Water adds life to any garden

Water features in the garden can be fun. I have 4. Below is a perpetual fountain I put on my deck 10 years ago and my garden pond I dug in about 6 years ago. Both still work, interest/entertain me and add to the garden for my rare visitors.

Both attract critters and birds. Both need little maintenance, and normal rain keeps them full.
The fountain (that needs a beauty update) is kept full by run off from the roof. It is a bird magnet. Basically, I put a plastic tub with a small pump and send water up through a cast aluminum bird bath I got on sale. I put wire over the tub, added some plastic mulch and a couple side plants. It works flawlessly, but I would like to tear it down this Winter and expand on the planting areas. As you can see, put it outside a window, so it is fun from in the house too.

The pond is 4000 gallons I dug in with a pick and shovel (don't recommend that, get a backhoe) and is a breeding ground for fish and turtles. It is going strong after several years, so I must be doing something right. The up keep is minimal as I am lazy. I disagree with almost all posted "WWW wisdom" on ponds.

I also have a frog pond and a bridge pond. At the end of the day, I may not be known as an expert, but I can do the job. I got my first pet fish at 7 years old and have been learning for decades. Most ponds you see are cess pools, including display ponds at the dealers. That is because they all interbreed with false info.

If you have good tales or bad, post it here. If you have questions or are thinking about adding something -> sound it out here. As a plus, add in any aquarium questions/thoughts.

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Not sure how you're getting pics to post, Bill. I can't get it to accept the URLs.

My little pond in the back yard. A visitor moved in shortly afterward~

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Fuck; now I can't edit the last post.....:grumpy:

I have a drainage ditch out back. Does that count? It empties into another sub division creating Rankin's Lake!

Overview of the back yard:

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Nothing much. It is what it is. That one was from today. Here's one from back in the summer:

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Some orchids I had this year:

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Looks like if you fell out the window you'd roll into the woods!!!! :panda:

It's gonna be nice and peaceful when you done Gary.:cool::cool::cool:

Very nice TnRabbit.

Gary, how many hours of Sun does that get? It looks great !

I have that same tub (125 gallons?) at my bridge. Today, 47 degrees, a bull frog was up.

Hardly get any sun at all back here. I'll have to get a pic from one of the upper balcony decks......no grass anywhere! I think we're just going to rock and mulch it all....

Pics today:

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I bet your backyard is really changing now. Nothing grows like water plants, and many will grow in shade. I have shade, and that is kinda good for a pond as to algae. Mine ponds are really coming alive right now. Besides the plants starting up, the turtles and frogs are up all the time now. My water in the big pond was up to 68 degrees, but has dropped back to 63 with the last few cold nights.
Some of my frogs are real monsters, and the Koi are as big as submarines.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TNRabbit

Hardly get any sun at all back here. I'll have to get a pic from one of the upper balcony decks......no grass anywhere! I think we're just going to rock and mulch it all....

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Both are good choices. You can also add in things like variegated Vinca which looks great and grows in shade as does plain old English Ivy. Just define a spot or many spots for them and they can be controlled easily on the ground with a weed trimmer. As to plants, many good ones are at the box stores. Often I wish I ahd more Sun, but don't want to give up a tree for it as shade is nice in Summer.
Along (or in) your pond, many types of Coleus in many colors will be showing up now. They add a lot of color. You can even find them in plats these days. There is no need to pay for the big ones as they grow quickly.
The tough thing is that shade plants need moisture to do well, so plan to water often.

We spent last Sunday replacing the old pond liner in our yard. The old one had a crack. We spent about 5 hours in the heat getting the old one out and digging out the pit depth for the new one. The new one holds the same volume but is deeper and not as big of a foot print. Thought I would die. Now it looks good and the fish are happy. We had to move them 3 times during the process. We now also have a rather large frog and the deer have an easier time getting a drink since we can keep this one filled up. The fish my wife bought last fall are now about 3 to 4 inches long. Now we have to replace the rock and I am trying to figure out a way to put something in there that turtles can get on to sun themselves so I can get a turtle...maybe. Don't want anything that has to be brought in during the winter. The last turtle in the old pond was a rather large snapping turtle. The shell was about 7 inches to 8 inches long. We did not see it at first but when we did it was a task to relocate.

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We spent last Sunday replacing the old pond liner in our yard. The old one had a crack. We spent about 5 hours in the heat getting the old one out and digging out the pit depth for the new one. The new one holds the same volume but is deeper and not as big of a foot print. Thought I would die. Now it looks good and the fish are happy. We had to move them 3 times during the process. We now also have a rather large frog and the deer have an easier time getting a drink since we can keep this one filled up. The fish my wife bought last fall are now about 3 to 4 inches long. Now we have to replace the rock and I am trying to figure out a way to put something in there that turtles can get on to sun themselves so I can get a turtle...maybe. Don't want anything that has to be brought in during the winter. The last turtle in the old pond was a rather large snapping turtle. The shell was about 7 inches to 8 inches long. We did not see it at first but when we did it was a task to relocate.