Building a Pond

There was a time when a pond, or some sort of water feature, was all the rage - particularly in the golden years of TV shows that focused on doing up someone's garden at the turn of the millennium.

If you are interested in having a nice looking garden, and combining it with wildlife, then a pond can be a good focal point and way of introducing something different into the garden.

There are three options to consider: you can either buy a ready-made pond shell, or you can dig and line a pond yourself. The third option is not to line the pond, but rather dig down an area that shelves and then leave it to fill with water; however if you intend to keep fish then you should definitely line the pond as one without any sort of lining clearly has the risk of the water seeping away through the ground if there is a period of time without rain or if the natural pond is not deep enough.

If you buy a pond base, then you will need to dig a hole for it to go in, if you are going to line it yourself then you are free to choose a shape however you will find a rectangular shape much easier to line than some ornate shape that requires very careful cutting of lining!

Consider how deep the pond should be and also how much of your garden you want to give up to it. Remember too that it can be hard work to dig, and also to get out any tree roots and other roots that might be lurking in the area of soil that you plan to dig out to make way for the pond - sometimes these practical considerations can put paid to the more ambitious plans.

Consider having one side that shelves into the pond rather than having a sheer drop on the four sides of the pond - one of the benefits to this is that many birds like to splash around in the edge of water and have a bath, if there is a gentle slope into a pond then this is possible, although it is not always practical to add this feature to your pond it is worth considering if it happens to be viable.

More articles on looking after your home:

Buying Property

Mortgages

Buying Overseas

Tools and Resources

Building a Pond

House Prices