Nice start, keep working and it will fill in shortly. Ya need some chairs out there so you can sit and enjoy what you have created!

I'm so jealous! Thats going to be so beautiful and relaxing. I've always wanted a pond but wouldn't even know where to start. The salamander is cute too. Please keep posting updates. I'm enjoying seeing it come to life.

Looooking Goood!!..Are you putting in fishies?

Thanks guys!

Karma, I have a 3 person swing next to it outside of the fence, you just can't see it in the pix. Also have lounge chairs on the other side. And there are 3 park-like benches close to the pond area, all on the outside of the fence, otherwise the kids would think it's OK for them to go in there, and it's not. I can just see the littlest knucklehead falling in headfirst, lol.

Neon, dont be jealous lmao..DH had me so upset the other day before I had any plants or anything around it saying it looked like sh!t..just a couple holes in the ground. Like it's all gonna be instant? argh! It'll probably take all summer to get it to how I want it. I'm still trying to decide what low growing plants to put in front of the ponds, to cover the edges but need them to be able to stand that overflow of water from rains..and critters going swimming, lol.

Carmie, yes I plan on putting in a couple shubunkins and a placo or 2 in each pond. Can't put in big fish, or alot of fish since the ponds are so small. But I'd rather learn everything with 2 small pre-forms than jump right into a big one not knowing what I'm doing, lol.

Gotta get some plants for the top of the bio-filter as well..maybe I'll do all small cannas, I dont know. Thats what I have there now, Kristy's canna! Then hopefully the columbines will get large enough in front, & it will just look like a pot with plants in it.
Now, if I could just somehow make my yard bigger...lol.

Daniella

Daniella, It looks fabulous!You should be proud of yourself! I've had my pond for 6 yearsand it's still a work in progress! You will love it so much! It definitely is a stress reliever.I can send you some waterlilies(small varieties),Thalia Delbata, parrot's feather and watercress. Email me!

Theresa

Oh Daniella are you in trouble. Once you have a pond you will always have to have one and one is never enough. No matter how big you make it, you will always want it to be "just a little bigger".LOL The plants will grow and fill in quickly and just play with things until you get the look you want. LOL You will want to plant some different water plants IN the pond too. Gosh, I've got water irises starting to bloom right now. I can probably share a start or two of those with you. Right now the blooms have not opened so I'm waiting to see just how many different colors I might have. I think I just have purple and yellow, I'm old and can't remember....those unimportant things. LOL

I was a little concerned that you may have buried it too deep in one of the photos because of runoff. But it looks like it's just about right in some of the other photos. That's a mistake you certainly don't want to make. Everything running into the pond from rain.

Looks wonderful to me. Let me know if I have anything you need a start of. I have the tropical black cannas planted on the back side of one of my ponds. The red,pink, orange in the foilage add alot of color and interest to it. You also need something like that to add a little height to the scene. You Go Girl, but tell the kids no swimming in the pond. Oh, I have some cute little plastic lizards, gators and things like that stuck around in different areas. Sometimes people see them and jump back, then start laughing when they realize their not real. LOL Play with it and have lots of fun. IT will end up being one of the whole families favorite hang out, cause there is always something to see, hear, and touch.

Great Job! Marian

I am impressed, well done. I know how it is a big job.
I like the design and I can see you will have a wonderful look to it.
Dont you just love the creativity about designing it, changing it around and finally getting it just right? ( except the plants never behave the way you want and something gives way to another...) JUST be sure to keep the picts comming all summer.

1 you need froogies, and Coy. (the kind that dont eat frogies)
2 Where do the brugies go?
3 Lotus?

Daniella, it looks wonderful. And I have not forgotten that box I need to send you. I just got roped into working 4 nights in a row so my sleep pattern is off and I have been all mixed up. But anyway it looks like you are about ready for them I have them in a bucket so hopefully they are ok. I will email when it goes in the mail.

Mary

Daniella: Wondeful project. Good Job! Thanks for the pics. I'm sooo jealous ;0) My "water garden" is 6 large containers!! Keep us posted on your porgress. Gloria

Daniella,
What a great job! it looks fabulous!
You have been a busy bee, once the plants get started it`s
going to look beautiful.
Karen

Daniella ! What a lot of work.. it looks great. I have one with a waterfall and lots of Koi in it. One word of advice.. don't over feed the fish. When the water temps drop below 50*.. don't feed them at all. Wait till the next year to feed when the temps warm back up. Once you are all finished with constuction, and need plants, maybe I have some you might want. Great job !! Edna

Thank you everyone :)
I tried to take a pic tonight..put up some lights, but only 2 so far..8 more to go. Just wanted to get the ones around the pond right first then I'll do the rest. It's a lil blurry, and I took it from kinda far away to get the whole thing in..but, I love what the lighting does for it. Looks so much better at night, in real life..not so much the pic, lol. But I didnt want to use flash.


