A big thank you to you all yet again. It's great to get such a great response and plenty of encouragement from you all.
Firstly, Dave Humby - Of course you are right but using the longer level without the wood made it so much easier to swivel the level around without it falling of the length of timber all the time. I never need much of an excuse to add a new tool to my collection
Villaverde123 - I have been taking pictures as I go along and will be sharing at a later date in a more comprehensive post.
Hogweed - great diagrams and certainly extremely useful not only to me but I am sure others are equally grateful. I have revisited the levels around the pond today and am going to be working on that over the weekend. From your diagram I can see now how best to keep the beach end more stable.
Fishy 65 - Bog plants? Yes. Being in Scotland bog plants tend to do okay in the ground without any assistance so part of the planting will be included to give a boggy effect. Thank you too for sharing your pond pics with us. I'll bet it's teaming with wildlife. Your planting hasn't taking long to fill in.
Guernsey Donkey2 - glad you've found everything as useful as I have. It's great to get first hand advice isn't it? Will be looking forward to seeing and reading progress reports from your garden as soon as you get started. My pond is more of a bit of an early christmas/birthday pressie to myself! Re your question re grass roots they are not deep. Use the link Dovefromabove provided nearer the top of the post and you will get a better idea.
Fairygirl - your words of encouragement are most welcome. Rain stopped play this afternoon as it was getting rather squelchy and slippery underfoot. Hopefully play will recommence tomorrow. I haven't checked the forecast yet.
Ah - I see you live here in the bonniest place on earth Angi
Keeping things dry will be more of an issue than anything else! Rubbish weather coming in from the east ( for a change ) for the weekend so get your flippers and a wetsuit at the ready
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Indeed I do Fairygirl! I gather from other posts you are further north than I am. I'm just on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Thanks for the update on the weather. Work may cease for a bit then!
Philippa - Thank you. I wonder if Mr Ramsay dug a pond for himself and if so I'm sure the air was blue!!
Guernsey Donkey - I found the grass sends its roots into the pond. Also if I top the pond up with rainwater from the water butt, the overflow tends to keep the turves wet anyway. This allows me to plant moisture loving species at various points by cutting out 'pockets' between the grass.
Angi - I can see you wouldn't need liner to create damp soil living in Scotland. I can remember Glencoe from my childhood and crikey did it rain there!! I'm in Northamptonshire which is one of the driest counties in the UK. In a hot spell even the ground with liner under it can dry out. The pond is now 2 years old and this spring we had frogspawn for the first time, also the shed skin of dragonfly larvae on vegetation.
To create a little 'beach' I laid some brick pavers on the pond shelf and filled with pea gravel, then planted it up. I think once you provide the facilities for plants and wildlife, they will do the rest.
Awesome Pond Hogweed, hope you don't mind me saving copies of your images for future reference.
I'm wanting a wildlife pond in the future. The property where I have a big garden is a holiday let and I can't have a pond!!
But the first thing I want to do when I retire there in a few years time is dig a big pond, a BIG pond for wildlife. Just love what you have done.
I have a big soak away in a part of my garden, thinking I may install some way of the pond over flowing into the soak away when it rains. May have to filter the water somehow first
Posts
A big thank you to you all yet again. It's great to get such a great response and plenty of encouragement from you all.
Firstly, Dave Humby - Of course you are right but using the longer level without the wood made it so much easier to swivel the level around without it falling of the length of timber all the time. I never need much of an excuse to add a new tool to my collection
Villaverde123 - I have been taking pictures as I go along and will be sharing at a later date in a more comprehensive post.
Hogweed - great diagrams and certainly extremely useful not only to me but I am sure others are equally grateful. I have revisited the levels around the pond today and am going to be working on that over the weekend. From your diagram I can see now how best to keep the beach end more stable.
Fishy 65 - Bog plants? Yes. Being in Scotland bog plants tend to do okay in the ground without any assistance so part of the planting will be included to give a boggy effect. Thank you too for sharing your pond pics with us. I'll bet it's teaming with wildlife. Your planting hasn't taking long to fill in.
Guernsey Donkey2 - glad you've found everything as useful as I have. It's great to get first hand advice isn't it? Will be looking forward to seeing and reading progress reports from your garden as soon as you get started. My pond is more of a bit of an early christmas/birthday pressie to myself! Re your question re grass roots they are not deep. Use the link Dovefromabove provided nearer the top of the post and you will get a better idea.
Fairygirl - your words of encouragement are most welcome. Rain stopped play this afternoon as it was getting rather squelchy and slippery underfoot. Hopefully play will recommence tomorrow. I haven't checked the forecast yet.
Ah - I see you live here in the bonniest place on earth Angi
Keeping things dry will be more of an issue than anything else! Rubbish weather coming in from the east ( for a change ) for the weekend so get your flippers and a wetsuit at the ready
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Indeed I do Fairygirl! I gather from other posts you are further north than I am. I'm just on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Thanks for the update on the weather. Work may cease for a bit then!
I'm a bit south and west of Glasgow Angi, but I've been known to 'travel' a bit...
Hope the weather doesn't spoil your weekend of digging and planning though
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Philippa - Thank you. I wonder if Mr Ramsay dug a pond for himself and if so I'm sure the air was blue!!
Guernsey Donkey - I found the grass sends its roots into the pond. Also if I top the pond up with rainwater from the water butt, the overflow tends to keep the turves wet anyway. This allows me to plant moisture loving species at various points by cutting out 'pockets' between the grass.
Angi - I can see you wouldn't need liner to create damp soil living in Scotland. I can remember Glencoe from my childhood and crikey did it rain there!! I'm in Northamptonshire which is one of the driest counties in the UK. In a hot spell even the ground with liner under it can dry out. The pond is now 2 years old and this spring we had frogspawn for the first time, also the shed skin of dragonfly larvae on vegetation.
To create a little 'beach' I laid some brick pavers on the pond shelf and filled with pea gravel, then planted it up. I think once you provide the facilities for plants and wildlife, they will do the rest.
Awesome Pond Hogweed, hope you don't mind me saving copies of your images for future reference.
I'm wanting a wildlife pond in the future. The property where I have a big garden is a holiday let and I can't have a pond!!
But the first thing I want to do when I retire there in a few years time is dig a big pond, a BIG pond for wildlife. Just love what you have done.
I have a big soak away in a part of my garden, thinking I may install some way of the pond over flowing into the soak away when it rains. May have to filter the water somehow first
I have 5 to 7 years to plan my pond.