I decided to put Oxford pavers around the pond. Ideally, this would have been decided and done when the pond went in. The pond should have been countersunk so the bricks would be level with the ground, and they should have been concreted in place. With the water and fish, it’s too late for concrete, and way too late to countersink the pond. So I GLUED the bricks with Gorilla Glue (they had a sign in the brick section about “don’t forget your masonry adhesive” so I figured that was permission). I didn’t get the masonry adhesive because it said it doesn’t bond to fiberglass or plastic. The glue should hold well enough. It’s possible to pull the bricks off but the glue is strong enough to keep the bricks from getting knocked into the pond accidentally. I backfilled around the bricks with mulch.
I added the water dish because the birds were having trouble reaching the water in the pond to get a drink. (There’s a water dish on the deck, and a bird bath, but doves are pretty dumb.) It took the birds a while to discover the water dish but now they really like it. There’s a lot of bathing going on.
I just received my first pattern from Scarlet Quince and I have to tell you what a lovely, breathtaking picture it is! I can't wait to start stitching.
From Julie T
14 years, 8 months agoGreat job! It looks so good. And I appreciate the tips about the pavers. I am going to send my husband a link so he can see how you did this. We had to move a pond and now we can’t figure out where in the (very small, very root-filled) yard to re-place it.
From mss @ Zanthan Gardens
14 years, 8 months agoActually, you probably will be glad you didn’t countersink the bricks to be level with the ground IF it ever rains again. It’s better to have the pond a bit higher than the surrounding ground. If you plant marginals around the edges the height difference will be less obvious.
Sigh … yes, I’ve been thinking about that. Right now it looks like it’s at the top of a very small hill, which is good, runoff-wise. Runoff hasn’t been a problem in the past because usually the hose is sprawled out uphill from the pond and when it rains, leaves wash down and make a dam. But if the hose was ever put away, the little hill would be good. At first I was so pleased to have the tall grass gone that I thought the mulch looked great. Now, once again, I feel like it needs something else. Plants, yes, but what? Most of the things I plant just die. What likes dry shade and (preferably) looks good all year? It sounds like a riddle.