Latest Pond Design - How to transition pond coping to Raised Bog?

ATP

Joined
Jan 14, 2022
Messages
259
Reaction score
262
Location
Saratoga, NY
Hardiness Zone
5b
Country
United States
In the attached pic is my latest pond design and the one I like the best. I am am getting hung up on how to transition to a slightly raised bog where it connects to the pond on the left and right side ( if that makes sense?). I have also circled these areas in black. For some reason I can't envision how this will work and its keeping my from commiting to this design. Any feedback is appreciated as well as other critiques on this design. Keep in mind when facing my house the right side is septic and I cant go further to the right. Because of the potential negative grade toward my house I have decided to go with a large spillway bowl to the right of the front door that will add an additonal water feature to the build (my drawing kinda looks like a bench :)).
IMG-5044.jpg
 
Joined
Apr 12, 2021
Messages
235
Reaction score
157
Location
California
Country
United States
Even with the spillway bowl, you will still need to plan for a berm or raised edge of some sort on the downslope side of the pond. That is the edge toward the street. If the bog is on the downslope that will also need to be raised on some type of mound.
Perhaps the bog and spillway could both be a combined two-part structure on the upslope side, near the house.

Also you might want to have a couple of feet of taller plants, or a raised bed between the paved path and the pond edge.
This is both for aesthetic and safety reasons.
 
Joined
Oct 28, 2013
Messages
13,307
Reaction score
13,732
Location
Northern IL
Showcase(s):
1
I'm guessing you mean the edging will be coping stone on the bog, and you want two outlets - one left and one right. Correct? Obviously you need those two areas to be lower than the rest of the edge, so maybe using a thinner coping stone? Setting is lower than the rest? Or no coping stone at all in those two areas - just a flat piece of flagstone to create a "weir".

Just some ideas!
 

ATP

Joined
Jan 14, 2022
Messages
259
Reaction score
262
Location
Saratoga, NY
Hardiness Zone
5b
Country
United States
Even with the spillway bowl, you will still need to plan for a berm or raised edge of some sort on the downslope side of the pond. That is the edge toward the street. If the bog is on the downslope that will also need to be raised on some type of mound.
Perhaps the bog and spillway could both be a combined two-part structure on the upslope side, near the house.

Also you might want to have a couple of feet of taller plants, or a raised bed between the paved path and the pond edge.
This is both for aesthetic and safety reasons.
Thanks, actually where the bog is and the spillway are about 4" inches higher than toward the driveway and street. I will probably berm that section up slightly. I would like to still maintain some elevation difference at the bog and spillway though.

I hear you on safety but the pond is designed to look like the walkway and maybe even the drive way went in after. Im even thinking about removing some of the pavers and having a coping stone with a flat top, jut into the walkway at the same height as the pavers. We will see how that plan progresses :). Along the walkway will be the deepest section so if someone were to fall in, hopefully the worst case scenario is they would just get wet. We are in a more rural area so there are no young kids wandering around.
 

ATP

Joined
Jan 14, 2022
Messages
259
Reaction score
262
Location
Saratoga, NY
Hardiness Zone
5b
Country
United States
I'm guessing you mean the edging will be coping stone on the bog, and you want two outlets - one left and one right. Correct? Obviously you need those two areas to be lower than the rest of the edge, so maybe using a thinner coping stone? Setting is lower than the rest? Or no coping stone at all in those two areas - just a flat piece of flagstone to create a "weir".

Just some ideas!
As of now I do plan to have two areas in the bog lower creating smaller water features. I think I figured out my question and can at least visualize what needs to happen. Here is another pic from above. I circled the areas in black that I have since adjusted with the hose. For the bog i will need to add a berm on the outside edge and have that berm continue until it gets to the pond edge. Where this berm connects to the pond I made it more perpendicular to the pond edge rather than attaching almost parrallel. The picture of the changes I made should explain it better, hopefully.
Birdseye 3.16.22.jpg
 
Last edited:

YShahar

Enthusiastic duct-tape engineer
Joined
Feb 4, 2022
Messages
882
Reaction score
1,813
Showcase(s):
1
Country
Israel
Looks really cool! However you decide to distribute the water back into the pond from the bog, I'd suggest angling the spillways such that the sound and sight of the falling water is directed toward your main viewing / listening position. You'll probably also want to install some seating where you can enjoy the sight and sound of falling water. Likely enough, that's going to become your main entertaining area soon after your pond is plugged in!
 