{{gwi:474062}}

Thank you everyone, you're all too nice to me. And the plant offers..too sweet..thank you very much!

Theresa I sent you an email :) Thank you!

Marian, yes you are correct, I had to adjust things when I saw the slope. I def didn't want any runoff going in the pond! Big muddy mess! It was a major PITA getting them just right, and was especially hard getting the ponds level since I don't have a level, lol. I had to eyeball it, but I did pretty good with that :) And I tried to get the soil around it all as level as possible. LOL, the kids have been teasing the last 2 days that they wanna go in the ponds. Caught my son playing in it with his fingers..hopefully once the plants are done they won't be able to get close enough to dip their fingers or toes in, lol.

Thank you Barry! I do plan on getting some tadpoles, and some tree frogs. I would love to, but I can't get Koi, they wouldn't be too happy, they get too big for my set-up. My son is NOT happy about that. I plan on getting some shubunkins & placos. Shubunkins get 10" so they will be OK..Koi get from 2-5'. Maybe I could get baby Kois and just give them away when they get too big..hmm somethin to think about. The lotus is in the black tub between the 2 ponds. My spots for the brugs have changed again, lol. Still def gonna have some around the pond, just not sure of the spots. I'll post more pix when I decide and have them in :)

Mary, thank you. Don't worry about it, I know you're a busy woman. You take your time and just let me know :)

Gloria..that's how I started out last year. Hey containers are better than nothin! And easier, lol. Thank you :)

Thanks Karen, yes..very busy & now its catching up to me..my shoulders & lower back are killing me, lol.

Edna, thank you for the advice on feeding, I knew when it gets cold to stop feeding, but didn't know a temp..thank you!

I'm pooped out & off to bed..took me so long to type this, I dont even have time to catch up on all the posts I missed, lol. thank you all again :)
BTW..I can take critiscism if anyone wants to point anything out I need to change or if it looks crappy, lol.

Daniella

Oh, Daniella its beautiful! You did a wonderful job and its going to look great once all your plants fill out. I keep looking at my new bed thinking it looks crappy too but I know I have to give the plants time to grow. Its so tempting to keep putting stuff in there, lol.

Fantastic Daniella! You must have been pooped after all that shoveling of dirt, but look at what a great job you did.

The ponds look great. We put our first ones in last year and I still haven't figured out how I want to arrange the plants around them. I'm completely changing it this season. It's true that you will just want a bigger and bigger pond. DH put the first one in as a Mother's Day gift and we liked it so much that we put another in soon after. I made the mistake of planting so much around them that by the end of the summer the plants had grown so much it was difficult to see the water and some of the water plants multiply way too much, especially for me because my ponds aren't that big. I'm definitely still learning. Have fun. I love the sound of the water. It's so relaxing.
Karyn

Thank you everyone. I got the rest of the lighing in this morning, but it looks kinda silly since I have that middle part of the bed unfinished, and the spot where I had dahlias and canna last year is empty, lol. But it will get filled in soon enough. I love how the pond looks with the spotlights, last night I kept going out to listen to the water and stare at everything. I could have slept right there, lol.

Eloise, I dont think it was the digging so much that got me. I think the railroad ties did me in, lol. I saw a guy a couple blocks away was getting rid of some, and I wanted them so I wouldnt have to buy anything to make some raised beds along the fence. Well, I had just my hands, the guy said "if you need help let me know" I told him I wouldn't and he didnt believe me, looked at me like I was nuts, this lil 5'1 girl is gonna do that? lmao, he was getting more from his back yard and came out using a hand truck for them, saw I already had 5 loaded into the bed and he was amazed, lmao..I'm alot stronger than I look. He watched me pick up the 7' one w/2 hands and couldnt believe it. Then I had to go home, unload and do it all again all by myself..I got 14 of them, ranging from 4-7'.
I think that's what got my back. DH thinks I'm nuts, but what else is new, lol.

Kristy, I'm the same way..I forgot I put in sweet william seeds in front of the ponds..and then I transplanted some creeping phlox & lamb's ears into those spots. God only knows where the sweet william will come up now, probably all over, lol. I was so mad at myself. If they take anywhere I will transplant the seedlings.

Karen, do you have preforms or lined? I already want mine bigger, lol. DH wasn't liking this idea at first, but yesterday I saw him loungin in the hammock close to the ponds, lol. I just wish it was closer to the house so I could hear the water from my bedroom. The arch I put by the ponds is where I am going to put some passies from the seeds you sent me! If I put giant moon flowers with the passies on that arch, do you think their leaves would be too big and cover up the passies, or maybe even take over? I'd love to have both together there, just not sure if it would work? Or maybe chilean glory vine? Or maybe all 3? lol! Have you ever done anything climbing with the passies? Thanks!

Daniella