Lori's Blog

Learning the Value of Scale in a Garden Plan

Posted on 1 Jun, 2008 8 comments

Since it is high summer now, I think perhaps I may submit an update on the question of scale. I’m pleased to say that the final “plan” has held and the fish are happy and the flowers are settled and I’ve managed to put in the small patio area between the pond and upper bed… and I won’t say that it wasn’t a challenge to my ambition; but must add that I have the next phase already “planned” and will be ready to execute stage II very shortly. You can see from the second set of photos how well our rainy days have helped the plants to grow and bloom..it all seemed rather sparse in May and I was worried that it would never come together but…it’s a pleasure to look at it now…Stage II will involve the placement of a firecircle…need some firebrick and will have to relocate some plants…(you can probably tell that I’m getting myself psyched…) Well, anyway…tallyho! First of all…to be honest the word ‘plan’ is used with tongue in cheek… I have a plan each time I start a new project, but plans always mutate. The pond that I’ve been rethinking and rethinking is in the final rethink. lol. It’s time to finish and move on.
I was struggling with leakage and lack of accessiblity to the deep end…I didn’t have hip waders or scuba gear…and it was clear that I would need both of those to keep it clean and functioning.
So… time for plan B…When in doubt …rip it out!
No…couldn’t be that drastic…my three remaining fish need a better home than a 25 gallon aquarium.
The result of all the frustration was that I got rid of the deepest part of my pond…enlarged and deepened the shallower end slightly made it into a modified chevron shape with cement blocks and trimmed the leaky epdm liner.
I’m happy to say that the water is in and it is holding.
The next point to ponder(love a pun) was to decide how to refill the gaping 4 foot deep hole in my garden… and I think I’ve hit on something…(no not another boulder).
The depression can be graded on each side to make a gradual slope for the necessary path way…and all the stone rubble that I’ve dug out of the ground in the process of building the pond can be used on the steepest slope to secure the soil bank and to provide a point of interest…it is shaded by two viburnums so I’m going to bring some ferns from the shade garden and plant violets and ferns with crocus, and narcissus and some low growing sedum on the sunny fringe.
In the deepest part of the depression I have dug a hole for a small reservoir which I will cap and surround with stone and put a small fountain pump in the reservoir. voila! a small bubbling faux spring.
Then I can move my deposed Blue Flag into the area at the base of the pond where I’ve left the wall a little lower(to serve as a sluice incase of heavy rain.) Add some astilbes and maybe some ajuga and violets… along a narrow graded path (may have to put in steps to the pavers between the pond and the high bed) and you can see the variation in topography that I’m trying to produce: to
make the messy hole in the ground into a new dimension in the garden topography. I need to be careful of run-off into the reservoir but it will be edged in with rock or brick, lined with epdm and positioned so that even if water should collect in the depression it will not be able to enter the reservoir. A circular cowl of epdm should take care of that. It is presently raining and I’m keeping a eye on it…looks like drainage is good.
I really, really hope this is the last I have to think about this…I’ve plans for a front garden spring or fountain..and need to plan my rhodo beds…(oh no! not more plants!) Wish me luck.

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Tags: Spring faux pond redo renew revision