my poor pond, what can i do

Oh, Sandra...that's so sad...
...this wet, cold weather is causing havoc...
I spent two hours in the rain yesterday afternoon up ladders clearing gunge and moss from overflowing garage gutters... Cream-crackered today ! :o(

It seems you'll need to wait till this bad weather has gone, and then redesign your pond...

Please may I put this blog on GoYpedia Flood Damage.. ?
I'll not do so if you prefer not...

Oh! San, i do feel sorry for you!! All that hard work...You seemed so
happy, and looking forward to all the rewards...You do not deserve this
i do not know what to say, to make you feel better at this moment in time!
`Don`t give up....I am sure with your Garden abilities, and for the love
of your pond....You will still have it ready for Summer again..... .

thanx Terra and freesiaperson, im gutted, i will have to get a bigger liner so alot more overlap, Terra its fine to use my blog, it will help others not to make my mistake :o((

Thanks, Sandra...
I'm going to do a major update to my computer now, so I'll be back a bit later on today...I hope !
You worked so hard on that pond, but you'll get it right in the end. xxx

ive added a bit more after inspection of my pond Terra, nothing i can do yet so will have to wait, may have to try to empty it though so no more flooding xx

Poor Sandra and Baz too - after all that hard work! Yes, I think you may have to put this one down to experience, and do it again. I'm so sorry. One liittle 'brighter' thought - at least it happened before you got it all planted up permanently - think how much worse that would have been if the ones you put in had rooted. You can take the plants out if necessary, and pot them back up until you have this sorted.

Come on - try to 'think positive'. It's a chance for you to improve it. I'm still sending you lots of hugs, though - you must be feeling very upset about it. xxx

thankyou barbara my mind is in overdrive right now, im thinking i may use my green wheelie bin to store water so it doesnt get any worse,im going to pond place later and will get some addvice and a bigger liner, nothing i can do so im not going to let it stress me out even though im so dissapointed, thought we had done it all right to, poor baz will be gutted when he gets home for lunch, the hugs helped barbara xx

Hang on Sanbaz the under water will drain away when it gets dryer? So dont pull it all up yet, try to work out what has caused this first? Either you have a gap at the edge? Or possibly a hole in the liner in the pond itself? and I think this is more likely as my first liner got punctured and the water drained out and got underneath and lifted the liner. What we did was empty/clean it and put a new liner over the old one that was 11 years ago and it never happened again. Cheer up it seems awful but you will soon have a lovely pond to enjoy, and its better to have a problem before its really established. When you empty the pond use bins and paddling pools to retain the water and keep the plants happy.

Great - you ARE thinking positive! Keep on like that and you and Baz together will solve it in two shakes of a lamb's tail. You are NOT alone! :-))) xxx

don't let it get you down sanbaz.

thanx guys, ive already taken most of the water out and stored in my green bin, taken some rocks and pebbles away to just to take some weight off it all, Drc im going to get a bigger liner and as you said will put over this one, all this rain doesnt help does it ;o(

OMG :( Poor u San :( Let me tell u a little story ! When i first located My Pond 3yr ago it 2 got completey Flooded !!! All the Graden Water went into my pond making it all mud & i almost lost my fish :( So we moved it & i filled in the Hole with what we removed from its new Hole !!! Now i know u,Baz,Family have done so much work but dont be up-set my friend it will cum rite 4 u Love Jacxxx

thanx jacque and poor you going through same thing to, i had a feeling the overlap wasnt enough but baz said would be ok lol, never trust a man ,
so im sure with a bigger liner and overlap it should be ok, ive seen others with sloping area around so dont think its that ;o( xx

When we did our first pond my cousin dropped a trowel in it so we also got a split in the liner we did exactly the same as Drc and placed another liner over the top,its never been replaced and has also been down for well over 20yrs,our overlap under the slabs stretches out about 18ins all round , as has been stated the water will drain away and old liner will settle back down, its not as bad as you think Sandra although looking back I can remember how upset we were all those years bacK.....
2yrs ago I thought we had sprung a leak as the water level kept going down but when we removed the edging slabs we discovered a huge root from our willow tree had reached the pond and was drinking the water, that obviously had to be root pruned and I `m keeping a watchful eye on it but the liner was ok, so you see Sandra its all good fun with a pond............

