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My Pond


Caryl

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Some of you have followed the build of my pond, starting in 2006. Here it is today. The hebes are well overgrown (and hang almost halfway over the pond, making it look a lot smaller than it is) and some will be hacked back and others removed entirely. As I have to get into the pond to reach them I am waiting for warmer weather :smiley_wink_ani:

The mint is doing well. I am thinking of planting watercress as well as it will be nice and green and act as extra filtration.

 

 

Mint 24 Nov 2015.jpg

cream lily 24 Nov 2015.jpg

pink lily 24 Nov 2015.jpg

Pond from far end 24 Nov 2015.jpg

Pond from house end 24 Nov 2015.jpg

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Looks great!  Would love to do a pond in my back yard - hmm, maybe another winter project. :D

Wouldn't the Hebe's be giving a lot of shade over summer and keeping temps down or is the pond cool enough anyway?  Have put Puha in my tank & its flourishing, another plant to compliment the mint and cress?

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More importantly, the hebes stop the herons from landing on the fence before descending to wipe out the fish!

The pond is shaded all summer by a large Chinese Silk tree plus the decks overhang each end by about 1m. It is also over knee deep in the middle so temperature is not usually a problem. The water lilies cover a lot as well. It was cleaned out last year (or the year before) so not as much plant as there used to be. The fish were having to use machetes to get through the oxygen weed! It has been very slow to grow back, thank goodness.

I shall have a look for some puha. The mint wasn't actually intentionally planted, I had used some soil to pot up ferns which were hung over the far end deck and the mint came up from there!

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  • 2 years later...

About time for a pond update. Here it is in the middle of having the left side trimmed. It has to be emptied and repaired as it has developed a leak since the big quake. Every quake since seems to have made it a little worse. I don't mind having to keep topping it up at the moment but once summer hits and water restrictions are required I don't like to use so much. We have decided on using liquid rubber but will wait until after Christmas to give the latest fry a chance to grow enough so we might be able to catch them! We were going to line it but it will be too difficult, especially with the built in waterfall at one end and the overhanging decks at each end.

Pond full length.jpg

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  • 5 years later...

It is with sadness I must say we are about to fill in our large pond 😞

We both have health issues and keeping it looking good and cleaning it out are now beyond us. We have enjoyed it for 17 years but it is now time for it to go. Hopefully a landscaper will be here next month and the plan is to get the fish out (a mission in itself) and put them in a temporary pond so we can find out how many we have. We will keep half a dozen for the stock trough (large circular one and much easier to manage) then get rid of the rest. There will be lots of lilies to go too plus one huge umbrella palm but I suspect it will need to be divided as it is too big to move in one go.

The landscaper will make our front yard easy care and build a ramp down from the verandah to the lawn. We need a ramp at the back door too as Grant now finds it difficult to get himself, and his walker, in and out of the house. It has a wooden floor so is 4 steps up off the ground. Having built this place 43 years ago, we prefer to make it easier for us to live in rather than to move to somewhere with easier access.

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  • 2 months later...

The pond is no more, neither are many of the shrubs that surrounded the pond. They had never been pruned and had become straggly and leggy. The Chinese silk tree, the first thing we planted when we built the house 43 years ago, had to go as it was shading the solar panels.

The landscaper is readying the ground to re-seed the lawn. The pond is now a paved BBQ area. The concrete slab at the far end will have a large garden shed on it. Dirt between pavers and concrete slab will be grass with 2 flowering cherries planted. Grant can now get off the front verandah and circumnavigate the house! Hopefully they start on the back door ramp this weekend.

 

The blobs on the stock trough water surface are pollen 😞

Almost empty.jpg

Digging.jpg

Breaking up concrete.jpg

Ramp and area taking shape.jpg

Ramp test.jpg

Finished pavers.jpg

Fish 4.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

That's an understatement - and the journey continues. The garden shed was almost completed today (and still needs to be moved fully into position closer to the fence) and we can run power to it because we had power to the pond pump. We will be able to keep the mower charger (and mower) in the shed along with the outdoor furniture. We even have 2 or 3 gardening implements!

The paved area is where the pond was and the shed is on the slab at the far end of the 1st pic.

Now with ramps front and back, and the new paths, Grant can get easily in and out of the house and right around it as well 🙂

BBQ area from verandah.jpg

Shed almost finished 10 Oct 2023.jpg

Ramp & steps finished.jpg

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