|
 Deciding
to Make a Garden Pond
Garden
Over the Pond
Wallis,
Kent
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Adding a water feature to
your garden can enhance its beauty as well as encouraging
wildlife. A water feature can range from simple pebbles
with water bubbling over them to a large pond with stream.
Unless you collect ornamental
fish, the most appropriate pond is either one that is naturalised
into your garden so that it blends in, or a more formal
ornamental pond. A formal pond is usually symmetrical and
is obviously constructed while an informal pond can be asymmetrical
and should eventually appear to be completely natural. The
choice will probably be dictated by the formality or otherwise
of the rest of your garden.
The first thing you will
have to decide is whether to have a raised or sunken pond.
The pros and cons are:
- A raised pond means less
excavating of large amounts of soil and subsoil and then
having to get rid of it.
- A raised pond is easier
for the disabled and elderly to care for as less bending
is involved.
- The pond wall can provide
a pleasant seating area.
- Soil and weeds won't be
washed or spread into the pond from surrounding soil.
- Garden chemicals used
nearby that might damage fish and plants won't leach into
the water.
- A sunken pond can be landscaped
so that it looks like a natural feature of the garden.
- The excavated soil can
be used to make a rock garden nearby with a stream emptying
into the pond making it look even prettier and more natural.
- Money can be saved with
a sunken pond because bricks or stones won't be needed
for the wall around it as they would for a raised pond.
- Plants and fish in a sunken
pond are insulated to sharp changes in temperature by
the surrounding soil.
- You will probably get
more wildlife using a sunken, natural looking pond.
Position
The next decision
is where to position the pond.
- It should be away from
trees that will drop their leaves and, as they decompose,
pollute it.
- It should not be in shade.
- It should be sheltered
from prevailing winds.
- The ease of laying electric
cables to run the pump and filter unit should be considered.
- Don't put it in boggy
areas of the garden. In these areas, heavy rain can undermine
your pond or cause it to flood.
If you decide on a sunken
pond, the final decision is whether to use a pre-formed
shell or a sheet liner. In fact, you could use concrete
or puddled clay to make your pond but they are definitely
more difficult and expensive.
If you choose a pre-formed
shell, then you have to conform to the size and shape of
the one you buy. If you go for a sheet liner, you can make
it any size or shape you like as long as you calculate the
correct amount of liner to buy. If you decide on a very
large pond, you might have to order it specially otherwise
it is usually possible to buy it by the yard or metre from
garden centres.
These are the basics of deciding
to build a pond. Now all you have to do is decide what you
want.
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