Step No. 2 - The Design
The designing step of Pond Doc's Economy Course on
Pond Construction is the fun part for people like me who love to make
things pretty. This is where your imagination can run wild.
Since we're on a budget think in terms of what you can do to make it look
the way you want it to look without spending a fortune. Here we'll
discuss the different styles and "looks" that can be obtained.
You'll will have the opportunity to take virtual pond tours so you can see what others have done
(many are do-it-yourselfers!) and get a better idea as to what style you
want your pond to be.
Another part of the design step is to design the
internal workings of your pond. This is the fun part for the
technical people among us like my husband, The Pond Doc. I find it
boring myself but, alas, it is a step we can't ignore.
All backyard ornamental koi ponds, goldfish ponds
and water gardens fall somewhere in-between two radically different styles
of pond construction -- from the very natural look to the very formal.
Many ponds incorporate elements from both natural and formal styles.
The Natural Pond
By "natural" pond we are not suggesting that it
works like a natural body of water - we are only saying that it will
LOOK natural. The natural pond design incorporates elements of
nature, of course, and often includes winding streams and rocky
waterfalls. The pond is basically level with the surrounding
ground with a raised waterfall area and the sides of the pond are
naturalized either with rocks, boulders and/or plants. It's always
odd-shaped - never an exact square or circle.
The Formal Pond
Formal ponds and fountains have been around since
early Egyptian, Roman, Greek and China cultures as far back as 5000
years ago. Elements of formal design include fountains either
shooting up from the body of water or flowing from statuary,
waterfalls that are sheets of water, symmetric designs, sharp angles and
masonry walls that bring the level of the pond up anywhere from a foot
to waist high. Sometimes a formal pond will be level with the
ground but have a uniform-sized capping of marble or concrete around the
perimeter. The pond itself will be in exact shapes such as
squares, rectangles, circles or a combination of shapes.
Ponds can have themes or design elements from
European, oriental or modern styles - just like interior designs.
For example, a very popular style for a koi pond is oriental with
"peaceful" still waters, bamboo accents and oriental statuary. The
country cottage look is a style often used for natural ponds with
accents of climbing vines on trellises within the immediate landscaped
area. Little houses might hide the external pond equipment.
Rustic wood benches will add a woodsy touch to a natural pond in a
shaded location.
Like I said - here's where your imagination can go
wild. If you are short of imagination or just want some eye-candy
for pond planners, take a virtual pond tour with us to get some clever
ideas and inspiration.
Pond water must be circulated or you will have a
swamp in your backyard instead of a thriving healthy koi or goldfish
pond or water garden. You must decide how you want the pond water
to return to the pond after the pump has pumped it through the filtering
system.
Waterfalls are, by far, the most common return
method. You can have the water flow out of the plumbing line into
a small pool then cascade over the side of the well or you can have it
pouring over rocks straight out of the pipe. There are many
methods to building a waterfall and we'll discuss that later.
Other return methods are water fountains shooting up from the middle of
the pond in a fleur de' lis, bell or other design, statues pouring
water, little boys peeing water (see the
Mannekin Pis), water pouring over tiers, etc. You can even
have a manifold built that distributes channels of water to different
areas of a waterfall and/or to two or more statuary fountains. You
are limited only by your imagination and the power of the equipment you
choose!
You don't have to work out the logistics at this
point but if you know what you want to achieve, we'll show you how.
Let's take a virtual tour of koi ponds and water gardens right
now! Click
HERE to go on Pond Doc's Tour de' Ponds.
Our
Project Pond
Our project pond will be a very natural looking
pond with a waterfall of about 3 feet total height. The waterfall
will flow from the side of the house facing the deck so we'll have
plenty of soft water "music" in the background and something wonderful
to look at while we sip our glass of red wine and chat after a hard day
at work. The ground has a natural slope from the side of the house
where the waterfall will go and that will come in handy when building up
and molding the waterfall.
I've done a really rough : ) sketch of how I think
our economy pond project will come out. Don't laugh. I'm no
artist...
Homework
Do a sketch of how you expect your pond to look.
