Pool to Pond 2013

joesandy1822

Sandy
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
239
Reaction score
113
Location
Michigan
Hardiness Zone
6a
GreatDanesDad said:
This whole thread is awesome!! I vote keep the porch. Plant bushes around it and make a storage underneath it and a sitting area on top with all your potted plants. It is amazing! Great Job!
Awe, thank you!! That's a great idea. When we had the pool, we kept a lot of pool equipment under the deck. Right now, it's just mulched and we keep our "firepit" of sorts under there.

Once in awhile, I even crawl under there for shade and I sit and watch the fish.
 

joesandy1822

Sandy
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
239
Reaction score
113
Location
Michigan
Hardiness Zone
6a
This was the view from the deck as of July 10. It looks a little different now, as I have a lot more plants.

2013-07-10%2020.01.24.jpg
 

joesandy1822

Sandy
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
239
Reaction score
113
Location
Michigan
Hardiness Zone
6a
And then came the dreaded pea soup, which ended up lasting about 6 weeks (it finally cleared up totally about 3 or 4 days ago). We decided to go the more "natural" route (as much as possible), so we didn't use any UV sanitizers/sterilizers or any chemicals. Just had to learn a lot of patience. We learned a lot along the way. The only thing that I have put in the pond was a 50lb. bag of oyster shells to help buffer the KH, and some baking soda to raise the KH. Apparently our municipal water is fairly "soft". Toward the back of the pond, you can see a stack of flat rocks piled up to make a "bench" to sit on. It looks crude, but it works great and used up all the extra rocks until we find another use for them.

IMG_0881.JPG
IMG_0882.JPG
IMG_0883.JPG
 

joesandy1822

Sandy
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
239
Reaction score
113
Location
Michigan
Hardiness Zone
6a
Another lily, which a very nice lady who I bought my lilies from gave to me free. It was just a tiny, tiny little bulb looking thing when I planted it. Turns out it is a tropical, and I think she said it's called Orchid Star or Rose Star. Very pretty, but I will have to figure out what to do with it over the winter.

IMG_0911.JPG
 

joesandy1822

Sandy
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
239
Reaction score
113
Location
Michigan
Hardiness Zone
6a
This Four Leaf Clover plant has gone crazy! I went in a couple weeks ago and tried to pull some of the dying stuff off. Look at all the roots it put out! The fish love to hang out underneath in all the roots. I think that's where a lot of the babies hid.....and ended up surviving!

clover.JPG
 

joesandy1822

Sandy
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
239
Reaction score
113
Location
Michigan
Hardiness Zone
6a
July 29th view from the deck. If you look, you can see the fake rock lid I made to cover the skimmer. I know it is amateurish, but it works for me, and was cheap. I used a piece of corrugated plastic as the base, and sprayed 2 cans of "Great Stuff" foam insulation on it. When it dried, I used camouflage paints to paint it. I still need to work on it a bit, but it looks a lot better than the black lid it came with. Oh, and if you notice that ice cream bucket at the back of the pond, it was enclosing a webcam. My husband came up with that GREAT idea so we could see the pond while we were away on vacation. It even had nightvision! He had to return the camera to the friend he borrowed it from.......but I'm thinking about using my piggy bank to buy one of our own.

2013-07-29%2019.32.13.jpg
 

joesandy1822

Sandy
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
239
Reaction score
113
Location
Michigan
Hardiness Zone
6a
This butterfly bush has been moved a couple times over the past 3 years before it finally found a place it "liked"......which is in the mulch along the pond! It is blooming beautifully, and the butterflies really do love it!

IMG_0994.JPG
 

joesandy1822

Sandy
Joined
Aug 5, 2010
Messages
239
Reaction score
113
Location
Michigan
Hardiness Zone
6a
slakker said:
Very nice... you're neighbours must be envious and want to sit in your back yard! :)
Thank you! Actually, they rearranged their chairs for awhile so they were pointed toward our pond. They said they loved the view.
 

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

Forum statistics

Threads
30,780
Messages
508,559
Members
13,042
Latest member
lucaryan

Latest Threads

Top