As The Pond Fills, Day Four

Today was the final day of The Great Pond Renovation of 2008. Justin arrived just after 8 this morning and got busy shoveling gravel right away. Owing to another plumbing emergency, I was unable to get out to Nelson Water Gardens to choose plants for the bog. Since I have big plans for the weekend and won't have time to do any gardening, I'm practicing delayed gratification and waiting until next week to visit Nelson's. The good thing about waiting: I can buy plants AND fish at the same time! What kind of fish should I get? Goldfish, comets, Shubunkins? I'm partial to the latter because the name amuses me and I've already thought of several fish names that play off Shubunkin. I had 3 fish in the old pond for a very brief time several years ago: their names were Lester, Pearl and Earl. I'll bet no one guesses where I got those names. First one who does wins a prize!

Here's two views of the pond just after gravel installation.



Justin trimmed the liner, mulched around the edges, and put the water lily and hornwort back in before filling the pond and turning on the pumps, flushing the mud and dirt from the gravel bog into the pond. That muddy water should clear by tomorrow afternoon. Here's how it looked a few minutes after the pumps were turned on.
Obviously I've got a lot of planting to do and it's going to take time for the empty spaces around the pond to fill in and soften the edges. I'll admit to one misgiving about the design and that is my decision to make the back wall of the bog 2 blocks high. I do take full responsibility for that: Justin asked and I decided it needed the extra height. Now that it's all done, I'm not so sure! I think I'll be able to get creative and make it work, though. It's such a big change from what was there that it's taking me some time to adjust to the new vista.


I spent a couple of hours after Justin left, repositioning some rocks here, adding a rock there, starting the process of making the pond my own. I did run into a problem as I was watering a pot that I'd placed behind the electrical box. The spray nozzle was set on JET. Evidently water got into the outlet because the pumps stopped working. I had to let the outlet dry out for a few hours before it was ready to work again. Is this going to happen when we have one of our torrential rains, or was it just due to a freakish angle of the water stream from the hose? Will I have to come up with some kind of shield or cover for the electrical box? I guess time will tell.

I have to say that although it wasn't inexpensive to have this done, it was worth every penny to me. There's no way I could have accomplished anything like this on my own, or even working with a friend (NOT Essence Man because we don't work well together on such projects ... he gets cranky). I can recommend Justin and Pond Pros of Houston without any hesitation. Thanks for making one of my garden dreams come true, Justin!

Comments

Oh, my gosh---the pond looks great! I know you're happy to have this finished! And now comes the really fun part: shopping!

Now I really, really want a pond...
Gail said…
It does look wonderful. I have always wondered how quickly the construction mud clears out? You made me smile imagining yopu rearranging a few stones to make it your own, that must be a universal gardening trait! We are having some screening built onto our carport and while it is costly I do believe it will be worth every penny to hide the trash cans etc from public view.

looking forward to more of As The Pond Fills!

Gail
It looks great! I have creeping jenny and charlie growing through the rocks around my pond--I think it adds a natural softness among all the rocks. You will enjoy finding plants for the water, and to add around the pond.
Happy Water Gardening!
Carol Michel said…
It looks great! I need a pond! I need a pond!

Carol, May Dreams Gardens
Anonymous said…
The pond is looking great! I think the double height at the back will work wonderfully especially if you can get some ferns or something to cascade over it. It will be like a secret fairy spring.
Anonymous said…
Is your electrical box out in the open, or dug down a ways? I have a pond that looks much like yours here in Tyler. I inherited it from the previous owners. Smartest thing I did was add a whopping $500backwashing filter to it. Makes the job a lot easier! I've truly enjoyed it, made it my own. Taken things out and put things in. I'll be interested in seeing what you come up with. Nice to have found you! Mine is on my blog too.
Brenda
Kathy said…
You probably said this somewhere, but how big is it? There wasn't anything in the finished pond picture to give it scale, which made it look small.
Anonymous said…
We are all doing garden projects this year. I think you can put some sedums in that rock wall and soften it a bit and you won't regret to two rock high stacking. Kudos to you and Justin for a pond well done.~~Dee
Cindy, MCOK said…
Colleen, I decided this morning that the messy species vitex near the pond has to go. It's been dropping leaves and berries in the pond. Once it's out, that means an empty spot that must be filled. Woo-hoo!

Gail, since I left the day after it was finished, I'm not sure how long it took for it to clear. I came home to clear water, though. I'm planning a visit to Nelson Water Gardens on Friday to buy plants & fish.

MT, the creepers are on my list of plants to consider. I'm contemplating keeping the color scheme green and white, to make it a very serene and shady oasis.

Carol, I agree, you NEED a pond! The sound of water trickling over the rocks is very soothing.

MSS, that's the look I'm going for, kind of cool and mysterious. Fairies are always welcome!

Brenda, I'm happy to have you here. I'll check out your pond pictures when I finish this comment. It's always nice to see what fellow Texans are doing. The electrical box is out in the open, about 12 inches off the ground (think that's required by code). I may have my electrician come by to see if he has any camouflage suggestions.

Kathy, it's a small pond, for sure (especially compared to what you could do on your property). I thought about really expanding the size but decided to be prudent. I didn't want to give myself too much more work to do! It's about 10 feet across and 8 feet back, including the rocks.
Diana said…
Wow - that's fabulous! I soooo envy you. I can just imagine how lush and exotic it will be when you get it full of plants and fish.
drlem said…
Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, & Minnie Pearl? Hee Haw?
Cindy, MCOK said…
Diana, I hope it will be as lovely as I envision! I'm sure I'll tweak it for months to come.

Dr. Laura, I can't believe you didn't recognize those names from your old favorite TV show. Wave goodbye to Granny!