Hey there, Brenda. Lots of research does make things easier and total immersion in the topic, just like learning a new language, helps you catch on to the things that are important. This forum has a lot of info being talked about by lots of people, some of whom get pretty technical. There are plenty of others who keep it simple. Now I am going to be mean. Sometimes the limitations we cannot change make us give up some things we really want. A list of each can help see the realities. After I looked at the pond you like and read what you wanted, I realized you can't have all of it. I don't want to discourage you. You can still have a lovely and totally satisfying pond/water garden. The pond you like is a rigid preform. It is probably 72"x48" and 18" deep. It holds 125 gallons and will take 3-4 3" fish. Those dimensions are for Maccourt ponds which seems to be the most common preform. There are some new ones that are foldable made of virgin vinyl but that doesn't seem to be what you are looking at. There are also some pond kits that include plastic liners and EPDM rubber liners are very versatile. The volume of water in any of these ponds would prevent you from having koi. Koi grow to very large proportions and soon your fishies wouldn't have room to turn around, literally. I have a 1000 gallon pond and some of my 6" koi are now 12-14" after only one season. One that is 3 years old is now even larger than that. In addition I have a population of comets, sarrasa and other related fishies and they started breeding last year. Many of them started as 1" feeder fish. All of them need room to move! Fast! I'm getting nervous. There are many colorful fish other than koi that you would enjoy but you would need to control the numbers and figure out a way to keep them over winter. I put my gourami and guppies in the pond for the summer and put them back in aquariums in the winter. The cold would kill them. In your zone, it is possible for an 18 inch pond to freeze solid but more likely it would only have ice to 4-6 inches. I would wait through a full winter to see just how deep the ice goes before investing in fish other than goldfish. Gases that accumulate in the water could kill larger fish with only that much free water. An EPDM or plastic lined pond could give you the depth you need but the volume still would limit the number and type of fish. Don't despair! No one ever got it right the first time they were designing a home and you are designing a home for fish... and plants. Now that I have managed to scotch some of your dreams, (sorry, sorry, sorry) the necessary hardware can be put up for discussion. Sandy Here is a link that might be useful: preform ponds

Hi there I am in TN, but not close enough to Nashville. I was just wondering if there are any nurseries in Nashville with a good selection of water plants. Its nice to see someone else from TN here also. Good luck with your pond parade. Misty

I have wanted a pond for as long as I can remember. The fact that my accountant DH's job made for frequent transfers made it difficult. I would be doing all the work and that would make it a long term project that might not get finished before the next move. Once I even bought a small pump that got carried to one house after another but was never used before the seals cracked with age. Since DH hit 65 he is no longer playing the moving up the ladder game, but he is still working about 50 hours a week. I am no longer working and the kids are out on their own. I decided to keep up with my Master Gardener membership and I guess the Agent in Charge decided I was quirky enough to do some of the more unusual projects and after I had helped get two of the Extension display gardens going he asked me to put in a small pond with a waterfall to distract from the noisy air conditioner. I put one together in my backyard to make sure I was on the right track and then put one in the Display Gardens. After that I was hooked. I have now built 5 different ponds. The one in the Display Gardens is different every year since we have to break it down every winter to satisfy the IU/Purdue oversight committee. It is always a challenge to teach the others on the garden team how to put it together and keep it working. I broke my back 2 1/2 years ago so they have to do all the lifting and moving of the stones. I sometimes think they don't quite understand why the stone should be stacked just so. One lady, last year, finally said to please not tell them why one stone needs to go in a certain place, just tell them where to put it. Since I had made her move that stone three times I refrained from further comment. The pond at home has grown from 100 gallons to 1000 gallons. The latest expansion was halted when I had my accident so the finishing stone work has not been done. It will be a while before I can do that. Oh well, the time just gives me a chance to play with the final design on paper. Maybe if I work really hard on my physical therapy this winter I can do it for real next summer. Sandy

Gloria Thanks for your compliments! There are at least 5 Brendas that I know of, some are hybridizers- that's why I try to remember to sign my name Brenda B- I wish that I had sent you the Shooting Star, but that would have been premature, as I just got it from another Brenda this spring, Brenda Delph of Seed Sprout Nursery. It's crazy when you go to a round up and there are 4 of us- since I'm not the most popular, I get whiplash from jerking around looking for people who called my name.............but whoops, wrong Brenda! LOL! Barry, speaking of those other Brendas, two of them grow most of their brugs in pots, since they have so many to move in and out of the weather. Brenda D is south of me by at least 300 miles, in the Florida panhandle, but she sometimes has colder freezing weather than we do here in NE GA. And Brenda S. is in New York. Growing them in pots keeps them smaller or slightly stunted, which is fine by me. They still bloom when they are grown in 5 gallon pots. I do have nearly 40 seedlings planted in the ground. And some of those brugs in the photos I am selling locally out of my office- nothing like a blooming brug to get folks salivating! I've sold around 30 so far this year and given a few to friends. Kristy- I can picture what you are talking about with the pond and the shells- it is hard to do by yourself, at least fro me. I am totally unscrupulous- when my son and his wife (avid gardeners) come over, I ask for their advice on a current project (I tell myself later that I didn't intentionally do this!!) and the next thing ya know (why, what a surprise!!!) they are building or installing or cutting down or whatever I asked advice on, just to show me how it's done!!! LOL!! Bless them, I would not have half of what I have in my yard if it was not for their help! Don't you need some "advice" from some strong, or at least willing, gardening friends??? Huh, huh????? And when it gets hot, yep, I stop outside activities!! Early morning gardening becomes the norm. Goos luck on your passi! Brenda B