Last summer with all the work I did on the Laurentian I was lucky to get the grass cut. So, this year it's make-up time. Connie had been quietly hinting about doing some of those projects in the yard we had talked about for the last couple of years. We have a couple of areas that I called "dead zones". Either they get baked in the summer and the grass gets burnt, or the area had overgrown shrubs and weeds. One such area was located in one corner behind my house. Last year I installed a small rain barrel station (see other post) and pulled out 10 overgrown evergreens. Our house is situated in such a way that the ground slopes down as to get to the rear of our house so the sunroom and deck at the rear of our house ends up being on a second level (our basement walks out at the back). My inlaws granny flat is also at the same level so we installed an elevator for easy access to the back yard. Here is an older photo explaining what I mean:
The granny flat is on the upper left, the elevator in the center, the "dead zone" on the bottom left. The area below the granny flat is a storage shed. This photo was taken before the ramp from the elevator base to the ground was built. So, essentially the dead zone is boxed in. I knew I wanted a walkway to the rain barrels (to the left of the shed) but wasn't sure what to do with the rest of the area. We decided the construct a pond. We initially wanted to do the typical dug in pond but then felt it might pose a hazard to Connie's dad as he is very unsteady on his feet and being the stubborn fellow he is, could lose his footings getting too close and could fall in. I checked for other ideas online and visited a few local pond suppliers. One suppier had a small above ground pond set up, mostly to display plants, fountains etc. It got me thinking. Why not create a large, above ground pond? I called my favorite carpenter and he came over and we threw around some ideas. We traced some outlines on the ground, trying to come up with a shape.
Connie wanted it devided into three areas- a main pond, plus two other sections that could either be flower beds or separate fountains etc. We also determined we wanted a walkway all the way around that was walker/wheelchair friendly. We got a materials list together and got to work. I had the week off (1st week of June) and Charlie and Bev (my experts) came over to lend a hand. Things slowly took shape. The hardest part was getting it level as the ground still slopes at this point.
Once we were happy with the height (about 22") we put down a layer of sand, then a layer of felt to protect the liner. The liner was set into place, overlapping the frame:
We then filled it with water and let the liner settle for a couple of days:
Next the liner is trimmed to about .5" over the edge of the frame. We stapled it in place every few feet. The top boards will cover it completely and are screwed in place. Next the extra two "areas" are constructed.
Finally the top boards are installed and the walkway constructed. Add a few plants, some fish, a fountain, flowers and woila:
This planter covers a compartment with a removable lid that stores pond supplies and an outdoor power bar (for lighting, fountains etc)
A quick walk around:
While this isn't for everyone, we really like the results. It's pretty relaxing sitting next to it listing to the fountain. We can also change the fountain head to other designs. Connie's dad likes standing on his deck looking down at the fish.
After we were finished Connie said "I guess I can't complain if you spend all of next summer in the garage".
1960 Pontiac Strato Chief Safari 1960 Laurentian Safari 1960 Laurentian 4door(scrapped) 2001 Grand Am Traded on a '96 Suburban 2WD 2002 Hyundai Accent(SOLD) 1968 Grand Parisienne Scrapped and SOLD
I know you all have been wondering "How is that Pond of Todd's doing?" and "I wonder how that solar powered rain barrel is doing?". Well wonder no more. When we didn't have monsoon season I used the solar pump quite a bit and I ran out of water before running out of power. That's a good thing. The battery charged in 2 days which is better than I thought).
As for the pond, it's doing very well. We have about 70% plant coverage now and the fish have been partying and had babies... I knew I shouldn't have let them consume alcohol! . Our tadpole is now a frog- we've seen him twice. Can you see him in this pic?
Connie's mom hasn't been feeling well enough to sit by the pond and watch the fish. Well, I'm all about solutions. Being the gadget geek that I am, I picked up an underwater camera off Ebay. Attached to it is a video transmitter (I picked up on Ebay a couple of years ago). I hooked it all up and woila- Pond TV!
It works great. To add to the excitment I placed one of those tropical food pucks in front of the camera. Connie's mom really got a kick out of it. I did a poor quality video of the tv. It looks much better in person and all the debris floating around is from me placing the food puck. My son and I caught a few crayfish in the creek behind our property. If you look closely you'll see one of them feeding on the puck. Talk about drama!
The brownie point's are really building....
Todd
-- Edited by 69Laurentian on Thursday 23rd of July 2009 07:28:20 PM
That is Awesome... Can't wait to see what the fish do in the Winter.....LOL
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1960 Pontiac Strato Chief Safari 1960 Laurentian Safari 1960 Laurentian 4door(scrapped) 2001 Grand Am Traded on a '96 Suburban 2WD 2002 Hyundai Accent(SOLD) 1968 Grand Parisienne Scrapped and SOLD
I had a lot of help with the construction. We knew what we wanted and how we wanted it to look but we also wanted it put together properly to hold all that water. Maintenance is a breeze. All I have to do is take the cover off the pump (4 twist screws) every 10 days or so and wash out the intake. Takes me 5 minutes. The algae is starting to diminish so I may be able to go even longer between cleanings. Our pond supplier says we should have no problem wintering. The pump will run all year. It only draws 70 watts. The fish will do fine. Most of the plants will die off (the floaters) however Connie may winter a few of them in containers in our basement.
Excellent job! Our project this year was to redo the front garden, it looks good now. Next will be the back. We're scaling back the garden and planting lots of grass seed. I did some in the spring, and maybe more in the fall. Neither one of us likes weeding.