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At their summer cottage or near the house, there are usually three favorite places to relax: a veranda, a gazebo, a swing and a pond. Even a small body of water attracts others like a magnet. Water is mesmerizing even in small quantities … Moreover, you can build a pond with your own hands in a few hours. But this is a small artificial reservoir. The construction of a large one will require both money and time.
Where to dig
Small artificial reservoirs are best viewed from above. Therefore, if there is a corresponding depression on the site, it is best to do it here. There is, however, a negative side to this: you will have to raise the edges of the bowl higher so that rainwater does not get inside. The second option is to come up with a water drainage system (make a drainage system above the reservoir).
If there is a key somewhere on the site, it is logical to make a natural pond by digging or deepening the existing bowl, laying out its borders with cobblestones or stones, and planting plants. A stream, which is sure to exist in this case, can also be ennobled by laying out its edges with cobblestones, drowning them in soaked soil, you will give greater strength to the shore, and moisture-loving plants can be planted between them.
Not everyone on the site has such a luxury as a stream or a key. We have to make artificial reservoirs. When properly designed, they look no worse than natural ones.
How to make an artificial pond with a bowl (without film)
The easiest and fastest way to make an artificial pond in the country is to bury the finished bowl in the ground, decorating and decorating its edges. There are plastic bowls – ready-made in different shapes, sizes and colors (mostly blue, green and black).
The device of a plastic garden or country pond is a simple matter. Here is a step by step guide:
- It is necessary to dig a pit in the shape of a bowl. If the shape is very non-standard, you can turn it upside down at the installation site, draw a contour with something (at least dig it with a shovel). The bowl is taken aside, a pit is dug. It should be a little larger in size – a little wider, but not deeper. The edges should either be flush with the ground, or protrude slightly. If you manage to raise the edges a little, it will be even better: during the rain, dirty water will not flow.
- After the desired depth is reached, the bottom is leveled into the horizon: it is first leveled with a shovel, then compacted and the excess is removed with an even bar. The surface should be flat and hard: the plastic should have good support. If the ground is poorly leveled (clay), you can pour 5-10 cm of sand, wet it and compact it.
- The next step is to install the bowl in the pit. If the bottom has been made even, the edges of the bowl will become level with respect to the horizon. Now the space that remains between the wall of the bowl and the pit must be covered with soil or sand and compacted well.
- Now it’s up to the design: the installation is completed, you can fill in the water.
How this technology was used to build a pond in the yard with illumination, see this photo report (you can scroll through the photo gallery by clicking on the thumbnails below).
But not always and not everywhere there is an opportunity to constantly add and divert water to the pond. Then you will either have to plant such plants that will clean it, or change it periodically.
Pond from an old bathroom
It is not necessary to buy a bowl. Any container can be used. Even an old bath. It turns out very well. All actions are the same, the foundation pit is first dug, a bath is placed in it, what goes on, see the next series of photos. On them, the pond from the old bath is transformed into a really lovely corner.
A pond from a car tire (with a film)
A mini-pond can be made from an old car tire, or rather from a tire. The larger it is, the larger the reservoir. The most difficult thing in this business is to cut off one side part. If the edges are sharp as a result, they need to be processed with sandpaper. The second most difficult task is to dig a hole of a suitable size. This is where the difficulties ended. The rest is quite easy.
A cut tire is installed in the pit, covered with earth on the sides, well compacted. Also, earth or sand is poured inside, the bottom is leveled. Take a piece of dense plastic film, which can be folded twice and cover the resulting tank. Do not try hard: pour water, she will straighten the film herself.
Instead of polyethylene, you can take a banner film (available in advertising companies that produce outdoor advertising) or a piece special for pools and ponds. They are much stronger (but more expensive).
The protruding ends of the film are tucked around the walls of your pond, decorated with stones. The device of the pond is over, then – decoration and planting of plants. See how to make a pond from a tire in the photo report.
- The cut tire is installed in a dug hole, a little earth is poured inside, leveling the bottom
- The film is covered. She will hold water
- Water is poured, the film is finally smoothed out, you can wrap the edges and press them with stones
- The next stage in the manufacture of a mini-pond for a summer residence is decorating the edges with stones
- To revive the picture, the bottom was also lined with stones, a pump for the aquarium was installed
- The water that overflows when the pump is turned on is diluted around the site: they made mini-streams, along the edges of which flowers were planted. And a mini pond gives life to a now vast area planted with plants
There is certainly nothing complicated in such a device. Anyone can build such a reservoir in the country with their own hands, and the investment is minimal.
In general, mini-ponds are also made from tanks, barrels, pots, even flower pots. The main thing is to have a body, and it is not very difficult to arrange it: experience gradually comes. They put them in the garden, in the country, near the house. It is possible to bring water, make a stream, it can be bred under trees, for example, or shrubs. Both beauty and usefulness at the same time.
Read about the basics of landscape design here.
