drevalvo,

First of all, CALM DOWN ! (just kidding).

My advice to you is to research research research seek seek seek plan plan plan.

Research by going to your local library and looking for books on ponds,the local Box garden store has "how-to" books on ponds, Ponding Magazine. The forum is a great source. Just search "Pond Construction" and you have many hits. Write down things you come across that you like / hate. This will give you a base to work from.

Seek out advice from a local koi club, water garden club on what they did (or didn't do...). Go look at some local water gardens/ ponds to get ideas. Talk to the owners on the good/ bad of their pond system.

Plan your garden / pond out; in your head and on paper (rough drawings are a best start). I thought it out for many months and still here, at this time, in this journey, I have areas I would do over.

I must note though; you will get LOTS of "suggestions. But in the end, it all ends up being an individual choice; what you want and how you "plan" to get there.

One serious note: The low fencing between properties would concern me. Check with the local zoning to see if there are regulations on "PONDS" (not pools - they'll try to push that crap on to the subject).

I hope my words help you. Best of luck with it all.
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LP

I am no expert but do have a few suggestions. I would
choose one of the corners to start with. Which one would partially depend on the accessibility of utilities ( elect and water) and the best view from your deck. You need to determine what size and type of pond you want ( fish (type?), plants, or both), Water fall? (size?). Space for utilities ( filters, etc). You have some great locations for a nice pond. You just need to develop a game plan. Just my 2 cents.

LP,
I've been TRYING to research and plan, but I'm getting impatient! :) It just seems so overwhelming to me, and I'm having trouble envisioning it all. The fence is a point I sure didn't think of...it's 4 ft., and I just assumed that was high enough...I'll check it out some more.

Thanks for the input!

Ralph,
I've pretty much decided that I do want to start in one of the corners where the large flower bed is, I just can't decide which one! The far corner would probably look best from the top deck, but I had to put in a french drain there due to some unfortunate landscaping my neighbor did that completely blocks the natural flow of water, so I can't really mess with that corner too much unless I want my yard to be flooded every spring. The closer corner (by the concrete pad) is easier to access (electric/water) and if I could figure out a way to work it in, would be very soothing when I'm sitting down there on the back patio. What's throwing me off is I can't seem to envision in my head how I can make it look "natural" there...and I would LOVE a small waterfall, but where/how do i start it so that it doesn't look out of place? I mean, water wouldn't naturally flow right off the foundation of the house, or directly from a wooden fence...you know what I mean? How do you work in running water, where there is no running water, without making it look funny? I guess that's my biggest concern...it looking like some crazy fountain I just plunked down in the middle of the flower bed. I want it to blend more...be more believable. As for the type, I'm not sure about fish, since I would have to do that whole de-icing thing all winter...some plants for sure, and then maybe fish later? Or a nice fat frog?

Thanks for your help!
Dorothy

You could try to make it look like it's coming from an underground type well thing & flowing into the pond .... you know with rocks or such.

Since you are having trouble deciding how you want the pond to look, what style, etc., I suggest that you start looking through pond books and online photo albums and pick out styles of ponds y ou like. Narrow it down to a few and make a decision. Or, take elements from several and do your own thing.
Another thing to consider is what is the focus of the pond? Do you want fish? Do you just want to grow many varieties of lilies and water plants? Fish will need a larger space, more filtration, etc.
In ground or above ground is a personal preference. Some find above ground ponds easier to take care of. I know I do.:)
I know it is intimidating and stressful but try to focus and work your way through the process. You also might try looking at some of the ponding books that are available that show you cross section diagrams of how to build them and plumb them, Home Depot has their own ponding book that has several of these in it. Better Homes & Gardens and Sunset books all have good ponding books.

Get a rope or a garden hose and lay it out in the areas that you are considering for your pond. That will give you some idea of what it will look like.

I took a pond tour this past weekend, and I amazed at the different sizes and shapes, not to mention the different locations that people place their ponds.

