Portable Ponds

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Posted by @Eric4home on
Do you live in an apartment or townhouse or are you thinking of moving in a few years? Is digging a pond an issue for you? Then an above-ground water garden is perfect for you. Small above-ground water gardens have many advantages. No digging, no wading in to clean them, lower cost, and portable. Just look around and think out of the ground.

Use old bathtubs, stock tanks, a series of very large pots, or pre-formed pond liners, or build your own lined box pond.

This old bathtub just needed a bit of cleaning and painting. Fill with water and add a small filtered pump, a few small goldfish, and some plants. Put it in an area where you can see and hear it, maybe near your front entrance or near a patio with access to an outside electrical outlet. Do a bit of landscaping around it, either in the ground or in a group of pots, and you will have a lovely water garden.

This small feature took practically no digging at all. Just take advantage of what nature has given you. My yard has a small slope and dip in the grading that was very easy to take advantage of. Just a few shovels full of dirt was all that was needed to make a nice level spot to set a small pre-formed pond. Add a bit of sand, some bricks and rocks, a pretty pot, and an interesting fountain pump. This pond has attracted a few frogs to visit and is filled with tadpoles. I also put several large pots of marginal pond plants nearby to add height and interest. At some time in the future I may want to move this pond or do something a bit different with this area. All I will need is a wheel barrow to cart away the bricks and rocks. Then I'll empty the pre-formed pond and move it to a new location.

Build a Box Pond

My box pond is approx 4 1/2 feet by 3 1/2 feet and 2 feet deep. It has 4 x 4's in the corners and a plywood bottom. The sides and the top edge are 2 x 8's and we used a scrap piece of rubber roofing to line the box. This is well constructed and a bit heavy to move, but it can be moved with the help of a couple of strong friends. We originally had this sitting on a brick patio and moved it several years ago to a new location next to the deck.


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Thanks to all for your support and encouragement.

 
Comments and Discussion
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
Lovely repurpose by Oberon46 Mar 18, 2014 5:13 PM 5
Great container ideas! by beckygardener Mar 18, 2014 5:12 PM 6
plastic tub? by lovesblooms Mar 18, 2014 5:03 PM 2

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