Oh,How sorry I am to read this,after all that work.I think we would all feel exactly the same San.Stay positive,have a little weep,if you haven't already,and knowing you,you will just do what has to be done.If I lived nearer,I would come and help you myself ..Hugs from me too, xxx

O San....such a shame....but you have enough positive comments from everyone else, I won't add to it....except a "hyper-hug"xxxxxxxxxx

cheers sue for your input,now youve told me about overlap im now sure it wasnt enough, so ive learned a hard lesson here, glad yours turned out well in the end :o))
cheers sandra ive had a weep and now im going to get on with it, going to buy new liner today, wait for a better day and get it sorted out,poor baz will be gutted when he gets home which is now just heard car ,, xx

thanx alice hugs help dont they xxx

so sorry to hear about your pond sandra....... im sure you willb e able to fix it soon...... the weathers been jus tso awful. we had gale force winds last night i thought my fences would be down but were ok...... my flower beds are flooded from all the rain.... dont lose heart youve done such a lot of hard work... it will soon be ok again.....

Nothing constructive to say I'm afraid Sandra as I've no experience of ponds.....but I do understand how disappointed you are after all that hard work, so here's another hug from me. x
Things often don't go as we plan in the garden do they?.... nature has other ideas. Good luck with it anyway.

You are an intrepid pioneer and you will overcome all obstacles.

thanx holly gales here to, my lawn flooded, my pond flooded and daffs bending over, im so mad lol
thanx lily the hugs do help and no-one said gardening was easy did they :o))
thanx Gb i will not be beaten with this thats for sure :o)

Thats the spirit Sandra, tears,anger and sheer b----y mindedness ,wins every time, lol..........Been there ,done that...........

and its freezing cold as well ! lets hope march's ' lion ' goes to sleep now
really sorry to hear about your pond, the first liner we bought for a quite large pond was found to have a hole in it after we'd laid it out and we had to wait ages for a replacement by which time it had water in it !, you'll get there in the end, just take a few photo's now and when it looks lovely later on you'll see perseverance helps :o)

San I'm very sorry to hear about your pond disaster, and everyone is too obviously. I agree with Spritz, you will end up using it as a hard learning experience. After all your hard work and even more after your sheer joy and excitement its very hard to take.
You've already begun to think of positive steps to take to have an even better pond, and yes a big overlap is essential, and never cut it until the water has been in weighing it down for at least a day and night. Another tip I did with mine, then passed it on to my daughter, and others, is try to get a bit of old scruffy carpet as an underlay. Its invaluable just in case stones, roots or anything sharp is uprooted and causes a tear.
Let us all know how you get on - I'm sure its going to be a joint effort isn't it?
Good Luck Sanbaz.

So sorry San, I have a pond and have been thro' similar experiences, but you will overcome----- onward and upwards ! ! Sending hugs . x

yes we did that Mad its a very good idea :) hope it helps San

So sorry Sandra, dont know what to say but knowing you it will all turn out ok, i did'nt use pond line, but i know it as to be double the size of the pond, my ponds are moulded pond all i did was get someone to did hole for it put old carpet in hole then fixed pond in it, found the ponds worked out cheaper than liners, the last pond that was done last year only cost me £24 from Baguleys. keep your chin up like you say all a learning code.xxx

Sandra, what a shame! You have to be strong... Think, you should wait until that bad water drains and then, with new ideas, some experience, you'll solve this problem! And your new pond will be beautiful again! Hugs-hugs xxxx Can you make some pictures what's happened, please?

lol sue, your right though ;o))
cheers pam seems alot have had problems one way or another ;o)
thanx mad ive been and got addvice at pond place and he has given me the right size liner which is a good rubber one and explained how to lay it without even joining for waterfall, then how to cut it after settled, so hope it does the trick, we had a rubber underlay which is used for wood flooring so that should be ok surely,:o)
cheers val :o) x
while there i treated my self to a pump/filter to lol, baz will die , wont tell him full price ;o(

