What Started Your Passion for Ponds and Water Gardening?

[ItsBoTime]

I grew up around water and always had aquariums and I got obsessed with aquariums in my early 20s, I bought my first home in 2021 and two days later was in the background digging! It looks better now than picture below, but this is after one full day of digging and building years ago.

 

[Ratsima]

For me it was a visit to Bali in 1997. I was so impressed by their use of water in gardens that I decided I needed one of my own. Here's a link to some really old photos taken shortly after construction. That page also contains a link to the construction of the pond:

Tropical Pond Page

 

[Lisak1]

When you love to garden you realize that there are certain elements that every garden needs to have - plants of course, but water attracts things to your garden like crazy. Birds and frogs and bugs of all types - they all make the garden come alive. No garden is complete without some kind of water.

We started with a pondless waterfall, then got a small patio pond and then, well... you all know how it goes from there!

 

[Ariel]

I’m not 100% sure where it started but I think it was when a friend had dug a little tiny fish pond at her place. I remember thinking that it was so neat (she says now it was very cheesy and man-made looking—they’ve since moved ) and in was so impressed that you could actually do something like that and it was attainable!
Fast forward probably 6 or so years, we had finally gotten rid of the old trailer house on our property and cleaned up the mess left from that and I had the perfect location for a pond and fire pit!

I post this with great trepidation as I’m a complete newbie and this was a DIY project to the fullest! The pond part and the disguising-the-hose part is far from finished. It was too late in the year to plant anything decent to soften the edges and hide the filter so I’m really excited to do that this year!!

 

[Hound Heaven]

I’m not 100% sure where it started but I think it was when a friend had dug a little tiny fish pond at her place. I remember thinking that it was so neat (she says now it was very cheesy and man-made looking—they’ve since moved ) and in was so impressed that you could actually do something like that and it was attainable!
Fast forward probably 6 or so years, we had finally gotten rid of the old trailer house on our property and cleaned up the mess left from that and I had the perfect location for a pond and fire pit!

I post this with great trepidation as I’m a complete newbie and this was a DIY project to the fullest! The pond part and the disguising-the-hose part is far from finished. It was too late in the year to plant anything decent to soften the edges and hide the filter so I’m really excited to do that this year!!

I'm glad we're all not required to post our first pond projects I shudder when I think of mine!
It's always been about the sound of the water for me and the fish, and then the plants. Finally I get that they're all part of the package

 

[GBBUDD]

With some creativity watching tons of you tube videos and lots of determination you can build as good as a pro. Unless your the kind of person that confuses a open end wrench for a pair of channel locks this was my first.

 

[JMJ]

I grew up with one of the larger bayous in my town as the prop line of my parents backyard through most of my youth and was fascinated with getting to watch different sunfish species spawning on their nesting beds. That fed a constantly rotating population of native fish and aquatic life cycling through aquariums over the years. I sorta burned out on keeping my last aquarium up and guarding it from my youngest child and decided to give it away last fall and decided I’d shift focus to the pond this spring and summer. I also recently put together a swamp paludarium at my office that I’m planting understory swamp plants in and currently getting it bioactive with isopod and springtail colonies.

 

[GBBUDD]

I grew up with one of the larger bayous in my town as the prop line of my parents backyard through most of my youth and was fascinated with getting to watch different sunfish species spawning on their nesting beds. That fed a constantly rotating population of native fish and aquatic life cycling through aquariums over the years. I sorta burned out on keeping my last aquarium up and guarding it from my youngest child and decided to give it away last fall and decided I’d shift focus to the pond this spring and summer. I also recently put together a swamp paludarium at my office that I’m planting understory swamp plants in and currently getting it bioactive with isopod and springtail colonies.

i so miss my planted fish tank/ paldarium vivarium . ;
Which it was no one has been able to say. it was a 90 gallon corner tank that i built off the wall by a foot and made a water proof shelf and back where that raised up above the tank where there was a two foot waterfall that fell into the top of the open top 90 gallon. Had bonsai up there moss AND A VINNING PLANT.

