What can make your garden look elegant and lively? Well, there are plenty of things that can do the work, but none does it as good as a pond. A pond is a quintessential element of traditional gardens and its incorporation is becoming increasingly popular in the contemporary world.
Ponds make gardens more beautiful, but the entire task of making one pond is monumental and requires a lot of patience apart from a reasonably spacious garden. While you can get a pond made by a professional, we recommend you do it yourself and save a huge chunk of money.
In this article, we have compressed the entire task of pond-making into six easy steps that, if employed correctly, will give you the kind of pond best suited for your pond.
So, without further ado, here are six tips to build a garden pond:
1. Digging the hole
Yes, the first but the most important task of all is digging the right hole. Dig a nice hole, but do it according to the space your garden has. You cannot dig out a hole which covers more than one-third of a small garden; things will go south if you do something like this.
You have to dig straight down, but while doing so, be careful that you do not tamper with the walls. We must have strong walls able to contain water without any leaks. It is recommended you start with a small hole and gradually widen it proportionally.
Create a shallow part and a deep part in your pond. Keep in mind the fish you are going to put in your pond. If you are, for example, thinking of Koi, then you need to have a deeper pond. So, study well about fish before digging the hole.
Assess the roots and rocks that might cause damage to the liner. Scrap them off with the help of a shovel and make sure small rocks are removed with a trowel. After all this, put your underlay inside the hole.
2. Lay down the Liner nicely in the hole
Lay down nicely the liner in the hole. Make sure you do not drag the liner too much. Add some patience and do a little draping and you can accomplish an impeccable look for your liner. We recommend you put off your shoes and spend some time gently pushing into all corners and doing some pleating.
You can use stones or bricks to keep steady the liner down.
3. Time for some water
Start filling the pond with water. When you are halfway through it, ease out the hold on the liner at any area.
When you are satisfied with the liner, put a layer of bricks all around the ledge. The idea behind this is to ensure that the water level is above the liner. This way you will make all those ugly cracks invisible to your eyes.
4. Secure your liner
In case you are thinking of using a water feature, you might want to think about the place where power cables and other hoses will be. Whatever water feature you implement, make sure you do a dry run otherwise you might end up tearing apart half of your pond just to get it out.
An alternative step is to fill in any gaps that remain between the bricks with the help of setting cement. Allow the cement to remain for at least 3-4 hours.
Now ease out the liner gently from behind the bricks and pack up the dirt along with it.
5. The Rocks
Now get your rocks and enable them to overlap the bricks in place entirely. Make sure you do it right: the step requires entire coverage of the liner with rocks and is the most embellishing part of the entire pond-making process.
It is preferred that you have a range of rocks, coming in all kinds of sizes and shapes, to add a more decorative effect.
Now, after having played with rocks, you can fill the pond up.
6. The final touch-ups
This last step is fun-filled and expects a considerable degree of creativity from you. After having given 24 hours for your pond to settle down, you can do some touch-ups such as add sand around to create an amazing effect.
Get your fish and ornamental plants to complete the pond. But, it is recommended you wait for at least two days before adding fish in the pond. If you are, however, unsure, you can consult an aquarium expert or a sound advice.
Now, then, you are all done. Where is the camera?
