New to ponds, couple of questions....

[soxfan]

So I started rockscaping, but I stopped because my pond guy down the road is having a huge sale on marginals this afternoon, so I want to figure out where they will go. Then I will fill in. I went to the Landscape company I use and they gave me 3 five gallon buckets of round river stone for $6!!! I've attached some pics. I have a small area about a couple feet around that will be filled with gravel and have about one inch of water in it. Can any of you suggest a plant that would do well there just in the shallow gravel/water mixture?

I am leaving the liner with a large overhang on all sides until we have the pond EXACTLY as we want it. At this point, we are still able to dig around the margins to make tiny changes if we need to

 

[j.w]

You could set a Sedge or a Sweet Flag in the gravel as they can grow w/their roots in water. You may have to control it every once in awhile to keep it from growing too large. There are many types to choose from at a garden nursery.
Sedge:
Carex oshimensis 'Evergold'
Evergold Striped Weeping Sedge

Sweet Flag

 

[Angel]

good ideal on leaving the liner just a fyi don't cut it / trim even on the final phase just hide it. wish i did that

 

[soxfan]

good ideal on leaving the liner just a fyi don't cut it / trim even on the final phase just hide it. wish i did that

Great idea. I need to buy some flat rocks. I also need to make a "lip" to keep the liner separate from the run off from the patio. We have a giant saltwater pool. Hubby is going to install some drainage between the patio and pond- it will angle toward the woods so it will not end up in the pond.

 

[soxfan]

Got some plants today, and planted them. Gravel on bottom of pot, heavy clay soil, couple of fertilizer pellets for each flowering one. Got one white hardy waterlily and one yellow hardy waterlily (might be too many for this pond.) Also got red iris, blue iris, dwarf cattail, an arrowhead, 2 water hyacinth and a thalia. Hubby got the waterfall up and running, too. Didn't realize we needed a cover, will order one from the pond guy. I am also going to finish the rockscaping tomorrow. So the water is a little dirty, will this settle down? Will the filters take care it? I plan to add fish this week. Any reason I should wait?

 

[Jetta]

Love it! It's looking so good.

 

[cas]

Hubby got the waterfall up and running, too. Didn't realize we needed a cover

You don't necessarily need a cover for the waterfall. You can put plants on top or just leave it alone. Here are some things I have done. Water hyncinths, yellow flag iris, blue flag iris.

 

[soxfan]

You don't necessarily need a cover for the waterfall. You can put plants on top or just leave it alone. Here are some things I have done. Water hyncinths, yellow flag iris, blue flag iris.

View attachment 110093

That looks amazing! I am going to do that as well!

 

[Lisak1]

Looking good!

You definitely don't want to cover your waterfall - it's a biological filter, so planting it will only add to the effectiveness of the filtration. Plus it's pretty!

 

[soxfan]

Looking good!

You definitely don't want to cover your waterfall - it's a biological filter, so planting it will only add to the effectiveness of the filtration. Plus it's pretty!

I had no idea. SO glad I found this forum. I'm heading out to buy some plants to put in it today.

 

[soxfan]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10156689511636535

Video of the pond!

 

[soxfan]

So all the potted plants you see are hardy marginals. I did a layer of gravel, heavy clay soil, then a layer of gravel for weight. The pots the guy sold me do NOT have holes Should I cut slits on the sides of the pots? I am putting them in the water on my plant shelf with the base of the plants at the waterline. Lilies are down 3 feet and about 2 feet. I still have my little area with gravel and about an inch of water that I'd like to plant with something that does not require soil and has very shallow roots, but the guy at the pond store said everything had to be in soil. Thoughts?

 

[addy1]

Most of my stuff is in kitty litter, no "real" soil. You don't need holes in the pots, just make sure the water is over the lip of the pot. I don't have gravel on top of the litter, it clumps together nicely.

 

[Lisak1]

Your guy at the pond store is wrong. All of my marginals are naturalized in my pond, planted on the shelves, directly in gravel. I use a couple three bigger rocks to hold the plant upright and in place until the roots take hold, but once they get started they are on their own. Ultimately plants will grow bigger out of the pot than in - so consider that before you decide to release them!

Now one thing I will say is the first year my plants did struggle - the pond water hadn't gotten to the point where there was enough nutrition in the water to feed the plants so I did have to fertilize them. Had they been in pots, that would have been a much easier process. So maybe first year in pots isn't the worst idea. You'll also be able to decide if you like them where they are planted.

 

[ShawnInfirmity]

Cool video @soxfan ! Good advice above. I have my lilies "planted" in fabric pots filled with gravel and aquatic planting media which honestly looks a lot like clay kitty litter now that I'm thinking about it. The reason I chose to put them in something was to keep them from taking over the pond or getting too big and so I can lower them when the weather/water gets colder.

Here's a link to the plant pots I used in case you're not familiar with what a fabric pot looks like (I wasn't until I found them on Amazon) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039G7BZY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1