YShahar

Enthusiastic duct-tape engineer
Joined
Feb 4, 2022
Messages
882
Reaction score
1,813
Showcase(s):
1
Country
Israel
I was thinking something like this...

ATP pond.jpg


Maybe also add a picnic table or a small drinks table.

Also, if this is a front yard, you'd want some sort of privacy hedge so that the sitting area isn't overly open to view from the road, just so you can sit out and enjoy the pond without feeling like the whole world is joining you.
 

TheFishGuy

( Insert something funny )
Joined
Jul 9, 2020
Messages
1,373
Reaction score
983
Location
Colorado
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
4b or 5a
Country
United States
I think people have some great ideas! For a raised bog wall I would go with a formal look. I don’t think you will be able to get it to look natural, so go with a stacked stone wall ( probably more rectangular stones such as strip stone ) and if you want to get fancy place some large boulders throughout the walls and sculpt the stone around them, that is definitely optional but it might tie in the formal bog nicely to a natural pond.
 

ATP

Joined
Jan 14, 2022
Messages
259
Reaction score
262
Location
Saratoga, NY
Hardiness Zone
5b
Country
United States
I was thinking something like this...

View attachment 148375

Maybe also add a picnic table or a small drinks table.

Also, if this is a front yard, you'd want some sort of privacy hedge so that the sitting area isn't overly open to view from the road, just so you can sit out and enjoy the pond without feeling like the whole world is joining you.
I was kicking around a similar design and ended up going with the one i have now. I liked be able to walk along the walk and have it right there. We can put a sitting area on the other side of walkway too. Shrubs are potentially on the list. the road is 175ft away so not too bad. I thought i wanted to keep that light pole but then realized it would never be on since it would wash out the pond lights.
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
14,371
Reaction score
11,379
Location
Ct
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
be raised on some type of mound.
or on the high side the excavation be dug deeper and have a exposed wall going down on the high sides instead of on the low side needing to go up and a berm or retaining wall
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
14,371
Reaction score
11,379
Location
Ct
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
Im even thinking about removing some of the pavers and having a coping stone with a flat top, jut into the walkway at the same height as the pavers
THUMBS UP

@YShahar great minds think alike. i had the same using that same area as a planter and sitting area. sitting on the steps will leave you wishing you had somewhere to leave a bench or nice comfy chairs set up and not have to pull them in and out,

Your falls are all at the edges or narrowest parts of the pond . the splash from the falls will be a loss of water and require constant replenishing.

Like i had said before if i had to do it over again i'd make the pond narrower and longer. but that can require seeming but seeing as your driveway is right there it's easy beans.

Ok this drawing is a bit of a mess but it's just for thought.

1 the blue pond
2> green bog
3 pink spill bowl
4 bog can be any shape you'd like by making it a bowl and pulling the falls inward can help with that and widen the area
5 the yellow would be liner as it wraps up the wall of the bog and around the pond and i would make it go under the spill way bowl.
6 black in the bog liner over laping the pond liner brown is the outer edge of the bog
7 ran out of pic for the intake bay i would make that at the upper right and maybe have it point diagonal kinda like under the pile of rock
8 i would also put a return jet in the far opposite end of the pond closest to the stairs pushing the water out of that corner
9 orange pavers
Screenshot_20220316-224155_Gallery[11578].jpg


 
Last edited:
Joined
Apr 12, 2021
Messages
235
Reaction score
157
Location
California
Country
United States
or on the high side the excavation be dug deeper and have a exposed wall going down on the high sides instead of on the low side needing to go up and a berm or retaining wall
I considered that, but I already feel the main walkway immediately adjacent to the pond edge is precarious. Increasing the drop off would make it more so. I suppose one might reason that it this no different than the edge of a swimming pool, but I feel its different because one enters or leaves a house for many different reasons unrelated to interacting with a pond. It seems like the possibility of distraction or non-observance would be higher.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
31,446
Messages
516,989
Members
13,655
Latest member
readingj

Latest Threads

Top