Nice pictures everyone...I'm towards the end of a small stream with pond project..I have ordered more rock..and still need to add some plants and pavers for a path back to my building..plus I have some work to do around the burn pit...realistically I will never be finished LOL...but I am aiming for next spring to finish every thing up but the small details one encounters...then just wait for the plants to mature...I did learn a huge lesson in the last week though...my water was crystal clear for 2 weeks after I moved my pond and made this one...it got cloudy for 2 days then cleared up again...It stayed that way for 2 or 3 more weeks until I made one huge mistake...I started removing the water lettuce because the cold weather was starting to set in...I removed over half of it..then 80 degree weather hit here in WV...now my water is green!..oh well you win some and you lose some...this pond is 26"-28" deep.(may increase depth next spring)..12x18...with 30' stream..3200 gph and 640 gph pump running...I have a small yard too...125x70x115 deep....I have 7 koi..2 bluegill..10 goldfish...comets..sarosa's...3 different fantails...and approximately 25 babies...that I haven't a clue what they are yet...oh yeah...bookuu snails...at least 2 frogs...and by the way...the pond was born on September 14th...2008...I will thin the fish out next year...my brother n law is a landscaper and can find happy homes for them...enjoy the pictures...which I'm sure some of you have already viewed...happy ponding!!! Dave :-)

Well, if you are going to bid him out, Please allow him to spray paint the plan on the yard first. That way you are more likely to get Apples to Apples bids. I think silent1pa might have forgotten the materials costs, or he might know more than he lets on ;-). Current labor rates for ponds in St Lou are between $50-80/manhour. Some people aren't good draftsmen, and I prefer that people/clients SEE the shape and size of the pond ON their yard. AND I would pay the first guy for the visit. Comparing prices on different ideas is useless and unfair. IF the materials costs vary by more than 10% (Including taxes and DELIVERY), then discuss that with the bidders. Each ton of rock I buy for a client requires at least 1 hour of labor to get the right rock. And in general it requires 2 hrs labor cost to have it delivered. It takes a Minimum of 1 manhour to put that rock in place from your curb. I'm currently doing a job where the clients are pinching pennies, and hiring cheap labor. I'm fine with that. Usually the client does not want to spend an afternoon shopping for rocks, arranging delivery, buying liner etc. ALL of that takes time. And time costs money. Just trying to explain what goes into a Professional Pond estimate. YMMV Greg

After getting irritated that your neighbor did not tell you about the dye before hand, you boast that you did not tell him about dye you ordered? Wouldn't want to be the neighbor of either of you! You may want to ask your lawyer how your planned action differs from your neighbor's.

English perennials expert Alan Bloom used buried plastic liners to grow plants wanting damp ground, called it I believe "Moisture Gardening" in his book on the subject. I suggest you try something like that if growing the primroses is the main objective, rather than trying to establish and maintain a tiny area of open water. Unless you want that anyway. If you do put in a pool keeping it topped off may not be as much of a hassle as all the mosquitoes that will try to breed in it. If you install fish to control mosquitoes then you may have herons coming to eat the fish, probably all the more so if they are brightly colored goldfish or carp. Raccoons tend to be interested in pools and ponds also: If You Build It They Will Come If there is a water gardening specialist with a retail shop within reasonable driving distance maybe go see what they have to say. One near me ended up putting wire over the main outdoor koi tanks but apparently wasn't having much problem with unwanted visitors to small decorative pools right by the entrance and shop as I don't remember those being covered.