I as a pond owner I feel for you as we have had a few disasters over the years. I know that is no consolation at all but I am just saying I understand you are upset and the weather isn't helping any either. I am cuddling you from afar and if I could I'd be there like a shot helping physically. Have you just constructed your pond? Have you added fish yet? Sorry so many questions. You will get there and smile again. Love Sue xx

hi carol i was going to get one of them rigid ones but would mean baz trying to dig deeper into thick clay so i went for a good rubber liner, dont ask price lol :o)
hi uma ive just drained off most of water which had got under liner, then covered with old wood door and anything i could get my hands on, then placed old liner over to hopefully keep more water getting in, sorry i didnt think to take any pics uma to distressed :o((

So pleased you have got a liner sorted out, good luck with it xxx

hi sue only finished it on sunday , no fish thankfully but alot of pebbles and rocks to move which has taken me best part of day ;o( thanx :o) x
thanx carol i will msg you ok

OK xxx

Sandra have just found your lovely blog about building pond and it looked super. So sorry I didn't see it earlier. I can well imagine how long all those pebbles must have taken to lay and then to remove again. You will succeed and just put it down to one of those things I feel sure. You have so many people willing you on. :~)) Love Sue x

thanx sue just hope this rain doesnt keep up for to long, stopped for now but forcast for next week isnt good, but i will get there in the end x

Oh, Sanbaz, what a big disappointment, bloomin' weather! I'm glad all those with ponds are able to give you some advice and I know you and Baz will sort it out, however upset you are. Take your time and take care.

How dissapointing Sanbaz and after all your hard work to,but hang on in there it will all come right.x

thankyou so much Gee and mavis :o)) ive managed to get most of water out and covered the hole with wood and old pond liner till we can do something with it.

Sorry to hear about your pond Sandra, thinking of you and Baz as you wait to get it all sorted.

Oh san thats really disappionting for you both it looked so good ,, try not to look at it until this awful weather has passed - then you will soon sort it out

it would make me sad as well if i had done all that hard work but keep your chin up it will be aright in the end as you love your pond and it will reward you in the end, , we have a pond too but ours is a fiber linning and we have had it for at least 25yrs and we think we will have to replace it soon it surely can't last much longer good luck i am thinking of you.

I've just been reading your blogs about the building of your pond, I'm so so sorry for you both, all that hard work It was looking so good, but I'm sure when the weather gets brighter your spirit will return.

Sanbaz I am so very sorry to hear that, you poor thing!!! I feel gutted for you. The rain doesn't stop does it. We always seem to get the rain at the wrong time!! Try not to stress it WILL BE ALRIGHT in the end

P.S sending you a hug sounds like you could do with it

thanx michaela so kind ;o)
viv im trying just that, cant bare to look ;o(
cheers dorcas, yours is doing well isnt it, thankyou :o)
thankyou pam it was alot of hard work and was so happy with it, wish i hadnt started it when i saw it this morning, but ive calmed down now ;o)
thanx great im sure you are right and everyone has been so very kind and supportive :o)) x

:-(......Disappointing San, but as has been said by others, at least it's happened before your plants have rooted. I'm sure you'll sort it in no time. :-)

:-(......Disappointing San, but as has been said by others, at least it's happened before your plants have rooted. Also, before any wildlife have taken up residence.I'm sure you'll sort it in no time. :-)

thanx potty its a bit tense in our house tonight to say the least,dont think baz relishes the thought of starting again, he hates gardening at best of times poor thing ;o))

Difficult isn't it, when the men aren't keen but do it for us, then it goes wrong and has to be re-done...Well, looking at the forecast we have a few more days of bad weather to come. By the time it's cleared up I'm sure he'll have a new lease of life and just plough into it... :-)

lol potty you could be right there, forcast till next thursday when i looked at weather online ;o( its been a long winter, need sunny days :o))

Sandra.Just read this and sorry for you both.Good advise to leave liner in place and though expensive that butyl you bought will last many years. If its any consolation,when digging out our pond came to the foundations of an old outhouse complete with tons of broken glass ! It was a nightmare to dig out and remove ! Wish I had advised you about overlap now...about 18 inches is right.We trimmed ours later when the water had settled and moulded to shape of pond. Have just picked up your pm too....sure you now have a good idea of how to sort it out. xx

hi ray, i thought as i was getting a new liner better to get the best one, the man sized it all and said about 12" overlap but if i can do more i will, also its bigger so the waterfall is included, he said better doing it in one piece, ive drained most of water and covered to protect hole from more rain, i hope lol,
then we will use old liner to put in before new one, i do hope it will be ok after all this, thanx ray/jane :o)

Sorry Sandra wait abit to ascetain the damage give it some thought as well dont remove anything as yet.

