Share |

The Evolution Of A Pond

Published on Thursday, May 13, 2010.

Photograph by Lee M. Childress

My yard before the "pond project".

Photograph by Lee M. Childress

Pond installed along with greenery planted and grass seed spread.

Photograph by Lee M. Childress

The pond approximately two years later.

I was doing some weeding today in between rain storms and while I was working on the fish pond in the back yard, I thought back to the pond's beginning.

When we moved into our home roughly five years ago there was a section of yard next to our deck that simply refused to allow anything to grow. The house blocked much of the rain from watering that portion of ground and the sun only rested on that area for an hour or two. I could have just let it go, thinking that it was less yard to mow, but it was an eyesore and nothing you really wanted to point attention to when a visitor stopped by.

Thinking of the possibilities, I decided upon a small fish pond. Ah, the sound of flowing water while sitting out on the deck. First I had a truck load of black dirt brought in to build up the soon-to-be pond area. Then it was off to Lowes to buy a pre-formed pond liner. Once home with my new purchase, I started digging. Fighting rocks and tree roots along the way I finally had my hole dug. I lined the hole with newspaper for some padding, inserted the pond liner and filled in along the sides. Next it was time to fill the pond with water.

After the liner was filled with water I noticed that the pond had settled more on one side. Tired, I decided to put off leveling for another day and hoped the greenery would hide the uneveness of the edges. A friend was kind enough to give me cuttings of her ferns and hostas which made an excellent start for plants. Some sedum cuttings were also added for ground cover. When finished, I had the start of what I knew in a year or two's time would look great.

Seven fish call this pond home. These fancy goldfish were bought at a local pet store and have weathered two winters now. I learned that fish do not digest food when the water reaches 49 degrees. So in fall, when the water reaches that temperature, I no longer feed the fish until Spring when the water temperature is above 49 degrees. During the winter a heater is placed in the water, not to keep the water warm, but just to keep a hole in the ice so toxic gases can escape.

Two years later the pond is what I had pictured in my mind. I did pull the liner out early this Spring and re-level the pond. Quite a difference from that grassless section of dirt from five years ago. Now I'm ready to start my next yard project, once I figure out what that is.

Read and Post comments (1)