How to Build a Garden Pond

Adding a garden pond to your landscape is an effective way to increase property value and aesthetic appeal to your backyard. The sound of flowing water is naturally soothing and has been proven to reduce stress and improve overall health. Creating this type of water feature looks harder than it actually is. Here are instructions on building a basic garden pond on your land. Once you have mastered the basic construction, you can get creative and employ added touches like fountains, statues or live fish.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pond lining material
• Shovel (rent a backhoe for larger ponds!)
• Pump
• Electrical cord
• Stones
• Stakes
• Water stabilizer
• Chalk

1. 
    

   Analyze the space you have chosen for a pond. Are there trees, rocks or special soil conditions to think about? Can these items be removed or worked into the landscape? Will this be a small pond with a water feature emerging from a slope, or is it a large pond filled by an incoming stream? When you have considered these factors, chalk an outline on the ground.

2. 
    

   Begin the excavation. If a smaller water feature is being constructed, a depth of three to five feet is ideal. If a hard tub liner is needed, slide this in to place, making sure there is little chance of leakage over the sides of the pond into the space beneath the pool liner. If a flexible liner is being used, make sure that there is enough overlap on to un-dug ground until the rest of the work is done. These liners may require a water plant or two to keep them submerged until the air is worked out. Stones work well also.

3. 
    

   Attach the pump. Some tubs have a pump outlet hole for the associated tubes and cords. You will need to find an inconspicuous space among the water plants to hide them. Lay some weed fabric into the streambed along with some washed stone to keep it in place. Lay the pump hose along the bed to the start of the stream and then add larger stones around the hose.

4. 
    

   Add the water plants. Remember to be consistent with your choice of plants around your pond. If you are in a dry climate, you will probably not use ferns. Conversely, if you happen to live in a wet forest region, you will not be planting cacti.

5. Turn on the water and test out your new garden pond. Make any last minute changes that you deem necessary.

Resources

• Water Garden

[evelynsaenz]

on 5/16/2009 Nice clear instructions on how to build a pond. The illustrations are also very useful.