Once upon a time, there was a pond in my garden. The previous owner had installed it, and it was quite lovely, tucked away in a back corner with a gentle waterfall cascading down the rocks.
But then I had kids. Since babies/toddlers and ponds do not mix well, we filled it in with dirt, covered the surface with pebbles, and created a backyard Zen garden instead.
Over the years, the pebbles got dispersed all over the backyard (little kids really love transporting rocks!) and the Zen garden was overtaken with weeds. Since the kids are much older now, and we’ve all been craving water features in the yard, we decided to resurrect it. Now that we’re hanging out at home so much more, turning the garden into a pleasant oasis is top on the list of priorities.
The tedious first step was digging out the dirt. That part was not exciting. But after that was done, it was time to put in the liner and fill the thing up!
Our goal with this pond is to create a self-sustaining ecosystem – one that doesn’t require chemicals or lots of maintenance to keep algae and mosquitoes at bay. We found tons of helpful info in this article, and ended up designing the pond to have some shallow spots, as well as one area that’s about three feet deep.
The original idea was to get a bunch of aquatic plants, but apparently these are hard to come by this time of year. We did manage to grab some water hyacinth (and a waterfall pump) at a hardware store, as well as water lettuce, dwarf cattails, and blue pickerel at a pet store.
While we were at the pet store, we also picked up a dozen goldfish, who (we hope) will be allies in our struggle to build a healthy pond. Fingers crossed that they enjoy their new home!
The pond is still a work in progress, but it has been so lovely to sit outside listening to water trickle down the rocks and watching the little golden fish darting around. Most definitely worth the work it took to (re)construct it!
Such a beautiful pond! It makes me so happy to listen to the waterfall and watch those cute little goldfish!
Me too!! 🙂
Welcome to the pandemic aquatic society! We are a disorganized group of pond enthusiasts that have no clue what we’re doing but we’re doing it! Love the pond!!!
Haha, yes, totally!! Thanks, I can’t wait to see your pond creation someday too!
You did a beautiful job creating your new pond! It looks so restful and inviting.
Thank you! It really is a peaceful spot.
Looks awesome! Can’t wait to see it in person ❤
Thanks, Jennie! Can’t wait to show it to you 🙂
Beautifully done! I want to dip my toes in there!
Thank you, Karen! Next time I dip my toes in, I will do so in your honor 🙂
I love this story, your new pond, and your writing, Alanna! Enjoy your lovely backyard oasis!
Thank you, Ramlah. We are very much enjoying it so far!
Pingback: My Top 5 Photos of 2021 - Alanna Peterson