In June 2022 after a couple years of madness in the front yard ended. It had been triggered by a full road rebuild that included loosing the full hedge, wider sidewalks and a 250 square foot hole so they could access the water and sewer lines
Part of the new front yard landscaping was a 4x4 foot pond made of a pressure treated box in the ground.
Some top things I’ve learned:
- everyone loves a pond but no one quite takes you seriously when you start planning one.
- Ponds that aren’t “natural” are wildly underserved by suppliers
- In a vertical walled pond getting the water level nice and high is a huge challenge
- You need a nice low spot when draining the pond for the winter (ours is dead flat at the bottom so the minimum water is still a fair amount but it seemed ok)
- Pumps and filters take way more room than you think they will
- Fittings etc are a pain in the butt and try to stick to a single diameter hose
- If you have a fountain that doesn’t need high pressure seriously consider a separate pump rather than trying to split the main line
- Cut any hole in the liner smaller than you think. It stretches like mad
- Get a higher capacity pump than you probably first thought
- Changes once you’ve started are hard
We got plants this year for the first time and I really like the little bit of greenery along with the fountain.
All-in it’s been a fun experience and I’m considering making some big revisions this fall before we shut it down including removing the existing skimmer, widening the pond to add a shallow area, and raising the water level essentially to the top and having it spill into the box that currently holds the skimmer and pump.