Show us your Mid-Atlantic Ponds

I know that there are quite a few ponders here on the Mid Atlantic Forum and also some interest from those that haven't put one in yet but are thinking about it. Thought it might be nice to show off your ponds, plants and pond wild life here. I'll start us off with my Box Pond. It's a wood box made from 2 X 8's . It's about 4ft X 5ft and 1 1/2FT deep lined with a rubber roof liner. Ric built it years ago and we have gotten a lot of enjoyment from it over the years. Originally it had a plastic pre-formed liner which developed a small leak at one of the built in ledges. It also sat up on the brick patio. We have just recently rehabbed it. Pressure washed, stained and relined it. Right now I have 2 Waterlilies, 2 Water Lotus, 2 Water Hyacinth, Green Taro and Colocasia Illustria.

That old watering can came from my Aunt's house and has been sitting around here for years adding character and charm to many decorative groupings. This was Ric's idea. He made a custom Shepherd's crook to hold it and got it all rigged up. Some time later he will put a small notch under the top ledge to hide the electrical cord and pump hose so they will not be visible. Also he is going to replace the plastic tubing with a thin copper pipe that he will wrap around the Shepard's crook and add a few copper leaves so it will look like a decorative vine. That maybe a winter project but this works fine for now.

A pond like this is just perfect for the gardener who longs for a pond but is not ready for a permanent pond. It has many advantages, although heavily constructed it can be drained an moved, it's easy to build no digging required, fairly inexpensive to build, easy cleaning no putting on your mucking boots and wading around in icy water. It also does have a few disadvantages as well, you are limited in size and shape, it will not draw the kind of wildlife that an in-ground pond does, and unless you are willing to run a pond heater over winter you will have to overwinter your plants and fish somewhere else.
Water Hyacinth

That's so cool! I envy people with creative hubbys. Now I'll stand back for other submissions. Can't wait!

Very clever watering system you have there HollyAnne! Is that a lotus in the pond?

Oh Debbie, I know just what you mean about the pond. Before we rehabbed the box pond it was looking pretty sad, had a slow leak water level kept going up and down plants with their roots sticking out.
If you get a few nice waterlily pictures we would love to see them.

I love this. How creative. I have a small water feature that I just put in next to the patio but I haven't finished planting around it so no pics at this time.

Well, Holly you asked for it! This is MORE than "sad" :( The Iris and what was "supposed" to be dwarf Cattail have swallowed the pond. Rick has been fighting the NOT dwarf Cattail for almost five years -it's impossible to pull out so he's been spraying it and I'm not sure if we'll ever get rid of it :(((

The far side is where most of the water lilies are and the end closest to you in the picture is the lowest level where we hope to create more of a bog.

See??? There actually IS water there! This is what it looked like in the fall of 1999, the year I arrived. Rick used the boat to get into the pond to grab water lilies when he was selling them. The next spring I quickly made him get rid of the "eyesore" since it had been over 2 years since he had used it. This picture was taken from our deck - I can't believe how much everything has grown - you can barely even see the pond from the deck now!

I wasn't fibbing, there ARE waterlilies in there!

Even though it looks like a disaster, I do love the fact that the fish and frogs are happy there, and then of course if you look real hard, you can find a few beauties :)

When the cattails and Iris hadn't spread to this end of the pond, it was absolutely stunning when they were all in bloom.

Debbie, That is a lovely pond, a bit overgrown but lovely and right next to the deck how nice. One of these days it will get moved up on the priority list and you will whip it into shape. Thanks for posting your pictures.

Debbie, your lilies are beautiful, overgrown or not! You'll get the cattails beaten back... looks like you're making progress.

Holly, a belated thank you for starting this thread! I need inspiration... I really want a little pond!

I know Nutmegnana is in the process of rebuilding and enlarging a pond right by her back deck... I'll get on her to post some photos for us as it's coming along! Her son works for Lilypons... oooohhhh.... maybe I can get some expert advice! :-)

Holly, actually it's not "right next to the deck" - you have to walk down the steps from the deck and cross the driveway :)

When we actually get to work on this area I'll definitely post pictures!

You all have seen my pond before. Last year I posted a ? about totally removing a reed that was growing in the far corner and was taking over the deeper end. Well we got it out. DH had to hack it into 4 pieces to get it out of the yard. It was a brute! I had kept it under control by cutting part of it away, until I got ill and couldn't manage it any more.
Also this spring I pulled all my waterlilies, thinned them out and re-potted them. (made a nice trade at a small local nursery) I counted at least 8 buds yesterday.

A pink waterlily getting ready to open.

Froggie spotted a firefly on the top of the tall weed I was meaning to put yesterday and didn't get to it.

Lady, Thank you for posting a few pictures from your lovely pond, I was hoping you would. That waterlily shot is just beautiful. Many of the plants that you so generously sent me last year are doing very well. The pickerel is just about to bloom and I moved it over to the box pond the other day. I'll post a picture when it is in full bloom. I have a few more leaves on my water lotus, I've never had them before and am watching them closely to see what they will do.
Here is a picture from my other pond it's American Water Willow. I love the pretty little flowers but they are hard to get a good shot of and there is one of my frogs in this picture, too.

Holly, I noticed a bud on the American Water Willow that you sent me, can't wait to see it bloom.
And this morning I have all 4 colors of waterlily blooming. Haven't see that in a very long time. Repotting really helped.

Close up of the pink one.

Close up of red.

And the white one.