Dorothy,
I'm new here and I don't have the know-how or creativity some of these seasoned ponders do. But I do know what it is like not to know exactly what you want to do to make your pond look like it 'belongs'. We live in rural NC, farm country, there are no hills here, no babbling brooks, no waterfalls, actually, we don't even have ROCKS here. All the pond books & magazines I poured over showed either formal ponds (not me) or beauutiful natural looking ponds but they all had one thing I did not want...a waterfall. I love waterfalls, and the ponders here have some truly impressive waterfalls, but I knew it would look silly for ME to have a waterfall in the middle of my front yard. I've never even SEEN a natural waterfall. So we designed a more rustic looking water feature to give the sound and flow of moving water. It isn't natural, but it is more rustic, which is what my pond and yard is all about. So...that being said.....I think a more believable option for you would be the idea of a 'natural' spring that flows over/through some rounded stones and into your pond. A gentle slope and gentle moving water rather than a torrent. You could have the water bubble up through/between the rocks then flow into the pond. Super easy to do with only a strip of liner and a hose or pipe running from your pump under the rocks and back up through a grouping of rocks at the top. But if you really, really want a waterfall, just scale it to fit, and that will help it look the most natural.

Other things to consider when deciding where to place your water feature are things that are often overlooked -- is it going to be over a sewer-line? Are there buried power lines?

First read up on Filtration and consider a Bottom Drain if it's going to be a large pond. The bottom drain is not used for emptying the pond, but used for continually cleaning the pond by recirculating the dirty pond water through mechanical filter boxes outside the pond. How high up is your deck? our deck is 3 feet off the ground. When we laid out our pond we used garden hose and sat on our deck to make sure it could be viewed from the deck in a sitting position, same with the view from inside of the house.
When you can be more specific on the size and what you want, and the type of pond you want, we can be more helpful.
Joann
Our website is below, read our pond 'plans and diagrams' for a starting point and on my links page you can get to "chuck Rushes" site, which has lots of good info and links to other pond websites.

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Here is a link that might be useful: CJ's Adventures in Ponding.

Sooo much to think about and plan and soooo little patience. We all know that feeling. But that is good advice plan plan plan and then have someone look at the plan.Knowing what you want in the pond or want it for is very important.
Be wary of underground obstructions (elec cables water lines septic or sewer etc), tree locations ( for roots as well as fall leaves and shade), the best vantage point for you to enjoy the pond. Make use of any terrain features such as slopes in the yard etc.
I have to say, i spent a lot more time researching than actual construction, as i wanted it right the first time..... ha as if it were only going to be the first time.

Dorothy, I know exactly what you mean about wanting it to look natural and fit in. Unfortunately, no matter how much planning you do, it's probably going to looked "plunked down" for a while, until the plantings fill in and it gets that settled look. In a year or two it will be better than you ever expected...

People have given great ideas already, but I would agree with the suggestions to take your time and look at every pond/water garden magazine, book, website and tour you possibly can. And take any advise Cliff and Joann have to offer--one look at the pics of their pond and you'll see why.

Missa7's idea about water coming up out of the ground is one that we used when building our pond. I didn't want any pipes, etc. showing (even in the winter when there wasn't any plant cover) and I didn't think water pouring out from under a pile of rocks would look natural either. Those were some of the reasons we decided to put in a bog-type gravel filter (shown below). It's not very visable, but the hollow log on the right side of the photo is where the intake hose for the bog is. The water flows up through the gravel and overflows into our big pond via both a stream and a small waterfall. We were lucky in that we actually have a bit of a slope in our middle-of-kansas yard so we didn't have to pile up dirt to make a waterfall.

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Below are two pictures of ponds that I think do a great job of adding waterfalls "gracefully" in what looks like relatively flat terrain. I have no idea whose ponds they are, but I wish I did so I could go visit! :-)
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Have fun coming up with ideas! Sherry

Here's a thought. You can take a picture of someones pond and
paste it in your backyard picture just to see what it would look like.Then when you build your pond you could see how it looks before you do it.Just to give you a Idea. I downloaded a free picture software called Photofiltre and it worked pretty good.