Show us your Mid-Atlantic Ponds

I finally got some photos of our ponds. This shows both with the waterfall.

A waterlily

Looking down on the larger pond from above

The fish

Lotus leaves in the upper pond. They're huge.

hollyanne, that winter scene is fit for a postcard - so peaceful.
Ladygardener1, I've never seen a flower like that! What is it?
hart, brilliant coloured Koi! Yes, unbelievably large lotus flowrs. How long before the flowers appear? How long do the flowers last? Have you been successful in germinating the Lotus seeds?

Actually, those are comets, not koi. There's one koi in there and one shubunkin, the rest are comets.

I got a couple of small roots last year from a guy on the American Ponders forums. They haven't bloomed - I hope they will this year. I've never tried germinating the seeds.

LOL! Been following along and I actually took some pics yesterday but haven't got them loaded yet - hopefully will be back tomorrow to share :) We haven't made much progress on the little pond in the past week as we've been working in other areas but Rick did get the huge conifer cut down yesterday on the back side of the pond. We weren't in total agreement about taking it down, it looked good from the driveway but the poor thing was pretty sad looking at it from the other side - finally gave in and it's gone. It's really opened up the area and now we can decide what we'll be planting in its place! Still have to clean the sludge out of the pond and get some rocks for the edges - Holly I need some of your rocks!!! LOL Then I can resume planting :)

Thanks for posting pictures Hart, I remember how nice your pond looked when we came for the swap last year. Love the Lotus
Bedouin, Thanks for the nice comments, that's one of my favorite pictures. That huge pile of rocks are for a new pond that I was hoping to get started with this summer. Isn't looking good though but I certainly can't complain about that with all the other projects that are getting done. The flower Lady posted is an American Water Willow (Justicia americana). It's native to my area and we have quite a bit of it in the nearby river, although I believe that in some states and areas it is disappearing. The flowers are tiny but Oh so pretty.
Debbie, Other than the huge ones for the pond the rock pile is disappearing. The walkway is done and the wall is coming together nicely. I'll post pictures when it's finished.

Debbie, have you tried the sludge eating bacteria? It really works and doesn't harm anything in the pond. It's expensive but a bottle will last a long while.

http://www.microbeliftstore.com/home/ml1/smartlist_11/sludge_away.html

That and the UV filter really make a difference in water clarity.

Very inspiring all of you - and HEY - I just got word of a PARADE OF PONDS at the end of this month for charity -- check out this web site for details:
http://premierpond.homestead.com/Parade_2008.html
I can;t think of a more fun way to spend a weekend but touring the local best ponds- I heard rumors that some of the pond stops will have wine and munchies and music -- lovely.
~ Amy

Amy319, thank you so much for posting the Premier Pond link for the forthcoming Pond tour. The many photos of the various small and large scale streams, waterfalls and ponds excites the imagination! Please, do post it on the Water Garden forum. How I wish I could join the tour! Lucky you! Could you post pictures of your tour, please?

sludge eating bacteria? what will they think of next! LOL Thanks for the link hart :) I'm not sure if what we have is sludge, that's just what I call it! About 10 years of build up from the fallen debris (leaves, etc.) - I figure when we clean it out it will make a great 'mulch' for the plants that are going in around the pond :)

Okay, here's my before and after photos. There is a slope behind the pond which started the "project". The huge 'Scarlet Curls' Willow had created so much shade in this area that some of the conifers were suffering, so in December a friend pruned all the lower branches to open it up and expose the beautiful form - unfortunately I don't have an "after" picture of the Willow right now but needless to say it made a huge difference.

This is the slope before I started to clean it up, plant and prune - you can barely see the trunk of the Willow on the right. The left arrow is a lovely blue Chamaecyparis 'Boulevard' which is one of the conifers that suffered from too much shade. The right arrow is Thuja 'Rheingold' which had "split" down the middle - left and right sides reaching for the sun and the middle was bare. From the front of the house it looked great but when you walked around to the slope it looked miserable :( This is the one we weren't in total agreement about taking out at first, but you'll see what a difference it made in another photo. There's also a huge Hosta that's been there for years and it was getting swallowed.

OMG - you can actually see the house! LOL Boulevard on left pruned up - hated to do it but it really needed it and when more Hostas are planted it won't look so "bare"! Arrow on right shows 'Rheingold' removed - well almost, still has to be cut down to ground level. The trunk in the lower left is an old Juniper which we were going to leave but we've decided to yank it and plant a Japanese Maple in its place.

This is looking to the right of the Willow - left arrow is the removed 'Rheingold' and right arrow is the pond, well at least the back side of it :) A large, overgrown Barberry that was on the back side of the pond was also removed - again too much shade and it blocked our view of the gardens below!

This pic was taken earlier this spring and although you can't really see the pond, the arrow shows where it's located - plus it shows the Yew before it was pruned to open it up.

And here's what it looks like now! Tough to see, but the 'waterfall' is right behind the cattails and you can finally at least see the pond and look down into the gardens below :)

One last shot looking from the front door - left arrow, again, where the Barberry was removed and right arrow - 'Rheingold' GONE! We still have a lot of work to do, rocks and plants, after we get the pond cleaned out but it's amazing what a difference it's made! Pitcher plants are lined up and ready for planting and we've got a few Royal Ferns which will be planted along the back side where 'Rheingold' used to live. Then the slope behind the pond will be planted again - with something shorter so we won't lose our view again :) We've pretty much got the other side of the slope finished with the plants under the Willow and as soon as we get the Japanese Maple planted and add a few Hellebores, Hostas, etc., I'll post more pictures.

