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Digging the pond into very dry clay was like excavating
into concrete - extremely hard work. But the advantage
of clay is that it creates a very stable surface, so it
was easy to create a ledge for the edging stones and
a plant shelf. |
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Since there's a fair bit of shale in the clay, we
decided to put old carpet down to help protect the
liner. |
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Then we put felt down, which is supposed to also help
avoid damage to the liner. |
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Then about an inch of sand (is this over-kill?)
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Finally the very tough rubber liner is draped into the
hole. It took about four hours to fill the pond with water.
As the pond fills, you have to fold the liner so that it
fits neatly. Since it was a very cold September day, the
'waders' were a great idea.
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Before starting to place the edging stones, smooth
and level a layer of sand on the ledge under the liner.
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Then, place the edging stones and tap with a mallet to
get them level. We used two rows of edging stones.
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Second phase
July, 2000:
The next phase was to fold the
liner back over the top of the edging stones and cover
with flagsones. It's like doing a jig-saw puzzle with
large, heavy pieces.
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At first, it looks kind of plain, but the ground cover
plants will soon make it nestle into the surrounding gardens.
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By the end of the summer (Sept, 2000), we had
made some progress towards creating the stream.
See the Stream Project.
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