Waterfall rocking sadness

[CreatureBlackLagoon]

I'm sorry that I can't answer your questions, but just wanted to reassure you that you're NOT alone in your frustrations! I get really frustrated because I can't "see" what a project is going to look like during the building phase. I will know what I WANT it to look like, but getting there is a different animal. I think it's that my brain isn't wired for the "engineering" gene -- I never was any good with Lincoln Logs or Lego's, either. Don't feel bad.

Thank you so much! Would love to see your box turtle habitat. Can't seem to find any photos...am I looking in the wrong place?

 

[Mmathis]

Thank you so much! Would love to see your box turtle habitat. Can't seem to find any photos...am I looking in the wrong place?

Huh? You were actually looking for some pics? Oh, wow! I'll have to find a few. It's hard to get good ones due to the size & shape of the habitat. They end up just looking like an enclosed garden, but you can't tell details. What I need to do is get an aerial view, LOL!

 

[CreatureBlackLagoon]

Huh? You were actually looking for some pics? Oh, wow! I'll have to find a few. It's hard to get good ones due to the size & shape of the habitat. They end up just looking like an enclosed garden, but you can't tell details. What I need to do is get an aerial view, LOL!

OOOOH Do you know anyone with a drone camera to fly over it? Wouldn't it be fantastic if we had a drone to fly all over getting aerial shots of all the ponds?

 

[addy1]

think we should change the shape of the berm by creating shelves where we can easily put rocks, but my co-designer used some concrete in the berm that he says he cannot dig out. (Grrr.) So we're stuck with a slope, which is less steep than before. The trouble now is that if we put rocks climbing up the slope, we get too high!

Sledge hammer!

Add some plants to soften the look, add some different sized rocks from boulders to tiny. Take some of the boulders from the top and move them to the sides/bottom. You are top heavy with large rocks, and all small ones below.

 

[Lisak1]

I agree with @addy1 - vary the rock sizes for a more natural feel. You can plant the entire berm and not see the rocks at all if you want. Lots of plants will creep all over that rock and it will be really pretty!

 

[tbendl]

I had a similar issue with my first bog. Leave it for now. Get the rest of the pond up and running and when the hubby starts hating the done of rocks he'll help move it. Spend some time falling in love with the pond first.

 

[Usman]

Hi everyone!

First, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of your advice AND encouragement! We're so grateful we have a place to turn with our questions! I'm feeling less forlorn today (thank goodness!)

We took your advice and lowered the filter by several inches, implanting it in dirt. Doing this also allowed us to bring the liner almost all the way up to the lip of the spillway, too.

(We should probably have pushed it forward some for a good sound and waterfall visual, BUT we had been hemming and hawing about the stream/cascade or full on waterfall effect. We're happy going with the babbling stream effect, given the position of the filter.) Now we're challenged with making that look good and be functional!

I think we should change the shape of the berm by creating shelves where we can easily put rocks, but my co-designer used some concrete in the berm that he says he cannot dig out. (Grrr.) So we're stuck with a slope, which is less steep than before. The trouble now is that if we put rocks climbing up the slope, we get too high!

cool looks nice , u can always improve later on dont get stuck here , u shud b testing it with water until desired result of fall , can we see it with water filled and running to get more idea where the water level and how much is submerged , u need to have some pockets for plants , u can remove few rocks randomlly from the slope and add plants there and some lights
which pump u have how many G/h
some liner is exposed , u can add gravel or more stones on it to hide it

 

[CreatureBlackLagoon]

@addy1 and @Lisak1 Yes! I anxiously await planting! I agree about the rocks... we are having... creative differences over here.

 

[CreatureBlackLagoon]

@Usman Yeah, that's a good point. I have been wondering what plant might be good for on the slope. Any suggestions? We have the Activa Aqua Submersible Water Pump 1000 GPH. Our pond will be 1000 gallons. It's 10' by 8' and about 2.5 feet at the deepest with two planting shelves.

 

[herzausstahl]

OOOOH Do you know anyone with a drone camera to fly over it? Wouldn't it be fantastic if we had a drone to fly all over getting aerial shots of all the ponds?

I just stand on the roof of the house for that. Lol

 

[herzausstahl]

And don't get discouraged, even veteran ponders deal with frustrating issues from time to time, myself included. I like where it's headed so far. Before adding the waterfall foam, run the pump to see where you need to add foam to redirect the water flow. The foam wont waterproof anything but it will redirect water flow exceptionally well.

I like what you did with the green circle. Do you have a closer pic of the red circle. If you want a natural look, go for a bubbling stream look & reposition the last flag stone rock in the green circle to create a small waterfall into the pond if you want. If you don't get enough water flowing over the top of the flagstone in your stream add waterfall foam under it to redirect water over the top. And again, test run it first before foam & check for leaks to see if you need to reposition any rocks.

 

[addy1]

I have been wondering what plant might be good for on the slope

Creeping jenny would look great on that slope, it comes in green and yellow has nice yellow flowers this time of year.

I would put some low growing creeping type plants and some taller grass like plants in the back ground.

creeping thyme looks great and has pretty flowers.

 

[addy1]

The other thing that makes a slope look great are neat pieces of wood, drift wood etc.

My yard in Arizona was zeroscaped, by me lol, but what really helps boulders look like they have always been there is bury part of them, the rule is bury around 1/3-1/2 so they do not look like they were just placed on the ground.

 

[tbendl]

The other thing that makes a slope look great are neat pieces of wood, drift wood etc.

My yard in Arizona was zeroscaped, by me lol, but what really helps boulders look like they have always been there is bury part of them, the rule is bury around 1/3-1/2 so they do not look like they were just placed on the ground.

Wow that's a great suggestion!

 

[Lisak1]

Creeping Jenny and thyme, like @addy1 said, as well as any variety of low growing and spreading sedum - they thrive where other plants would fail. And luckily they are very popular right now so your local garden centers should have lots to choose from. You can tuck all kinds of things into those nooks and crannies and it will look lovely!