Filling unwanted pond

Hope this is ok in here, wasn't sure if it was projects/DIY or general gardening.

We inherited a smallish man-made pond by default when moving into our house. There are no fish left so we would like to fill it in. The cat just went for them and the pond attracted frogs, which in turn got terrorised by the cat. Really can't be bothered now with the faff of maintaining the pond. Yesterday I drained all the water and gunk out of it, so would like to fill it in soon before it starts filling up with rainwater, for now I've put 2 large plastic tubs in it to catch any. I can add a pic later when home and check the measurements. I suppose I need to choose from the following options:

• Cover the pond with planks of wood and then just put pots, wooden planter etc, on top - quick, easy option but kind of seems a bit pointless if really filling it would be best.
• Fill with large rocks, rubble, etc, and concrete the top over, then put planters, etc on that.
• Fill lower part with rocks, rubble, etc, upper part with topsoil, compost, then plant stuff in it. Would drainage be an issue if I did this? Also what do I do with the liner, do I remove it or keep it in and puncture it to help drainage?

Thanks in advance for any help, as this is not something I've ever had to do before.

 

Hi,

Yes, cats do love to play and even eat the frogs and toads, a shame you have to remove the pond as most folk are adding them these days to attract the wildlife.
You could alway add some netting or hiding places to protect the frogs ?

When we relocated our old pond, we punctured the liner as it will fill up with water whatever you cover it with.

Filled it with sand as it was being covered with flag stones, but soil just as good, leaving the old liner in place means that if anyone wants to reinstate the pond it should be easy to dig out as the liner and underlay will retain the original shape.

 

Thanks, I guess then that I will puncture the liner then fill it in but would still like to know the best way to fill it in. It’s only 3.5 x 2 foot and just under 2 foot deep at it’s deepest point.

 

As it's not enormous, why leave the liner? Unless you want to create a bog-garden, it'll be a liability. I'd take it out, fill the hole with good topsoil or JI No.3 compost and plant something suitable for the situation (sun/shade, soil type etc.).

 

Thanks. I will take the liner out then. Will lower 2/3 of topsoil then top 1/3 of JI compost be a good combination?

 

You could turn it into a big garden. That way it is still beneficial to wildlife, but will take the ‘faff’ out of pond maintenance. If you are going to fill in you will need to take the liner out. Is it a membrane sheet or moulded plastic one?

Rusty

 

If you keep the liner, it needs to be punctured like a colander. You'll need to roll the top bits of liner down too, otherwise they'll get in the way when you're planting, and then puncture all that too. I'm assuming it's a plastic or rubber liner, not a fiberglass formed one.

For preference though, shift it out. I had a pond filled in a couple of years back, and I ended up digging out all the crap myself later on. If you're going to plant there, it's going to be a lot easier to shift stuff now than at any time in the future.

Still puncture the liner thoroughly first though to get it properly drained.

 

Thanks. Going away from it in opposite direction to the courtyard you can see is a small 'jungle' area with small shrubs, roses, blossom tree, etc, running parallel to a path, and beyond that it opens into the main garden. The rest of that jungle bit is at ground level so it would just be nice to get some vibrant colour in that raised pond part which can be seen from the sitting area you can see, as it's at roughly eye level from there. Then to get some new garden furniture! Yes it's a membrane, not moulded tray.

 

Thanks. I will puncture the liner, let what's left drain out, then remove the sheet. After emptying out all that black water and gunk the other day, I'm happy for all trace of the pond to be gone, so the liner will be going for sure.

 

So I removed the liner yesterday. Messier and more painful job than I expected. Had to cut back a bunch of the overgrown stuff round the edges, then I thought it was as simple as cutting the sheet and pulling it out from the bricks it was trapped under. Wrong! When I got that off there were bits of debris like old newspaper and towel under it and then ANOTHER sheet. As I began to cut that away there was yet another sheet below that. I think there were 4 layers in total.

It took some elbow grease cutting it all with a stanley knife & scissors and I scratched my arm quite a bit on the surrounded rocks too. Still sore now. Perhaps should have had long sleeves on or put a towel over them or something, anyway too late now.

I’ve mostly filled it with topsoil now, so will put a couple of bags of John Innes 3 on the top and plant some colourful stuff in it over the next few weeks. Might also pressure wash that front wall to get all the gunk off it. Should look nice and bright there soon. Thanks for the advice

 

Nice one. Not a fun job - but you're not going to regret doing it, now you've got that area free and clear to do stuff with.

 

Pressure-wash before planting The voice of (messy) experience.....

 

Thanks all for the advice. I pressure washed as much of the green gunk off that low wall as I could, then put some compost & geraniums in over the topsoil I’d already put in.

In my last garden I used to alternate red and white geraniums in a curve around the base of a tree stump, every other year when England were in the World Cup or Euros. It never brought them much luck, but I thought I’d show my support and try again, just in case it’s the last one a load of the players actually play in, ha ha!

Hopefully it will be full of colour soon and I will post an update