Create a beautiful pond in the
comfort of your own yard.

Design Strategies

Building a pond might seem like a daunting task. There's the digging, of course, and dealing with liners, pumps, and filters. You also have to figure out how to make the pond a part of the garden -- so it's not sticking out like an artificial accessory. That calls for careful landscaping. Thankfully, the project is not as difficult as it might seem.

The relatively small size of this pond was dictated by topography. The homeowners wanted to put the pond in the backyard close to the house, where they could enjoy it. Because the house sits at the top of a slope, flat ground was limited. Several wooden tiers tame the slope, but the only place for the pond was between the house and the first tier.

We started by creating a free form pond, 3 1/2 feet deep so that goldfish could survive in the lower depths when the upper portion of the pond freezes in winter. A depth of 18 inches should be sufficient in warmer climates.

 

Stones enhance the natural look
of your pond.

Rocks and gravel hide the lining, while cattails and a water lily add a natural touch. Both are grown in submerged plastic-mesh baskets weighted with stones.

The pond is surrounded by a circular planting bed filled with low-growing stonecrop accented by variegated hosta and ornamental grass for contrast. This stonecrop flowers in early summer, but its burgundy foliage continues throughout the growing season. "Wolff," a Japanese maple with greater winter hardiness than most other cultivars, gives height to the design and also provides burgundy foliage that reddens in fall.

 

A split-reed fence complements
the plants and flowers that surround
the pond.

A circular gravel path mimics the simplicity of stone so favored in the Far East. Jutting up to the path is a patio made of Iowa Buff limestone, chosen because its creamy color complements the brickwork of the house.

Split-reed fencing provides privacy and makes a suitable backdrop for fox red curly sedge and dwarf arctic willow. The ornamental fence also adds a feeling of quaintness to the setting. We included large rocks for structure; variegated iris, ornamental grasses, and astilbe for texture; and a container-grown Scots pine topiary as an architectural element. Planting beds are edged with black plastic and mulched with shredded cedar.