Get a man with a small digger. It will save you hours of back pain and bovver and leave you the energy to line/fill/plant up. If he's any good he'll know about levelling edges so just give him a decent brief and plenty of tea.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Just what I was going to say. Best thing if you can afford it. A man with a digger won't take long. You may be able to use the earth in raised beds or leave it and plant it as a friend of mine did. At first I thought it looked weird but it settled down and ended up looking pretty.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Thank you both. We'll have to look at the finances once we've paid someone to take down the poorly rowan... a digger seems a good idea in principle though.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
@Liriodendron a man with a mini digger can work wonders. We inherited a pond which had been dug for cattle when this was a working farm but then left by subsequent owners to fill in with self sown trees such as ash and goat willow plus brambles, wild roses, bullrushes and lots of weeds. We got a man in to clear it. It's rather large but it took him one day to clear and then another couple of hours clearing away the scrub and mud to make a long mound at the bottom end of our paddock.
These pics will give you the general idea and your pond should take less time. All the fuzz in the middle is the "pond" before chappy came.
You can just see the red roof of the digger in the middle. All cleared in mid November Filled after winter rain
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Take it round the back or use it to make a bank next to the pond? Fill raised beds for veggies?
Ours made a long bank at the bottom of our paddock and helps hide the farm buildings. It is now covered in wild plants that have just sown themselves. You'd have to be more careful about planting in your garden tho to make it a good feature.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I'm not sure what depth of topsoil there is under the lawn - maybe not a lot, so perhaps if it's largely subsoil it would be best as a bank in the meadow round the back...
Lots to think about.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
The photo shows a very large depression in our front lawn - it's around 2m x 2.1m, and about 25cm deep in the centre. No idea why it's there, perhaps there was a large tree stump which has decayed. The whole lawn is very uneven but this is the worst bit (causing hubby to curse whilst mowing....)
Should we cut the turf and fill the depression? Not sure we've got enough spare soil, to be honest... or would it be completely the wrong place for a wildlife pond? It's about 6m from the rowan tree whose trunk you can see. The garden wall runs approx E-W.
Hope you get your pond project under way next year @Liriodendron - or sooner, if conditions suit. It'll be a lovely site for one if you can manage it. I'd agree with @Obelixx and @Busy-Lizzie - probably easier in the long run to 'get a man in'. Save your back
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
These pics will give you the general idea and your pond should take less time. All the fuzz in the middle is the "pond" before chappy came.
You can just see the red roof of the digger in the middle.
All cleared in mid November
Filled after winter rain
We might have to get creative with the "spoil" though, it being in the front garden in full view of the neighbours.
Ours made a long bank at the bottom of our paddock and helps hide the farm buildings. It is now covered in wild plants that have just sown themselves. You'd have to be more careful about planting in your garden tho to make it a good feature.
Lots to think about.
It'll be a lovely site for one if you can manage it. I'd agree with @Obelixx and @Busy-Lizzie - probably easier in the long run to 'get a man in'. Save your back
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...