Rkalyan ive had to take it all apart, addvice and also now know our overlap wasnt enough so it would have had to come out anyway, so its done, and at least now the water what is left can drain away, thanx :o)

sorry you are getting all this bad weather Sandra.Not as bad as we thought here up to now but having said that the wind is picking up tonight and its started to rain quite heavily ! Glad you have had all that sound advice Chin up ! x

so much rain and wind here ray, after today it seems to be just light showers lol, where have i heard that one before ,, think thats terential showers hahaha,
im ok nothing gained by moaning and mopeing about :o)) x

thankyou homebird that must have been awfull, poor fish, it happened to jacque last year to her fish died , so sad, will post a pic of new pond when finished lol

Soooooooooooo sorry Sanbaz, I can empathize with you this rain is so heavy and the winds here are causing damage too. I finally got a statue for my garden last year only to find it had blown down this morning and the poor lady has lost her head. I thought it was too heavy to be blown over. I dont envy you all the extra work you have to do, I`ve only got to stick a head back on. Good luck and I`m sure that you will still be enjoying that pond come summer.

San just caught up on your blog, and am gutted for you my friend, but with the terrific support you are getting from everybody and sound advice, I hope will help build up your enthusiasm to persevere, it really will be worth it in the end. Am thinking of you both and adding such a huge hug along with so many others, because as you can see, we really do care, and feel for you at this difficult and frustrating time. I imagine that most of us have hit garden disasters one time or other, I certainly have, so can all too easily empathize with you regarding this. Chin up my friend and know you are not alone. HUGE HUGXXXXXX

lol sorry stroller but it just tickled me and i needed that, poor statue, may move mine just in case to, thanx :o)))
aww thankyou flori for your kindness and your right everyone has been great and its what keeps me going, im sure all will turn out ok in the end, im just mentally drained today after being so excited yeasterday :o)) x

hi sandra what bad luck you have had after all your hard work and the excitement you felt while making it, theres not much more to add as everyone has said it all ..but as Great said ..it will be ok in the end... chin up x

What a crying shame, San. I have read through all the posts above & can only offer you my consolation & hope you can get it sorted out in the coming weeks. I'd probably had a heart attack or stroke with the anger & frustration! You are made of sterner stuff & have already taken on the more positive attitude that will see you through.

My best wishes for a new pond & a happy time watching it mature & enjoying the plants & fish.

Hugs from me as well - hope they don't make Baz jealous though! LOL!

So very sorry to hear about your pond San, glad you are sorting it, if you do not use the other liner underneath you can sink it in the ground, make some holes in it and fill with some peat type soil (something that does not dry out too much) and then you could grow bog plants !!! we did this and the plants loved it, there are some really lovely plants suitable for damp soil, if you need any more advice, look on the net, I know you and Baz (bless him) will come through this little set back xxxx

Aw...San...I'm so sorry about your pond....lots of advice here though to help...it was not to be.....I bet your second go will prove to be perfect, try not to get too disspirited.......we're all with you....much love..XXX

Just a little story to make you smile.....you know we lived away, well the first month, we had 2 lorry loads of gravel brought and we spent quite a few days barrowing it here there and everywhere raking it even and it looked perfect....all round the garden and down the long drive. Then the rains came......the next morning it had all been washed down the hill to the farm below.....grrrr......!!!

thanks joan what a shock hey! of well onward and upward as they say lol
cheers balcony if you had heard the words coming out of my mouth and tears... well enough said lol, thanx for hugs i wont tell baz lol
thanx for addvice dotty good idea with liner but dont think i will have enough room once new liner in and alot more rocks to cover it, cheers for thought though :o))
lol janey oh my god i bet you screamed when you saw that, poor you, did you get it sorted in the end or was the gravel idea dumped, thanx :o))

