very well done...its so pretty

Thanks, trinigemini. It's not done yet, but I feel like it's getting there. And it is so fun to go out and feed the fish every morning. I love LIFE in the garden, beyond having plants! My birdfeeder is extra busy right now, too. There are six white-winged doves who come daily, and the usual assortment of bluejays, cardinals, titmice, red-bellied woodpeckers, Carolina wrens, and a few others. (The migratory birds have mostly moved on now.)

Nothing like a garden with living creatures enjoying the oasis you've created!

Marcia

very nice! you'll have a lot of fun with your pond plants and fishes! Very clever idea.

Thank you, Laura. I forgot to add that the canna in the middle is just temporary. It's on a stack of pavers, but when I get a lotus, I will sink that pot in the center and let the lotus be the star.

Marcia

Just beautiful,my friend!
I know you will enjoy your pond.The area that you have created looks so peaceful. I hope you ,now,stop for a while and rest and relax. Great idea and a good job done.
Let's not forget to give credit to Mark,Marcia,he helped.
Felix

Oh, he absolutely helped, Felix. That's why I have a picture of him laying the brick. He does all my really heavy lifting and toting, and if it needs to be straight or level, he's the one I turn to. He's not particularly creative, and sometimes it takes me awhile to explain to him what I want, but once he's on board, he helps me out greatly. I couldn't do it by myself, that's for sure. (Though I was wondering where he was whne I was hauling those 40 pound bags of cow manure Tuesday!!) He plants all the bamboo and broms, too. I don't like handling those scratchy things.

Then there's all those bricks we have...he collected every single one of them, individually, from sites where they had been torn up and were heading to landfills. I can't tell you how many van loads and trunk loads of bricks he came home with over the years. And now they are getting put to good use.

Glad you like the pond. It's coming along well, I think.

Marcia

Marcia ~ I love what you have done. It's beautiful and I know you're really going to enjoy it. How will you be controlling mosquitoes, the little fishies?

Love your little sausage dogs!!!

FlowerLady

Mosquitoes prefer still water, so in my container water gardens, I usually float a Mosquito Dunk or I toss in some guppies who make short work of them. I've never had them breed in any pond where the water turnover was good from a strong pump. However, if they did, I think the goldfish would eat them. I do check constantly for "wiggle-tails" or other insect life that I don't want, and if I found any, I would drop in a dunk.

I'm glad you like the pond. I'm really pleased with how quick it was to set up and how nice it is to have my tea beside every morning. I love the sound of the gurgling water, too. Mark is going to make me a bamboo dripper, kind of like this one we had for a smaller pond.

When it is in place, water will trickle all day long, and will sound great! Birds are drawn to it, as well.

Marcia

I love your pond, Marcia. I hope to do one some day, though it will probably a smaller version due to lack of space. I'm definitely going with some kind of cattle trough set up though.
And as I always I envy your brick paths.

Bill

LOVE IT!!! Thank you for posting this - gives me ideas...

Thanks, Bill! I saw troughs in many sizes and shapes. Some shaped more like a bathtub...maybe 5 feet long and 2 wide or the like. I think they would ALL make great ponds. You could leave them above ground, or sink the smaller ones, leaving 3" or so above ground to keep dirt out. I plan to add more in other areas at some point.

I will tell Mark you like the paths. (I do, too). He put in many long, back-breaking hours laying them, and the patio, and the floor to the Bali hut, and a couple of other brick areas. But it was worth it...they add a lot.

Marcia

Great idea Marcia! I love the results, it is so pretty!!!
I have to show it to Willy, he wants a pond badly. You will hear from him soon, after he gets off a meeting.

Congratulations to you, Mark and your cute dogs too. They make good models.:o)

Silvia

Thank you, Olya...go on...give it a try! It's so much easier and cheap than a comparable in-ground pond. If money and time are short (and when aren't they?) it's a good substitute. Plus with it raised, I don't have to worry about the dogs chasing lizards into it and not being able to get out. (Dachshunds are notoriously bad swimmers, with a few exceptions). However, I did spot Potter last week walking around on TOP of the rim!!! I think I have gotten it across to him that THAT is a bad idea!

