This is a picture of my 7 year old below and above ground pond.I love my little pond. I have sence changed the Bio filter and installed a 100 gal stock tank with a spillway. I also purchased a larger pump for moving a whole lot more water. The hole i dug into the ground is about waste deep and then what you see is above ground. I figure is around 1500 plus gals of water. Here's a picture of the pond with the new spillway I added last year. There's over 40 plus fish in my little pond. The key to remember is AERATION....... Water exchange is a must.. I have the 100 gal stock full of different types and shapes of sponges and bio ribbon, I think I have 2 rolls of the ribbon in there. Water is always clear. With the spillway the water falls through the air which also aerates the water. I don't plan to clean the bio filter out at all during this pond season. Happy ponding Sandy

Thanks Karin for the heads up that we were given the right information...to keep the rocks away from the plants base. And hanging head on the sand cherry we most likely killed...It was fairly large...my husband got a decent size root ball but I felt he could have taken more. We did NOT trim the plant back so the volume of the top matched the volume of the roots. Once moved I've given it miracle grow and watered deep...But again we had it smothered with rocks up high on it's main base. Would it pay to trim the shrub shorter to after planted to help counter that we hadn't done it before transplanting? Thanks on the kind words of the waterfall...I was really trying to go with the "natural" look...then that weeping maple suckered me into purchasing it. We vacation around waterfall trails and have for years. So when I suggested a water fountain feature in the backyard...my son who was 11yrs. old at the time commented he felt that a waterfall would be more appropriate. And that is how it all started. I originally wanted a horseshoe of rocks placed so that a larger rock/bolder could sit a top. And have the bolder drilled and water come down over it. Which sort of reminded me of a smaller version waterfall called "Ash Cave" down in Hocking Hills area of Ohio. But the kit we purchased was HUGE...and the man working the bobcat and my husband felt we were going to be wasting so much materials by making as such...and it went from there. I do love it and the sound it makes. It's built into a hill so I really don't have a "HUGE" pile of rocks coming up unnaturally from the ground to form it. Our neighbors who walk by complain because you can't really see it from the road...but only hear it. But to make it any other way would of made it look more unnatural. On the corner from us the previous owners made a rock garden of large rocks...so what rocks you do see from our backyard when not viewing the waterfall...looks natural to the area I think because of what the previous neighbors did. One neighbor came by and visited...and teased that HGTV called and wants their waterfall back. lol We also have a porch swing back there along with a few chairs on the back patio. And off the other patio where we have a picnic table you can view the waterfall as well. So it's ideally placed for our own enjoyment... No one can get over the size rocks used to make this waterfall. I think that alone helps make it look more natural than using just smaller ones that one can lift with their hands. Big project took most of the summer. But well worth it.

One More Pic For The Fun Of It

Rather than gravel or crushed rock, I prefer something with a larger texture, like small diameter river rock. Walking on it is difficult but in a planted area with mostly conifers, walking through it is not a huge necessity!! Add some larger rocks and few boulders well embedded in the ground and you have a ready-made design! A couple of thoughts - IMO, this looks best if on a mounded bed or sloped area - a perfectly flat surface just doesn't quite make the cut :-) Also, if you are restricting the plantings to primarily conifers and minimal use of other smaller spreading or groundcover type plants, this IS a situation where I would use a landscape fabric under the rock (and you will NOT find me stating that often :-)) It is far too easy for the rock to become incorporated into the underlying soil, making future amending difficult, should it ever be necessary. It will also help to deter weed growth from underneath but debris will always accumulate on top and that can encourage weed growth in the rocks themselves. But that should be easy to remove. Just keep the fabric away from the base of the conifers to allow for good water penetration. A larger rock diameter makes blowing easier as well. Any heat generated from a rock mulch will be easily tolerated by most conifers - that should not be a concern. One of the best examples of this technique I have seen is in a semi-shaded area in plantswoman Helen Dillon's garden. The trees were birch, not conifers (as more suited to the partial shade) but the rock mulch was small, 1-2" or so diameter river rock. A really stunning effect. Blown clear of leaves and other debris as necessary.