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My pond is a long cherished retirement project under construction ( by my husband bless him) which we are hoping to complete over the course of the summer. My husband is an experienced plantsman ( though not of aquatic gardens!) but I'm a complete beginner ..... though I'm getting pretty obsessive in my research. I've always been drawn to ponds, something about the combination of moving water, beautiful plants and fish!
The pond is rectangular, very formal in design, 3.6 metres by 2.1 metres, raised by 50cm ( so you can sit on the edge) with an overall depth planned of about 80 cm. It has a blockwork inner with a planned stone external wall with reclaimed brick corners topped by flagstones. At the far end will be a stone wall with a second arched wall on top of that with a lion head fountain running into a trough then falling into the pond.
Challenges will be:
1. Climate. We live in Aberdeen so ( global warming notwithstanding) the cooler weather will be a challenge. I'm hoping to avert some problems by keeping tenderer plants in a tank in the greenhouse over winter and mainly growing later flowering plants ( except for marsh marigolds) as the seasons are late arriving, and also foliage plants. Ferns if I get desperate!!
2. Position. The pond is close to the house so it's visible from the conservatory. The garden is north facing though the sun does get above the apex of the roof (long daylight hours and high sun being a feature of Scottish summers!!) and reaches the pond that way both directly and through the conservatory glass. It's not ideal though and I'm not sure I'll get enough sun for water lilies, but I'll have a go. If not I think I'll be happy with water hawthorn which has been doing it's best to grow and flower even through an Aberdeen winter so I think it deserves its place.
The other problem being close to the house is reducing water and pump noise, especially for our neighbour through the fence. The lion fountain will operate separately from the filter pump and be switched off at night. I'm planning a pressurised filter with an outflow a bit below the water level so no trickling sounds. I'm sort of hoping that if I keep the fish levels low (my beloved sticklebacks plus a small shoal of golden rudd) and given the cooler temperatures expected where I am I can get away with less flow through the pump .... Eg 2000 litres p\h through a 8000 litres pressure filter ( the pond's about 5000 litres after allowing for plant shelves).
i can post some construction pics if anyone's interested.
Looking forward to reading posts ... I have a lot of respect for the experience so many of the forum members have and it's wonderful they are so willing to share their own experiences and are so helpful with advice! Plus will be nice to chat to fellow enthusiasts as I see friends and family's eyes beginning to glaze now when I start up on the pond plans!!!
The pond is rectangular, very formal in design, 3.6 metres by 2.1 metres, raised by 50cm ( so you can sit on the edge) with an overall depth planned of about 80 cm. It has a blockwork inner with a planned stone external wall with reclaimed brick corners topped by flagstones. At the far end will be a stone wall with a second arched wall on top of that with a lion head fountain running into a trough then falling into the pond.
Challenges will be:
1. Climate. We live in Aberdeen so ( global warming notwithstanding) the cooler weather will be a challenge. I'm hoping to avert some problems by keeping tenderer plants in a tank in the greenhouse over winter and mainly growing later flowering plants ( except for marsh marigolds) as the seasons are late arriving, and also foliage plants. Ferns if I get desperate!!
2. Position. The pond is close to the house so it's visible from the conservatory. The garden is north facing though the sun does get above the apex of the roof (long daylight hours and high sun being a feature of Scottish summers!!) and reaches the pond that way both directly and through the conservatory glass. It's not ideal though and I'm not sure I'll get enough sun for water lilies, but I'll have a go. If not I think I'll be happy with water hawthorn which has been doing it's best to grow and flower even through an Aberdeen winter so I think it deserves its place.
The other problem being close to the house is reducing water and pump noise, especially for our neighbour through the fence. The lion fountain will operate separately from the filter pump and be switched off at night. I'm planning a pressurised filter with an outflow a bit below the water level so no trickling sounds. I'm sort of hoping that if I keep the fish levels low (my beloved sticklebacks plus a small shoal of golden rudd) and given the cooler temperatures expected where I am I can get away with less flow through the pump .... Eg 2000 litres p\h through a 8000 litres pressure filter ( the pond's about 5000 litres after allowing for plant shelves).
i can post some construction pics if anyone's interested.
Looking forward to reading posts ... I have a lot of respect for the experience so many of the forum members have and it's wonderful they are so willing to share their own experiences and are so helpful with advice! Plus will be nice to chat to fellow enthusiasts as I see friends and family's eyes beginning to glaze now when I start up on the pond plans!!!