Sylvia, I would be happy to give Willy any suggestions or ideas I can. I'm so happy with mine! It's 6 feet across, 2 feet deep, and holds nearly 425 gallons. That gives you a fair amount of room for both plants and fish, yet it is easy to maintain. In keeping with your veggie gardens, you could grow watercress and water chestnuts in it! How's that for practical? *grin*

Marcia

Made me day,what FUN!!!!

Hi Marcia,

Willy here... I love it. Except I do not have access to all the bricks you have. I will have to think a little bit to figure out how to cover the sides. I am thinking maybe to sink mine deeper into the ground and take the dirt I pull out and use it to build up the side. But that may not work either. I just have to mull it over.

Nevertheless, great idea now I need to take it the next step for my yard. As always thanks.

Great pond, I love it, Marcia!

By the way, can the yellow canna remain in water? I sure hope so because I put mine inside my tiny pond.

Hi, Willy! *waving* I am personally a big fan of galvanized metal...I love how it looks, and I would have been fine just planting things around it to soften it up. I already have galvanized washtubs and buckets planted all over the place. It's very "farmhousey" to me, and that suits me. Mark didn't care for the look, though, and wanted to use the bricks to dress it up. Since we had so many, I didn't mind either way. But they have some great pavers at Home Depot you could use if you don't like the plain galvanized.

Here is a sample picture for you:

Or maybe just some bamboo fencing wrapped around it? Cut to height, of course?

Heck, I'm sure there are plenty of other ways to disguise the sides if you really need to, as well. Like sinking it in the ground, and covering the edges with rocks or pavers. But then you have to DIG, and boy, in our yard, tree roots make that a real tough job. Even digging down the 8" was a lot of work.

Florah, they say some cannas don't like water, but I've never met any that didn't. I've grown lots of different ones in water gardens, including the native yellow one, which I think is a bog plant, anyway. Just keep an eye on it. If it starts to decline, take it out and let it dry out some.

Good luck!
Marcia

Marcia, your new pond is absolutely lovely. Mark's brickwork is so outstanding! It really does make everything so special. I have a lot of tadpoles in my pond right now. I'm sure they will soon be coming to yours, too. Amazing how so many creatures find it. I imagine the birds could use it as a drinking place? Great job, I know you will enjoy for many years. Your yard is looking really nice, too. Enjoy!

Anna

What do you use to keep the water moving ? Are you using a filter ? Did you have to run electricity out to the new " pond " ? Did you purchase your tank at Tractor Supply ?
Silly me - and here I thought our tanks were just for cattle ! We have two long oval tanks - just like yours - for the cows . I also use plunks in them . I'm a big fan of those .
T.S. carries different sizes , shapes and colors of stock tanks . As you said - quite reasonably priced too .
You have a very talented brick mason living with you !

Hi, Mary! Yes, we have power to the pond. Mark already had power boxes at two different areas out back, and he plugged in to one of those temporarily. (4th picture down, you can see the water shooting up into the air and a black cord snaking out of the pond...it goes across the grass to behind the blue bench, where one outlet is). He has already made a box on the backside of the pond and is going to install another outlet right at the pond, so the cord doesn't have to be stretched out all over the place.

I have a pump suitable for a 500 gallon pond, and a good biofilter. Works like a charm. I've always had pumps to my inground ponds, though I don't use them in my container water gardens (tubs and the like). I can put a fountain on this one if I want, but I prefer not...I like the surface of the water to be still enough for me to see the fish well. Also, water lilies prefer still water.

Yes, I got it at Tractor Supply in Eustis. (They were out of that size in Deland). It was $205, plus I decided to have them deliver it. (Mark wanted to tie the dang thing on top of his VW van, but I was way too chicken to do that.)

