Fact Sheet: Creating a Pond
Presenter: Stephen Ryan, 20/02/2010
SERIES 21 Episode 03
With ten years of drought Stephen's bog garden has become more of a desert than a bog, so he's decided to turn it into a pond. He's chosen an informal shape with different levels. A ledge around the edge will support plants that prefer a shallower depth to that of the main pond.
Stephen is keen to use some of the top soil from the area for planting and this is placed around the edges of the pond as it's dug. Stephen then lines the bottom, sides and ledges with tough butyl rubber, burying it under the soil around the edges to hold it in place.
To prevent the ledges from collapsing into the pond Stephen places dead tree-fern logs along them. He prefers logs to rocks for aesthetics and also as a potential anchor for the roots of the water plants.
There are two basic types of pond plants: Submersibles, which are those that need to be planted onto the deeper ledges and be completely submerged, and marginals, which grow in the boggy mud around the edge of the pond.
Before installing the marginal plants, Stephen places them all around the pond to "get a sense of what they're going to look like once they're planted."
Marginal plants Stephen's Using
- With their wonderful foliage and flowers, hostas are often used in pots or borders. To use as a marginal plant remember that they like moist soil and don't like to be really wet, so plant these right up on the pond edge.
- A particularly interesting plant is the North American Skunk Cabbage (Lysichiton americanus). The leaves on a mature plant will be about a metre tall and, in the winter, just as it's about to break into foliage, yellow Arum lily-like flowers will seemingly erupt out of the mud. Stephen says, "It's a really special plant."
- Besides the ornamentals, Stephen's also planting edible watercress and Vietnamese Mint for added interest.
With marginal plants, it's important to remember that they don't need a lot of root depth. This is because the roots don't have to search for moisture. So, if planting into shallow soil as Stephen is, it's fine to remove up to a third of the soil and roots before planting. This will allow the root ball to be covered effectively by the shallow soil around the pond.
Stephen says, "These plants are going to look fantastic and all I have to wait for now is some decent rains to fill the pond right up to the top."
Information contained in this fact sheet is a summary of material included in the program. If further information is required, please contact your local nursery or garden centre.
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