Yep....we spent the next few days carting it all back up-hill......:o(((

Hi Sandra, you've been given lots of sound advice here so think positive and it'll all come together in time. Trouble is, we all want things to go perfectly and it's VERY annoying when it doesn't. Wait until the weather calms down, that's easy for me to say, relax over Easter with lots of chocolate, you know it helps ! : o ) ) )

Sandra I could cry for you, how upsetting for you both after all the hard work you have done, you must be devastated. I know it is not much of a consolation but if it had to happen its better now before all your plants have started to grow, sending you my love and hope in a few days time you will have sorted it all out. Take Care Luv Carole xxx

OMG, sandra, you and baz,worked so hard, I don't don't no what to say, big HUG! to you both.

poor you janey ;o(
lol megan thanx, sound advice there hahah :o))
thankyou so much carole, a bad forcast so will wait till next week for a bit of sunshine, all covered up so hope not alot of rain gets through and whats left will drain off, will take my few edging plants out as we redo pond so they dont get affected to much, :o) xx

cheers pepperpot we will redo it again and hope for the best :o))

Hi Sandra, sorry I missed all your troubles yesterday. Hope that today the weather is a little better and you are feeling a little better too. I am with you in spirit. It's devastating when nature destroys your work. We tend to feel that nature is on our side, but this is not the case of course - she is her own master and not the slightest bit interested in our efforts to join in! Hope today is productive even if you can't get on with the work. I was horrified to read your early blog entries. Best wishes, it will be lovely when finished........had a similar disaster with my first pond but more my fault than the weather and we had to take it out and start over again too! Same with the first deck we built which didn't have enough support posts and had to be redone....then we had the wood sitting out in the rain for a whole month.....with new ideas sometimes we have to learn bloomin awful hard lessons, not always our fault, but you will overcome and the end result will be brilliant!! x...hug....cup of tea....(or G&T).....upwards and onwards!! :))))

Well, looks like you've already started working things out in your head San. It's a real shame after so much effort from you both BUT, I think you will know what I'm saying when I say that in the bigger scheme of things, this is something that can be rectified with a little work.

So many bad things happening around us but I know that with your positive, cheery outlook on things, you will come through with a great pond and surrounding area along with a story to tell friends and family alike - the one about the GREAT floods of 2010.....now that really was a year!!!

Keep smiling girl and the world, along with your friends on GoY, will be smile too:0)))

It's blowing a gale down here too and I'm going to pop down to the GH shortly to sow some seeds before it takes off like Dorothy's house in the Wizard of Oz!!

Ali's fuschia cutting is thriving by the way. She keeps asking: Have you told Sanbaz about my fuschia? lol

thanx karen for you msg of support, im glad we arent the only ones who messed up, ive had a few members telling me their storys and even though i feel for them its good to know im not alone,i dont normally drink but had a stiff vodka last night lol then slept like a baby lol, its been sunny today but i was working so nothing done in garden, going check if water has gone in a min just in from work ,it will get done once area dried out a bit :o))
hi Dan hhaahh made me laugh, im ok today and its all about learning, even though i read alot befor doing the pond it wasnt quite right was it, but we have learned from our mistake, not enough overlap and all that rain just didnt help so a new liner ready to go in when we can get to do it and sunny weather of course,
certainly will be a good story to tell lol, sorry your having gales today a bit cold here but lots of sun,
glad Ali`s fuschia is coming along nicely she will love it in summer. tell her to take cutting to while they are fresh so she will have more to come, thanx again Dan :o))

Will pass the message on. When is best time to take cutting?

you can take them when its big enough, so cuttings are a couple of sets of leave long would be ok, and anytime through summer, if earlier Ali would have new plants this year Dan :o)

I'm sorry to hear about your pond Sandra. I've missed a few days of GoY. I hope you'll be able to re-do it.

thankyou hywel, when i didnt hear from you i thought you were on your way to help lol :o)) x hope your ok

I'd come and help if I could :o)

i think you would to :o)) x

HAHA ! xx