Mark is not only a good brick mason, he's an electrician, a plumber, a heating and air conditioning technician, a clock repairman, a pretty fair carpenter, and a general handyman. If Mark can't fix it, it ain't broke! (As the saying goes.)

I looked at some of the oval tanks and am thinking I might have places for those some day, too. But for now, the 6' round was just perfect for this spot.

Marcia

Pond is real nice, wish I had one. Have to try and find room for one some place.
Carol

Hey folks, were gardeners. If you don't want to use bricks around your tank, use plants. For my first pond (a plasterer's tub) I planted peppermint. It soon grew over the edges and into the water, covered all the exposed parts of the tub. Of course, it was only 12" deep with just about 3" above ground.

WOW, Marcia! Your pond has come a long way in three weeks! Love the pathway and bed around it. Just the finishing touches it needed. You will have to post more pictures as the plants fill in over the summer but it already has a "settled" look to it. As if it has been there for years! Hopefully, you have inspired more gardeners to "take the plunge" and add water features to their gardens. They are so much fun and great additions to any garden.

nova

I agree, cjc45. As I said above, "I am personally a big fan of galvanized metal...I love how it looks, and I would have been fine just planting things around it to soften it up."

Thanks, Nova! It is starting to look like it fits in, and I think the little beds are going to be fun. Some liriope for perennial green, and some low annuals for variation each season. I just want to keep all the surrounding plants below the rim of the pond, so as not to take away from, or compete with, the water lilies. The one you gave me is doing SO good, and the larger one I got at HD has ten big leaves now and a bud coming up. Three weeks ago, it was just a 1/2" tall green lump in a plastic cup! Wow, does it grow fast. You can watch new leaves grow 4 to 6 inches every day!

Hi, Carol! You can make room for a small container water garden, I'm sure. It's a great way to start. I've had water gardens in washtubs, urns, buckets, and even large bowls. Most have enough room for a couple of guppies or goldfish, and they don't need pumps or filters if you get some good aquarium plants for oxygenators. Anacharis, cabomba, hornwort, valisneria and ludwigia are a few you can find in most pet stores.

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what I mean:

This is a vintage galvanized washtub that sits on my brick patio. The dwarf waterlily blooms every year, though I often change out the other stuff in the tub. This year, I have cannas and pickerel weed sharing the spot.

Close up of the pretty water lily. I got it at Home Depot, have had it for five years, and it blooms every single year.

Here is a fiberglass urn that I had set up at our old house as a water garden.

You can see I had a water hyacinth (I lived a LONG way from any bodies of water it might escape to, so it was safe to have it), some taro, and some duckweed scooped from a local waterway.

Close up view.

The urn isn't huge or anything. It's still a water garden, only now it houses a large, orange Tropicanna all by itself, in my big bed. I threw in some water fern (salvinia) for a bit of interest, and added black food coloring to give it a reflective sheen and keep the algae down.

I just need to have some water somewhere in my gardens at all times. Bird baths, container water gardens, ponds, whatever I can. It adds an element I really enjoy and need.

I highly recommend giving a pond or container water garden a try.

Marcia

Marcia, I love it! The brick makes it quite charming.

As far as mosquitoes, I've never seen larvae in our small 150 gallon pond. The fish take care of that.

John

I came back to the thread to stare at the pictures again...What a lovely pond and what a great idea

Looks fantastic! You have got me wondering here. An above-ground pond could look really cool here. Hmmm. One question about the pump. Does the power just run on a cord out of the pump and then is plugged into the outlet box or is it hard wired?

Melissa

Absolutely beautiful Marcia, I have fond memories of the galvanized water troughs too. Even though they were always in the pastures my brother-in-law would throw in a few hyacinths and bream just to give them some interest, but basically they were for the cattle and horses.

Tom

WOW!!! THAT IS GORGEOUS!!! And you make it look so easy!!!

I do have one question though - with the tank being made of metal, is there any concern about the metal becoming too hot in the sun and possible hurting the fish and or plants??

