the pond. I am lucky in the design that I can net all around the pond, my choice of net from a distance becomes almost transparent, so does not distract from the beauty of the pond.

[Jackie Ramo]

Great that this thread has surfaced again. I thought it was lost in the move.

A word of advice on the rockery gaden, be sure to think out your plants before you fill in. Many alpines prefer and dry root scree type of soil and they are unforgiving if they stay wet. Since there is no drainage because of the cement I'd worry about plants. Maybe I've misunderstood the construction here.

[Busy B]

Well should of read here instead of asking you about snow...No ice...how lucky for you!

[Merlin]

Great that this thread has surfaced again. I thought it was lost in the move.

A word of advice on the rockery gaden, be sure to think out your plants before you fill in. Many alpines prefer and dry root scree type of soil and they are unforgiving if they stay wet. Since there is no drainage because of the cement I'd worry about plants. Maybe I've misunderstood the construction here.Hi Jackie :-D I had thought about the drainage, I intend to drill rather large holes though the back wall just above the cement line, this will allow excess water to drain away. Merlin goes in search odf a picture . :arrow: Ok I am back,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Chateauwizard/Picture106.jpg.

Ok if you look at where the water reaches the top of the liner, the liner is fed over the inside block wall, in to an area of aprox 8" then you have the main outer wall. The gap between the two walls is 10"deep, then you hit the backfill concrete, thats the area I want to plant some small rock plants. it does not look that wide in the photo but it is wide enough, for the plants and some rocks.

You may also notice that the pond has two depths the front part where the paving slabs sit, is part of the old pond which was 2' 6" deep, the back wall was removed, plus 2 tonne of earth that used to form the old water fall. The slabs not only hide the odd creases in the liner, but made an ideal area for my lilly tubs.

[Jackie Ramo]

It doesn't look wide enough in the pic but I'll take your word for it. Also how deep is the area? I'd look into sedums, there are many varieties, I like to plant them together as some are almost purple and some are lime green. You can get a real depth of texture and they bloom at different times. Now these are creeping sedums I'm thinking of with a few maybe fescue grasses to give height.

Course what is the goal of the garden, there are other options. The ivy you mentioned can grow up the wall. There are other vines etc that will tolerate the space.

[Tammygirl815]

Nice pond merlin, I Like the look too!

[Jackie Ramo]

Merlin, here's a pic of sedums and other plants growing around the waterfall of my pond.

[Busy B]

You have so many options with your climate...England has so many nice cool season crops...I have a friend that grows alpines that people from all over send him seeds or plants..he's got some outstanding primroses..even for a small area you could have flowering and greenery growing in that space...for a couple years I was on a Lewesia kick..small and pretty. There's a new sedum from Croatia too..called Angelina...varigated gold and green and blooms yellow..nice trailer and really hardy. I've had mine live even after having no snow cover.

[Tammygirl815]

Jackie, I never new there were so many different kinds of sedum, I found one that I really liked at a garden shop in my area. It is like nothing Ive seen. I will send you a pic when it comes up this year, its very pretty i don'i know much about it. I have some others that are more common.

[Jackie Ramo]

I love sedums and never fail to check that section of the nursery when visiting. Mostly I have them all already ;-)

[Merlin]

Thankyou for the advice Ladies :grin: I will let you in to a little secret, a number of people have commented on how nice the plants are that are on the pond at the moment. I have not had the heart to tell them that they are all fake :grin:.


Well it was nearing the cold spell, and I wanted the new pond to have a bit of Colour ;)

[Tom C]

Nice job.

Tom

[Merlin]

Ok better late than never :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Chateauwizard/000405071720.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Chateauwizard/000507012428.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Chateauwizard/000507012912.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Chateauwizard/Reds.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Chateauwizard/Gold2.jpg

And of course the Golfishs home .

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Chateauwizard/Pondboat.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/Chateauwizard/Boat2.jpg

[Terri]

That boat is just WAY to KEWL! I hope Isis sees this, she's been doing something similar.

Koi babies look great Merlin :-)

[Jackie Ramo]

I love the boat!!! Worth waiting for the picture. Fish are looking good as well.

[marla]

Wow, what a great use for an old boat, that is so neat must be the conversation piece of the neighborhood. Your koi are so large and looking as if they eat good too. :-P

[Busy B]

That is just the coolest Merlin! Nice accent!

[Randy Yeh Mon]

Great pon Merlin....very smart boat too !!! :)