This is a pic of the yellow, Texas Dawn that I took a few days ago, thought I already posted it on this thread but didn't. Texas Dawn has the red markings on the leaves and is a very vigorous grower. The tubers got as thick as my wrists and was pushing out the sides of the plastic pot. It also sends out the most blooms in a season.

Beautiful pics of your waterlilies. None of mine have bloomed yet I haven't re-potted them but I did recently feed them so I have some hopes of them blooming. Here is the Pickerel you sent me last year It was crawling out of it's pot so that got re-potted and fed when I moved it into the box pond. Right now there are three flower stalks so I should have some blooms for some time. You can see one of the water lotus leaves in this picture it's really big.

My Pickerel is also just starting to bloom, be carefull of the floating heart,(the little one that gets the yellow flowers), its ok in a lined pond, but if it ever gets into a natural pond it is very invasive.
It will also grow into the lilypots and crowd them out. I try to keep just a small piece of it in the pond.

How deep a pond do lilies need?

I have a 20 inch wide water pot (about 20 inches deep, too, I think) that has nothing in it at present... I've got a fountain that I could set up in it, but I'm thinking I'd just as soon put in a water lily... I guess I need a miniature one? I should probably get myself over to Lilypons and treat myself to something from their collection, which I'm guessing is extensive.

Or, who knows, maybe I'll convince DH to stop at Webers on our way back through Winchester (we were too tight for time on the way down yesterday... I barely got bathroom breaks, LOL)... I think Hart mentioned they have pond plants.

I gotta get a water lily!!

Those photos are just too lovely for words. Thanks!

Jill, I just went out to measure the depth of the pond it is 1 foot deep, I thought it was deeper then that, lol. I have hardy waterlilies and I keep the pump and waterfall running all winter. I have had this pond for about 5 years now.

They have water lilies. Go through the main building straight back from the parking lot from the entrance at the far right as you face the building. Just keep going until you get back outside and there are oodles of pond plants.

You might want a miniature water lily for a small pot but I imagine the regular ones will do fine for at least a year or two too. They have a lot of really nice marginal plants that will do well in there with the lily too.

The only problem is if the pot freezes solid in the winter. Might want to move it to a protected spot in the winter, sink it into the ground or drag it into the garage. Be sure to check the zones on the plants too. They have quite a few that aren't winter hardy here in among the marginal plants.

I am so thrilled with my progress over the weekend!!! No, I didn't get anything accomplished on the big pond...BUT I was working in an area of the gardens that is just below a small pond by our front door. This pond has been hidden, grown over with weeds and the fountain hasn't functioned in over three years :( I was getting ready to plant in the area below the pond and had some pruning and shaping of trees which wrap around the back side of the pond. Before I knew it, my plans for planting were interrupted with me down on my hands and knees plucking the weeds out of the pond, scooping out the debris, etc. and by 9:00 AM yesterday my waterfall was functioning again :))) I still have some work to do, planting, rocks, etc. but it's so nice to hear the water again! My only problem was finishing up on the planting I had originally started out to do on Saturday - I kept going back to the waterfall and playing with rocks to change the 'sound' of the water. LOL I never knew until we attended the pond seminar in March how the placement of rocks changes the 'sound' - the slightest change in positioning makes a huge difference and I think I've finally got it just the way I want it :) I'll try to get some pictures today. The pickerel weed that was still growing in the pond was beautiful until I got in there weeding and now it's a little 'ragged' but at least it's in bloom!

Critter, I started a discussion over in the Water Garden Forum on Raised Ponds you might find that interesting. Lhasa Lover posted some pictures of her stock tank and there are a few other pictures getting posted that could give you some other easy ideas. Also look around for an old bathtub I've seen some very nice plantings done with them. They can be very charming tucked in a flower bed with a few waterlilies and maybe some callas or something with a little height. You don't have to fancy them up just fill them put in a few goldfish and plug in a small circulating filter all very easy.
I have an old tub myself but it's still in the project stage.
Debbie, Just see what we started. LOL

Hubby has been experimenting with an extra pump, now I have a fountain.

Wow, that thing really shoots the water.
Your pond looks so lovely I see your waterlily and pickerel blooming and is that a black EE?

He had it spouting higher then that, drilled the hole a little bigger in the plug he put in the end. I asked him if he caught Moby Dick and released him in my pond.

Yes that is a black EE, new for me this year.

Lady LOL, That EE looks nice in the pond. How is the water willow doing, still flowering?
I haven't posted any pictures on this thread of my other small pond It is an old concrete birdbath that has a hole that runs thru it like a fountain. I have a concrete well in the ground aprox 5ft wide and 3ft deep. The water circulates thru the birdbath and drips over the edges and back into the well. For some reason it just isn't as inspiring as it has been some years I think that's because the yellow water iris is just too overpowering. Besides the iris I have American Water Willow(blooming), Taro (that got damaged and has no leaves right now), a very small pickerel, water hyacinth, and several waterlilies (none that have bloomed yet). In this shot you can see one of the cute little Chipmunks that scamper around over on the rocks. He's sitting just to the left of the pond.

If he's a little hard to see how about this shot.

In this shot you can see the Water Willow blooming and some of the other wildlife drawn to this pond.

It really gives my garden some winter interest. This shot taken last winter just after an ice storm.

Holly, I really like that birdbath fountain. It might be time to repot your waterliles, since I did mine this spring I am getting more blooms.

My water willow is doing great, it is in the top part where the hose from the pump goes before the water runs down the falls, I have one frog who has claimed that his private little pond.