I am seriously considering doing this!!!

Thanks, everybody...I'll answer the questions as best I know how.

No, the metal doesn't get too hot. It doesn't even get too hot in my little galvanized washtub, though it DOES get warm. Naturally, the more floating plants you have, the more the water is shaded, giving the fish places to hide from the sun during the middle of the day. And it all cools down overnight.

Tomncath, I'd love some bream or bluegills in mine, too. I thought about doing that instead of goldfish. Will have to see how it goes...maybe someday.

Melissa, the power cord from the pump runs over the top of the pond and is plugged into an electrical outlet outside of the pond. Mark had already run power boxes to two areas out back, and it is currently plugged into one of those boxes. But he is halfway through with mounting another box on the back side of the pond, and it will soon plug in there. That way, there won't be a cord laying across the grass to trip on, or accidentally unplug, or cut up with the lawnmower, etc.

One thing I did do...I thought the fish would show up prettier against a black bottom. I could have painted the bottom of the tank, but I didn't want to mess with that. I happened to have a big scrap of black pond liner left over from an old pond, so I cut a six foot circle out of that, and laid it in the bottom. The potted plants hold it down, and now the fish show up nicely. I think the bare metal bottom would have been too "glary" and adding rocks is not really a good idea, so this did the trick.

I'm glad to see that so many of you are interested in this approach. Hope some of you will put in a tank pond yourselves, or at least add some container water gardens to your yard. You'll love it!

Marcia

Thanks Marcia, I think you've given me the impetus to get my pond built at this house, I've been here nearly a year now. Our box stores suddenly don't have any large pond forms so I guess I'll go to the feed store and get a tank.

I read once that if you have two ponds close to each other your brain will close the gap and see them as connected. I might try that.

If you haven't been to Biosphere yet, go to see their water feature and the fish they raise in it. Makes your mouth water.

I replied to your post, cjc45, a couple of hours ago, but somehow it isn't here. Usually that means the "Submit Response" button wasn't clicked, but I'm SURE I clicked it. Oh, well. Guess I'll try again.

I'm glad you have been spurred into creating a pond, cjc. Every garden deserves one! I don't know why we went five years without one at this house...oh, wait. Money and time, that's right! We were going to put a larger, in-ground pond with a stream, and it was going to be VERY labor-intensive and costly. I'm glad we decided to go this route, or we might have been another five with no pond to enjoy!

I've seen two ponds close to each other, with a "bridge between them, planted so that it looked like water might be connecting them. It was very effective. You could even just put some rocks between them, with broms on them, or a waterfall into one of the ponds, and it would give the same effect, I'll bet.

I have been to Biosphere lots of times and have known Jim Thomas for over 30 years, but I haven't been out there in at least a year now. I need to get back over there. It's a longish ride from Sanford, but worth it. The last time I was out, the pond area was just getting going. I'll bet it looks great now.

Anna, somehow I missed your post earlier. Thank you so much for your kind comments...coming from someone with a pond as beautiful as yours, it's especially nice. You have one of the prettiest big ponds I've seen, for sure. Yes, I expect I'll be getting tadpoles and will have to try to figure out if they are good guys or not.

The doves walk around the rim of the pond and bend over to drink, but the smaller birds go to my birdbaths. Not quite as frightening looking to them. Potter stands on his tippy-toes and tries to drink, but I discourage him. He has his own water dish out there and doesn't need to be drinking pond water. He has also jumped up on the edge and walked around, looking in the water. *sigh* I will be very unhappy if he messes around and falls in!

My yard is starting to have a bit of color in it again, after much very hard work. We had to tear out so much dead stuff, and I basically started over. I've put in a lot more things that are cold-hardy, and some natives, like Walter's viburnum and Simpson Stopper. I don't want to go through another devastation like this winter produced. A few things came back, but most had to be removed.

I think I'll try to find time tomorrow to post some before and after shots, just to reassure myself that it is getting better out there. The pond helps!!

Marcia