Rch, What a difference! Nice shots by the way. Nice pool too.
A question: how did you add the red arrows to your photos?

That's quite a transformation, Debbie.

Sludge is what it's called. LOL Maybe you have something that does a good job of getting up all the sludge. We've tried everything short of the really expensive pond vacs. Nothing gets anywhere near all the sludge out and it's so bad for your pond. If I use the bacteria every month or six weeks during the warm months along with the UV filter, the water is crystal clear and there's no algae.

I've run out of the sludge eater and had to have my filter turned off for a week while I was waiting for a replacement pump. I think that's why I'm having such a problem with string algae this year.

I have a few too many fish in there too since they had babies and that contributes to the sludge problem.

bedouin, Photoshop :) I use it to combine photos of the gardens as well for a panoramic view, helps me when I'm trying to get design ideas for a new area.

hart, we've got "sludge" in both the little and big ponds and although it changes the depth of the water, we've always had perfectly crystal clear water and neither has any type of filter. I will be using one however whenever I get the stream project started, that's one water feature where I don't want to rely on Mother Nature :)

RCN WOW, What a huge difference. That's an awful lot of work you did there and it looks great. I know just what you mean about limbing up the trees, junipers and shrubs you don't really want to remove or change them but they really aren't looking good or thriving where they are. Can't wait to see everything finished. Wait, do we ever get everything finished? lol
I'm going to start a thread in a few days, of the side of my front yard where I'm thinking about taking out a large Forsythia. I'd love some of your design input, when I post the pictures.

No, we never get anything "finished" LOL I've already jumped to another garden and the pond area is far from being finished! Will look forward to your new thread, should be starting one of my own soon to show everyone the new Heuchera garden which is an extension of Rick's woodland garden he's almost finished planting :)

So what's a good size for a beginner pond? I have an average sized suburban yard, (back yard approx. 100' sq.), at this time of the year, I'd LOVE a swimming pool, but don't have the cash, time, patience for it-would have to put up fences, would cost mega-bucks, etc.

I'd love to have a pond, but our backyard is heavily shaded by mature trees-right now, I have a 3' round ceramic waterbowl w/ dribbler & plants-what would be the next step up-an inground pond w/ vinyl liner? a hot tub? (could I run this year-round & could it be planted attractively?) My back yard, after 4 years, is still 'in progress', still don't have a hardscape patio off the back that I'd like, should I think about getting this in before I think about a pond/water feature?

thistle5, sometimes its helpful to see photo galleries of completed ponds, in order to choose 'your style'. Try these sites:

Posted by Amy319 as above: http://premierpond.homestead.com/pdf/Premier_Pond_2007.pdf
Photo Gallery of ponds: http://www.dragonflylanding.ca/GardenPonds.htm
American Ponders: how to: http://www.americanponders.com/

thistle, I'm in the planning stages for a small stream project. bedouin is right, I've looked at tons of sites and also read every thread on the Water Gardens forum http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/water/all/. My initial ideas have changed so much in the past six months I'm glad that I didn't jump right in! The area where I want to incorporate the stream is ready and waiting for planting, but until I have a final plan for the stream (waterfall, pond or not?) the planting is on hold. I'd hold off on the "hardscape patio" until you decide whether or not to include a pond/water feature. The one thing I DO know is that I'm going to make a huge mess making the stream become a reality and I figure the more open the area is (no plantings, etc.) the better. As a matter of fact, I've recently been considering renting a backhoe to get the digging done, otherwise it's going to be a back breaker and I'm beginning to lose my patience - it will take forever to dig it by hand! If I had already done the planting in the area, the backhoe wouldn't be an option. I know this would be a 2.5 - 3 hr? drive for you, but the best education I've received after all my research and looking at zillions of photos/videos was to attend the demonstration at Springdale Water Gardens in Greenville (just south of Staunton) in March. It's a two hour demonstration that Keith does about once a month and he makes it look so easy! http://www.springdalewatergardens.com/ Click on "demonstrations" and it will give you the schedule - next one is in August - it's the "stone by stone" demonstration. Rick thought my idea for the stream was crazy but agreed to attend the demonstration with me - I think he thought after seeing how much work it was going to be I'd give up - NOT! Keith's demonstration swayed Rick's opinion and convinced him it was possible :) Good luck!

Thistle, That's good advice from RCN,
Those mature trees could be a real issue for a pond. Not only will they shade your pond and create leaf litter but their root system might be an issue when you start to dig. Everyone says go as big as you can when installing a pond because it is never big enough. I've seen some very pretty pond areas that were created by groups of small ponds put in over time with little falls and streams connecting them.
There is some discussion over on the Water Gardens forum right now about raised ponds like my box pond that can be moved around when needed. If you haven't put in your patio hard-scape you might be able to include a raised pond in the patio design.
Since your fairly new in your home and still in the planing stages, you might want to do a plot plan. Use graph paper (you can make your own big paper with some freezer paper and a ruler). Mark out everything existing on your property. House, garage, trees... this will help you plan your patio, walkways and gardens. It's really a lot of fun to do and will help you see where you want to go in the future with your property. They have software programs that are designed for the same thing, but I'm not familiar with them.
Here is the link to the Raised Pond thread. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/870256/

Bedouin - I'll definitely bring my camera and try to post a bunch of tour pics here -- there are 35+ stops on it - will see how many I actually can get to!

- Amy

This READERS DIGEST SITEis probably the best information I've found relating to pond and waterfall construction and maintenance. Enjoy!
http://www.rd.com/search.do?query=building+a+waterfall&x=28&y=28