Always wanted some kinda life above the tank, but refusing to have small lizards that needed crickets , so i came up with BIRDS . Shaft tail finches to be exact , we started with three and two were always fighting so one had to go and when the Mrs. added a covered birds nest and two became 8 over and over and over again as we had breeding shaft tails at least 3 clutches a year, never had to buy food we traded for food and what ever else was needed.
So i get the paldarium desire it was very cool

 

[JMJ]

i so miss my planted fish tank/ paldarium vivarium . ;
Which it was no one has been able to say. it was a 90 gallon corner tank that i built off the wall by a foot and made a water proof shelf and back where that raised up above the tank where there was a two foot waterfall that fell into the top of the open top 90 gallon. Had bonsai up there moss AND A VINNING PLANT.

Always wanted some kinda life above the tank, but refusing to have small lizards that needed crickets , so i came up with BIRDS . Shaft tail finches to be exact , we started with three and two were always fighting so one had to go and when the Mrs. added a covered birds nest and two became 8 over and over and over again as we had breeding shaft tails at least 3 clutches a year, never had to buy food we traded for food and what ever else was needed.
So i get the paldarium desire it was very cool

That sounds amazing!!! I’m sort of in the same boat of not wanting to get a snake or lizards that require maintaining insects or rodent feeders again. I have been considering getting a tiger salamander for it once I’ve got it planted the way I want it. From what I’ve researched earthworms from my backyard garden can form the staple diet for them and I’ve got no shortage. Mine is a pretty simple affair, a 29gal with a wire mesh vivarium toppers from Fosters & Smith that’s the same dimensions as a 20gal long tank. I fabricated a false floor out of milk crates and laid some landscape/weed fabric as barrier to hold the organic potting soil separate from my aquifer layer. It’ll probably be a slow progression as I pick and choose native plants during my summer wetland vegetation assessment season.

 

[GBBUDD]

The planted tank

 

[MrB]

Oh, let's see... I grew up in the middle of the state of Washington, in the little town of Wenatchee, which sits on the mighty Columbia river. Half an hour's drive from there is beautiful, fresh water lake Chelan. 17 miles long and totally awesome. So, yeah. We had lots of water. I guess my pond experience started when I was real little and my dad made a tiny pond from cement in the backyard with a few goldfish in it. Unfortunately, it develop a crack, and the water leaked out, (which didn't work out too well for the goldfish. ) but... the die was cast and I've been hooked on ponds ever since.

I started out with a little one in in our backyard, 40-50 gallons. Bumped it up to maybe 125 gallons, and now I think I'm in the 800ish gallon range with two levels, double waterfalls and pond lighting. So, it just keeps getting bigger.

 

[Peechee1]

Bought a house in 2001 that had a stream with 6 waterfalls coming down from the woods into a pond. Been crazy in love with it ever since. Been building things like skippy filter, box to hold pump, winter cover ever since. Love to climb in the pond in spring to clean out. keep goldfish that love Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast!

 

[j.w]

and welcome @Peechee1

 

[Hound Heaven]

Oh, let's see... I grew up in the middle of the state of Washington, in the little town of Wenatchee, which sits on the mighty Columbia river. Half an hour's drive from there is beautiful, fresh water lake Chelan. 17 miles long and totally awesome. So, yeah. We had lots of water. I guess my pond experience started when I was real little and my dad made a tiny pond from cement in the backyard with a few goldfish in it. Unfortunately, it develop a crack, and the water leaked out, (which didn't work out too well for the goldfish. ) but... the die was cast and I've been hooked on ponds ever since.

I started out with a little one in in our backyard, 40-50 gallons. Bumped it up to maybe 125 gallons, and now I think I'm in the 800ish gallon range with two levels, double waterfalls and pond lighting. So, it just keeps getting bigger.

Such a lovely area where you are. Sounds like you'll enjoy visiting here - we all have the pond bug too Post a few pics when you can.

 

[Hound Heaven]

Bought a house in 2001 that had a stream with 6 waterfalls coming down from the woods into a pond. Been crazy in love with it ever since. Been building things like skippy filter, box to hold pump, winter cover ever since. Love to climb in the pond in spring to clean out. keep goldfish that love Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast!

Anybody that feeds their goldfish Honey Nut Cheerios will fit right in here Welcome. We'd love to see some pics when you can.