Siting a pond on a sloping garden

i have always wanted to have a pond in my garden. For years, whilst in rented accommodation, I made do with a large half-barrel. We are on our third now, I think, and it is starting to fail. I think the ice over the extended freeze has split some of the wooden panels, despite having the pump running throughout, stopping it from freezing solid.

So, having read about people getting ponds on the forum, I thought "why can't I?".

We have pure sand at the top of the garden. It is so bad, the grass won't grow. If it's wet in the summer, we get a strange blue-green algae on the surface of the soil. Otherwise, very little grows. So, I won't be loosing lush lawn if I put a pond there....

When I went to a pond specialist website, to see prices for liners, and how much I would need, i was surprised to see that ponds should be situated in 50% shade. Dad's pond was in full sun, and I didn't think that would be a problem, so long as you have enough aquatic plants to cover 50% of the water surface?

I'm thinking of a pond, around 9' by 4' (very ish on the measurements!), about 2-3' deep at its deepest, with planting shelves, and a shallow pebble entry place - with slight ridge before the drop-off. Learnt that lesson the hard way. Unless you are careful, all your lovely pebbles end up in the deep end!

The garden is on a slope, but that is the gentler part of the slope. It is at the top of the garden, so at the moment not where people naturally wander, unless they are inspecting the veg beds. But it does seem the natural place to position it.


Not the best of photos, but I'm thinking of putting the pond where Harley is heading to. You can just see a bit of a blue patch of wild flowers above his left ear? Then the flower bed will be extended forward to incorporate the pond.

Questions I'm left with:
- Am I mad to think I might be able to dig out hole, and place liner, over 4 days? Hubby not keen on a pond, so planning a fate accompli for when he's away. (Added advantage that he's bringing MiL back with him, so unlikely to give me a ticking-off in front of her!)
- re the slope. The soil I will be digging out will be pure sand. It holds its shape quite well, as the line of excavated sand from last year's veg beds proves. Could I use this to build up a little on the down-side of the slope? This would give a use for some of the excavated sand, and mean I don't have to dig quite so deep.
- I would like it to be a wildlife pond, but I have goldfish in the water-barrel pond that is failing. Thinking of moving them to the pond, and then going "wildlife friendly" from there on in. I have yellow flag, water mint, a water sedge, a small water Lilly and a.n.other aquatic plant that would also be coming over from the barrel. If it helps, we have frogs in the barrel pond quite regularly (no idea how they get up there!), and dragonflies.
- we excavated some granite cobble sets when digging the herb garden, so thinking of using them on the "upside" of the pond, with the liner going up behind them, to prevent soil seeping into the pond, and disguise the liner. They are old sets, so the stone surface was cut many years ago. Any risk of contamination into the water? The rest of the liner will probably be covered with pebbles, soil, or some of the old bricks we excavated at the same time as the sets. Again, any risk of water contamination?
- at the moment I can't see a way of getting power to the pond site, although there is power about 10 metres away (electric gate motor). So the pond will have to work and be balanced without pump...

Frogs, common toads, and crested newts are often found in the garden, with midwife toads in the area, and dragonflies, damselflies etc often fly through, so hoping it will establish well...

All in all -
Am I mad?!!!

 

No, not mad at all Sian
My pond is pretty small.....looked huge at the building stage though. I will be making a bigger one at some time
Some fantastic ponds on the forum......much larger than mine....so I will leave some of the answers to them, but........
My sense is you are tackling this with a view to getting it all done asap.....like yesterday??? You are likely to skimp on many essential aspects in your haste. You wont enjoy making it either with this urgency in mind
I suggest you get hubby on board. Also to build it without time restraints. Design it for future enjoyment and aesthetics
My own pond is in full sun.......it does pretty well. Algae disappears once half of the pond surface is covered with planting and oxygenators are growing vigorously. You can plant taller subjects to create some shade.....lots of tall prairie plants on the sunny side.......perennials like thalictrum, sanguisorbas like Red Thunder and tall grasses......will do this. Consider reflected planting in the water; reflections of grasses, perennials to double the effect .Also away from trees......consider leaf fall in the autumn
A pond with a pump adds movement, sound and actually creates a feeling of being cool in hot weather. Here a galvanised watering can pours into the pond; a small fountain spray too as an option gives a different sound and effect. Not essential though......water lilies prefer still water so something to consider. A wildlife pond prob doesnt need a pump at all.
So, for me, take your time, get it right from the start and be ambitious in your thinking

 

Thanks for your reply, @Verdun !

Ah yes, I didn't put orientation on, did I?

I am facing north-east when taking that photo, looking directly up the garden. So planting tall plants to the south of the pond is not really an option. Exposed to the prevailing wind that funnels up the garden, and would actually block any sight of the pond from the rest of the garden, and the house...

 

Thanks Sian.......a wildlife pond would look good there though.

 

If you really want a wildlife pond find another home for the goldfish. They breed prolifically and will eat amphibian eggs. You may think it’s ok for a year or two but eventually they will take over and their poo will make the water too nitrogenous giving rise to algae.

 

Yes, I rehomed mine when I remade my pond (the old one was leaking) last year, as I wanted the new one to be more wildlife-friendly. If you do decide to go this route, and don't have an obvious home for them, my tip would be to contact your local freecycle moderators*. Mine didn't want me to advertise the fish on freecycle, but were able to put me in touch with some neighbours who were happy to rehome them in their own garden pond.

Good luck with your project! A nice pond is a great enhancement to a garden, and the local wildlife will bless you for it too. (Not that you are probably hoping for swans!)

*ETA: or the Belgian equivalent....

 

Go for it, bigger the better. I have Golden Orfe in my pond and they bring it to life imho. I dont suffer from too much weed and dont use any filters. Good shading is a must from either trees or water lillies again imho.

 

I haven't made a pond for about 20 years now - I'm assuming butyl is the liner of choice, if my pocket can stretch that far?

 

How about a ‘man’ with a digger? It would take most of the hard work out of it, and would be done in a couple of hours, I’d have thought? I realise this would come at a cost, but might not be that much?

 

@Verdun I didn't know you had a pond!! Piccies please

 

Ha ha......small, no planting to show off etc. In spring or early summer I will post something better Lucius in context with rest of the garden. Divided water lily though .....my opportunistic neighbour grabbed a piece

 

Last year I built my second pond after moving house and have learned from a few previous mistakes. These may not all apply to you but here are some suggestions.

Make sure there are no overhanging trees otherwise the pond will be full of rotting leaves in Autumn.

As you will be using a pond liner, any plants will be I aquatic pots, so make sure the marginal shelves are wide enough and level enough to support them, otherwise any tall plants will be forever falling over.

If you intend keeping goldfish, then you really should use a filter and possibly a UV filter which kills algae.

leave new pond water to stand for three to four weeks before adding fish.

 

Well, today I plan to find a piece of tarpaulin about the right size and shape to mark out the placement of the pond, and then take photos from various locations, including upstairs in the house. Apologies in advance for some rather boring shots to follow!