pond 4

Well done! What a painstaking task! But it looks very neat. :)

Well done Fran. Some water and nice plants now, then you should attract some wildlife and insects.

Wow! That looks so much better Fran.

thanks Karen and Snoop and Alan and Linda

I've not got round to filling it yet - will do that by the weekend, and then leave it till the pond's sunk enough for me to put the top layer of bricks on the rim. Then I can stand the repotted grasses on the back, put some troughs on the paving in front, and work out what to plant at the sides!

Maybe I could put water plants in the pond, but I've never done that before so I need to look up the options - keep them in pots or baskets so that they could be moved if needed.

But for now, the plants around it and a small self-contained water feature in it ... that'll do me!

Fran I feel exhausted just reading about what you achieve. You really really deserve to be pleased with the result and I hope it comes out just as you planned. Its amazing.Are you going to pop some seeds into the soil round the edge of the pond?

Fran you must have the patience of Job!!!
Its looking good, if you PM me your address I'd be delighted to send you a piece of white lily and some bits off the plants in the fish pond, that way you'll have a head start come next year, sorry cannot post a weeny frog, he'd get lost trying to find his way back to spawn next year, also don't think Royal Mail or RSPCA would like it, LOL....

thanks @ Stera - there should'nt have been any space around the pond edge! there isn't on three sides, but one of the ends has a tiny gap; could'nt have put the bricks there any closer or they'd have been too close.

There's another row of bricks to go on, once the pond has settled enough for the ege to come down to the current top bircks - the extra row would help cover the edge and raise the wall a bit.

I did think-dream about "planting pockets" in the walls, but that would have meant spacing the bricks out a bit and I didn't think of that. maybe there's enough space for tiny plants - the bricks aren't all uniform, there are bits of gaps, and there's certainly soil behind them, though that's mostly spent and probably not very nourishing.

There'll be plants in pots along the wall when it's done, and maybe I can put a larger bit across a corner to give a bigger plant a go as well.

@ Lincs, thank yo uso much! pm on its way

job well done, big pat on the back from me. You have worked so hard to get it looking so neat and tidy, hope it does exactly as you are hoping it will. Put some stones in one of the corners to build it up for anything wanting to climb out of the water. Maybe a fern would squeeze itself in between the bricks, they seem to grow in or around dry areas very well without much soil. Well done on all you have achieved so far Fran, it looks great. :O)

thanks Olive. I checked my pics, and was amazed at how long ago I'd started moving bricks around.

lol it probably won't do everthing I want, but then, spending this long on it and putting so much into it has probably expanded my fantasies a bit in the process.

I'd been thinking about putting plants in the bed behind the pond - there are plants there now, but low ones: I'd rplace them with taller plants to shield the pond from morning sun, to block off the rest of the garden so that it couldn't all be seen in one go, and to proide a backdrop for the "pond scene"

lol I bet that the only thing that will plant itself between the bricks will be a weed! but I can start looking at "wall-planted" plants and seeds and see what there is.

Hello, Fran, how many bricks did you need?

It is going to look lovely well done!

Hi Katarina, I have just estimated that Fran used about 96 bricks. 15 at each end and 33 on each side, unless there is another row of bricks, below ground level. They do look slightly larger than a 'normal' house brick though.

Fran, hope I'm not interfering. Thought I would try and help. Hope you don't mind.

@ Kat - used 16 bricks per layer, got -err! - six layers so far - and one more layer to go on top once the pond has settled down so the edge meets the current top layer.

@ Teds, thank you! I was looking at the pics I took of how the reaised bed was when I first moved in; that's some change!

@ Dorjac, not at all, dear! I used 5 across and 3 for the short ends, 16 per level. there's one level just peeking out above the paving, so six levels so far. 6x15 - er ...90, and another 15 to place later.

I've got those bricks standing by, and there's still more bricks turning up all over the place, buried or half-buried (and about a dozen stacked to make a plinth to hold Emma my fat fairy and the moon hare). Might have enough to build half-height beds on each end!

Thank you, Alan, lol, how did you count it? I was inspired, Fran, as we also have some old bricks all over the place and we do not have pond, yet. I was just checking, if I have enough bricks.

i miscounted myself, it's six long and two wide - still comes to the same number per layer, though

and so sorry Alan for calling you Dorjac in my previous post! neve rmind new specs, I need a new head!

Fran, no worries at all, I've done it several times myself, easily done. <]:~))
Please post a photo of the finished 'masterpiece' when available. Thank you.

PS Fran, If you have time take a look at Owdboggy's latest blog, his pond is similar to yours (4th photo from the end of the blog)..... It looks fabulous!

I will, Alan, and I'll whiz over to OwdBaggy's blogs now, thanks for the tip!

Ok Fran, laptop had hiccups so only found your PM today will get them out to you asap.....

Looking good Fran. My you've worked hard, but it'll be worth it in the end.

I think some tall plants behind the pond would look lovely. I've got some verbena bonariensis grown from seed this year (still young and struggling to get them to bush out) but would be happy to send you some if you like. They were much easier to get going than I'd anticipated lol.

thanks Lincs xx

thanks Sam, that'd be brilliant! I'll pm the address.

oh, GoY people are so nice!!

Just found this blog Fran. Well done you ! I wonder...is it as small as the one I put in as a surprise for my hubby ? I did a blog of this. Anyway I got some miniature pond plants and an oxygenating plant and its really clear now. A friend bought some tadpoles round and have just found my first frog ! Yippee !

i saw and liked that blog, Rose; I think this is a bit bigger, i'll have to go back to yours and check. this one is about 44x20x8 inches

I looked on Amazon for "water soldiers", which had been suggested in another post; they'd run out of stock, as had the next couple I tried, and some others didn't have good reviews, so I'll look for a local aquarium shop, then i can discuss it with someone who might know what they're talking about, and see what I'm getting before I buy it.

Not sure about tadpoles, I'd need to make them a ramp so the adults can get in and out; yours looks good, a pond IN a raised bed rather than a raised pond

No need for a ramp, a big stone at the side will do! You might find water soldiers a bit big for your pond but a piece of frogbit might be OK. PM me your address and i'll send you a bit.

Hi Sue, (Steragram), I didn't mean to eves drop on your conversation with Fran. I didn't know what frogbit was ... So I had a look on the internet. Something else I've learned today. I used to have a pond in my previous house, with goldfish, but hadn't heard of the plant. I thought it might have been frogspawn ...lol

I haven't forgot about your plants either Fran my fish are using the plants roots as a nursery at the mo so had to put off thinning them out for a while........

Fran, as long as you have plants in your pond, creatures such as baby frogs will be able to get out via these plants.

@ Stera, thanks very much, will do.

@ Alan, no probs, dear, it’s an open convo! I’ve heard of frogbit, but don’t know much else about it.

@ Lincs, no probs, dear! As and when, and their need is greater than mine *s*

@ Rose, that’s good to know! Lol I didn’t want anything to move in until the “home” was properly furnished!

Alan, no problem, that's surely the beauty of blogs like this.
Fran, Frogbit looks a bit like a tiny water lily. It floats on the surface with its roots hanging down and produces very small white flowers in summer.

it does sound good! had a look at the pond just now, it's certaintly got a nice chartreuse tint to it