Water Rights: Create a Water Garden in Your Backyard
(Page 2 of 3)
July/August 2003
By Kellie Sisson Snider
Dig. Begin by digging the entire outline to a depth of about one foot, then move about twelve inches toward the center and dig to your full depth in the center. This method leaves you with a ledge around the perimeter for setting plants and rocks.
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Protect the perimeter. Line the pond’s dirt bottom with old carpet scraps, an inch-thick layer of newspapers, an inch of sand, or other padding material to protect your liner from roots and rocks.
Roll out the liner. Center it as best you can.
Add water. Begin to fill the pond with water while you work the edges of the liner around into the best possible fit.
Create a rock border. When the pond is full, begin placing rocks around the edges. You may mortar them, but large stones can often be wedged into place without mortar so you can adjust their position for the perfect aesthetic. If you plan to have a waterfall, make a small hill of rocks at the desired location and drape an extra piece of liner over it so that it drops well into the water. Cover the liner with more rocks.
Position the pump. The pump should be placed in the deepest part of the pond, inside a bucket of pebbles that will filter the water. Run the hose from your pump up behind and under the rocks in your waterfall. The placement of the waterfall—rocks and hoses—requires adjusting until you get it right. I leave plenty of extra hose and run it out of the pond and behind the waterfall. Once I’ve adjusted it so the water cascades naturally, I secure it in place with rocks. The parts behind the waterfall are disguised in the plantings around the edge. Ideally, no water should splash outside the liner.
Plant your garden. Place water lilies in the depths of the pond and other plants around the ledge. Plant the area surrounding your pond thickly to make it look at home in its surroundings. Wait a week or two before adding fish.
Go for the goldfish
Common goldfish are inexpensive and hardy in all but the harshest weather.
My first goldfish were feeder fish purchased for eight cents each. My more experienced pond acquaintances warned me that feeder fish are sickly and weak, but mine grew to be a hearty foot long. They were quite beautiful, marked with red and white patterns called sarassa. My biggest problem was that they spawned so prolifically that my ponds were soon overwhelmed. I’ve since switched to fantail goldfish, which are less prolific and suitable for most ponds during the warmer months and in warm-climate ponds all year.