We make a pond with a film
By creating this artificial pond from a film, you almost exactly repeat the work described above, only without installing a bowl:
- mark out the shape of the future pond;
- dig a pit, forming, if necessary, ledges;
- clean the bottom of any sharp objects: roots, stones, etc.;
- level the banks of your pond;
- spread the waterproofing film;
- fill the pond with water;
- fix the edges of the film;
- decorate.
A country pond created using this technology may already be of a more respectable size. An important point: it’s impossible to make a foundation pit on loose soil and put a film on it. We will have to come up with some measures to strengthen the coast. In this case, you will either have to put up a bowl, or make a more serious structure – from brick or concrete. Next, consider examples of how to inexpensively make a pond out of film.
First project: sides flush with the ground
Eight simple steps and your pond in the country is built. How to dig and equip a pond in the country, to make it look like a natural one, see the photo report.
Second project: sides raised
The second version of a home-made pond in the first stages is built in almost the same way as the first. Only after the depth of the excavation reached the design one, the sides were raised, laid out along the edge with bricks and concreted. It turned out a reservoir with raised sides. There is also a water circulation system. It is shown in the figure below.
As you can see, this pond is more multi-layered and its volume is more serious. If you want to have a reservoir of at least medium size and not build a serious bowl at the same time, you can do as shown in the figure: fill the created pit with sand, cover with geotextile, and only lay the film on top. Geotextile evenly distributes the load and does not allow plants to germinate. This is especially true if you are building a pond in your garden and there are bushes or trees nearby.
- Having marked the site, we dig a pit
- The sides are raised: bricks placed upright and buried at half the height are laid out, concreted on top
- The film is laid, water is poured, the edges are wrapped around the sides
- A decorative stone is laid out along the outer edge, expanding the side. From above, closing the edge covered with a film, a sawn finishing stone is laid on the cement
- The design of the side is completed, we begin to form a stream by closing the pump housing
- This is what it looks like finished before the plants have grown
- These plants have already grown, the decorative pond is ready
- Another angle
Read about how to make a fountain with your own hands here.
Serious projects: brick and concrete
If you want to have a large pond in the country, and you want to build it yourself, you will have to study the topic of building pools. Firstly, the construction of bowls – one to one repeats all the steps. Even forms are sometimes made stepped. True, the shores are not decorated with plants, and they are not planted in the pool itself … But the construction process itself, with reinforcement, plaster, waterproofing, is the same. Moreover, the water supply and water treatment system is also similar. Except that the ponds do not use chemical cleaning methods, but filters, skimmers and ultraviolet can be used.
In general, a large pond is not a cheap pleasure. Moreover, it requires expenses only for construction, but also for maintaining a large reservoir in good condition: filters need to be cleaned regularly and cartridges or backfill changed. But of course, it’s a lot of fun…
Read about the organization and construction of a waterfall on the site here.
Pond plants
When shaping or choosing a bowl, consider not only its shape and depth. If you want plants to grow in the pond, you need a swampy coastal area. If you form a reservoir using a film, you can make approximately the same profile as in the picture.
It is more convenient to do this if you fill the pit with a layer of sand at least 15 cm thick. With it, you can make the relief the way you like. To make it easier to work and the film does not tear, lay geotextiles on the sand. This thin membrane is very tear resistant. You can do whatever you want and don’t break it. Having formed the desired bottom relief with its help, you can line the film and lay stones on it, fill it with water and plant plants for the pond at different levels.
In order to have enough oxygen in the water, you can plant Canadian elodea, hornwort and swamp. They are in the photo below. Planted in water – these are aquatic plants.
Deep sea
They are planted in the deepest place, at the bottom in special pots with a large number of holes. In a pot, the soil around the roots of the plant is well compressed and covered with medium-sized gravel. Stones prevent washing out and prevent fish (if a fish pond) from digging it out.
Egg-pods (dwarf, multi-petal and alien), water lilies (white and hybrid), floating pondweed, common telorez feel best in artificial reservoirs.
Shallow
This type of plants can be planted near the shore or at medium depth, sometimes even near the shore in an almost dry place. The planting method is similar: in containers with soil, sprinkled with fine gravel. Only this time in order to limit the growth of plants: in good conditions they grow very quickly.
There should not be more than 30% of deep-water and shallow-water plants, otherwise most of the water surface will be covered with leaves, and this is already a swamp. The following types of plants are suitable for artificial reservoirs: calamus cereal and marsh, marsh calla, three-leaf watch, tabernamontana reed, common and broad-leaved arrowhead, whorled and alternate-leaved urt. Some of these plants for a country pond are in the photo below.
Coastal
These plants grow well in waterlogged soil. They are planted in groups, shorter ones closer to the shore, then higher ones. When designing an artificial reservoir, it is not worth planting the banks abundantly in the first year. After a year, you will have to deal with their overgrowth. If you have chosen a tree or shrub for planting, do not place it close so that the plant does not cover the pond. There are a lot of plants, here are just a few: Chinese Astilbe
To prevent the water in the pond from blooming, it is important, of course, to have filters, but there are natural filters. These are also plants: Water hyacinth, which is also called Eichornia, is excellent and beautiful.
Now you can not only make a pond with your own hands, but also plant it with beautiful plants.