Yes plants are often planted in pots, but even so they can overrun a pond and pierce the lining. Bit hard to actually do anything about a damaged liner without major work. Empty out all the plants and the water, clean off the liner and put another new one over the top if it is holed. Mending them is not really very successful. An awful lot of work to be honest with you. Been there, done that ,smelt the muck at the bottom of the pool!

Thanks for that response. We're 'retirement' age and hubby not been too well so thought removing the pond would save time in the long run but it was a nice feature. Did think about replacing the membrane with one of those plastic type things, do you think they're any good? I can see me becoming addicted to this site!

Butyl liners last from 10 -20 years depending on type bought so it may just be old? (I agree repairing doesnt work)
Plants do grow out of their aqatic soil in their baskets and into the debrie in the pond growing very big. You can employ people who will replace the liner for you, liners do work well if you get a good quality 20 year liner and are put in correctly. If you dont want the pond or the chore of removing it you could leave the liner as it is with its holes, fill it in and plant as a bog garden?

Ooooo....that's a good idea Drc.....It would make a fantastic bog garden.
Welcome to GoY Jacqueline. It is addictive here. You sit down for five minutes and end up burning the dinner because you have been on so long.....believe me, it's been done before!! LOL.
I hope you enjoy it here. Jump right in and if you have any problems using the site just ask a question and someone will help out. :oD

Which ever you do it's a lot of work so you may as well re-line it. To back fill would take a lot of soil. A pond is almost essential in a garden and needs not a lot attention once planted. The problem with emptying the water out is that sometimes the pond is in a low part of the garden making it difficult to get rid of the water. If there's somewhere to drain the water away then all you need is a submersible pump If part of your garden is lower than the pond place a hosepipe in it, turn on the water then kink the pipe and place the kinked end in a place lower than the bottom of the pond before you un-kink. It will slowly syphon the water away.. Most important is to arrange plenty of fine mesh around the end of the pipe in the pond to prevent muck form blocking it up. Have I put you off yet? If not wait 'till you come to the dregs, black slimey sludge that stinks, I spread this onto the veg plot.

I have to disagree with Heron about the amount of work involved in a pond. I speak from experience having established a pond which very quickly became infested with blanket weed which required constant and time consuming work with a small rake to heave it out at least weekly. Plants needed constant attention to keep them under control especially the vigorous root-spreading varieties. We had a cobble beach at one end for wildlife access and every spring we had to remove the cobbles to clear out all the rampant growth that had invaded it. Bindweed invaded the surrounding rockery and was a nightmare to remove, but the blanket weed was by far the worst and none of the products advertised to control it did a scrap of good. I came to the conclusion that the pond was much more labour intensive than the rest of the garden and we would never have another one.

we have had one in every garden over the last 27yrs. they have never been a chore. some weed will grow until the excess nutrients run out. I have found it is better to wait a week or two before rushing to buy chemical products to keep the water clear.

i'd be tempted to try renovating the pond. and welcome to goy.

Thanks for all your replies ....... will think about this 'project' ....... must admit a pond does look nice in a garden ........ we have pretty harsh conditions up here, lot of heavy frost at present, and our garden is mostly conifers. We're in the process of having 2 Chamaccyparis lawsoniana and 1 Cuppressocyparis leylandii (all approx 40ft tall) felled which will make a big difference as they cause so much shade. Wish it was spring not winter as I'm raring to get going!

i'd be interested in seeing the transformation. lots of us do before , during and after blogs. as much or as a little as you want :o)