My Pond: From Start to Current

JBtheExplorer

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So I've been on the forums for awhile and my pond has been in for months, but I never actually made a topic showing the process of the project, so here it is:

Here is the "before" photo:
DSCN1700before.jpg

We then began the project by putting up a new fence, taking an old fence down, and removing grass:
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Then I began the process of digging, laying in the liner, and filling with water:
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I then added a small stream and laid bricks around the pond:
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I laid mulch, added rocks and plants along the stream, along with a branch:
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After awhile we decided to expand the area:
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After expanding the area I decided that I needed to redo the stream, so I made it a little deeper and wider (I'm not completely done with this yet. I still need to get more rocks to hide the liner, then lay mulch in the newly expanded area):
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...and the project continues...
We currently plan on changing out the bricks around the pond with flagstone. I also hope to add more plants in and around the pond over time, and we may even possibly make the pond bigger next spring.
 

JBtheExplorer

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Over the last few weeks I added and changed things around the pond
A while back I asked on the forums about an idea I had of putting the liner into the ground so I can grow cattails outside of my stream. I did it and the cattail looked like it was about to die, but then seemed to start maintaining itself and has looked good for a couple of weeks.
DSCN3077.jpg

This area along the stream, which I surrounded with bricks, will be my wildflower area next year. I plan to plant half the seeds this fall and the other half in early spring. The types of seed I currently have are Black-Eyed Susan, Gray-Headed Coneflower, Purple Coneflower, Prairie Blazing Star, Butterfly Weed, Blanket Flower, and a few other types that I'm still not sure I'll be adding there.
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The biggest change came in the last few days when I replaced the brick I used to have around the pond with flagstone. We had just the right amount to also add a small waterfall, which I couldn't be any more happy about!
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and just because... Here's the Bull Frog.

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Also, if you are interested, here is a short video I took of my pond:

Its looking much more like I had envisioned it about 6 months ago. Sadly, we're only about a month and a half from cold weather and shutting the pond down. :disappointed_anim:
 

JBtheExplorer

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Here are some of the flowers that can currently be found around my pond area. The first four were given to me by my grandma from her garden.
(Can anyone ID this plant with the little white flowers on it?)
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I was excited when my Water Hyacinth bloomed. I then had another one bloom a few days later, but none since.
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There were liles on sale at Menards for less than $2. They only had one left, and it had no tag so I had no idea what color or type it was. It just opened today for the first time.Turns out, it was well worth it!
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As I've mentioned, next year I hope to have a small variety of wildflowers added which I believe will add a lot to the area.
 

JBtheExplorer

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A few new things added to the pond area...

In this photo you can see I outlined the area outside of the stream where my cattails are growing. It just keeps spreading! Also to the left you can see a new plant I added called "Blue Arrows Rush" and a little to the left and up from that, kind of blending in with that one, you can see another new plant I added called Red Hot Poker, which judging by the pictures, should be a really awesome flower next year. I also had a few rocks that needed to be added around the pond which I finally put in.
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Secondly, we got a pond light from Harbor Freight for $8. I tried all of the colors it came with and green was my favorite. Blue looked white, and white looked yellow. Orange and Red were also nice colors.
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That's probably about all I'll be doing for this year, though in Fall I will be planting the native wildflower seeds I've been saving.



EDIT: here is a short video of my pond at night including a few frogs:
 

JBtheExplorer

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Not much to add to this post any more this year but there are a few small things.

The moss I added to my waterfall actually latched on to the rocks and began growing.
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I added a stem of horsetail rush to my bog-type area. I really dont know what to call it, just a liner in the dirt that keeps the ground wet. Anyway, that stem only came out with a couple of roots, so I didnt think it would survive, but sure enough, it sprouted two more stems!
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Finally, I had been collecting wildflower seeds for months, some from the wild, some from stores, and now I've finally been able to plant them. I planted half of them now, and the other half I'll add in Spring, that way if birds eat most of these up, I still have an extra supply. It also may extend how long each type of flower blooms.
IMG_5943.jpg
 

JBtheExplorer

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Sad day.. First snowfall of the season. I've managed to maintain the pond this Fall, in terms of leaves. Every day I go out and get them out. It hasn't been too bad, a couple minutes each day, though a few days it was loaded. I do enjoy not having to put a net up, though.

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