Yay!! Can't wait to see that "little" (bigger'n mine!) darling full o' water, Fireant!

Brenda

Wow! Now that is a major undertaking. Please post pictures as you progress. Is it about 4 feet deep?

Thanks for the encouragement, helps the sore joints. No, only 3 feet deep, tried for 4 but this Texas petrified topsoil stopped us. I will add more pics as we go along. I just can't wait to release the fishies.

She's going to be a beauty. Congrats and can't wait to see her finished.

Here is a link that might be useful: My pond

Where in Texas are you? Love to see it when you have filled it..

Here is a link that might be useful: Our pond project

Here is our pond so far. We still have lots of things left to plant and the landscaping is not finished. We still have to build the "shade arbor" over the deck but this is where we are as of today.
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LOVE that setting, Fireant! The driftwood near and around the top of the falls is great, and your rocks blend in perfectly with the chapparal-like surroundings.

I enjoy watching your pond progress. :)

Brenda

Thanks Brenda! It was well worth all the hard work. We still will plant an oak tree to give some shade and a few other plants that I'm still deciding on. I'd like to have it blend in as much as possible. I'll post more pix as it changes.

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Wow, beautiful pond!

Well, it's been one year and most of the landscaping is finished. Now I've just gotta be patient and wait till things grow abit.

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It looks GREAT, Fireant!! Patience is highly over-rated, though. I have absolutely NONE. LOL

Can't wait to see it evolve as everything fills in!

Brenda

Thanks Brenda, I know just what you mean about having no patience, me neither. When it comes to planting things I want to see them like I imagine they will be. This summer I will add another picture when things have grown some.
Michelle

Michelle, could you give us a few more pictures of your pergola/shade arbor. I'm gathering info to build one of my own. Pond's looking great!
Sarah

Hi Sarah,
Here is one we took last year after it was finished. The posts are sitting on a treated 2x6 on top of the block wall under the deck.
Michelle

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WOW! Its gorgeous. What a little paradise!
I love that arbor over your deck. Did you build it all yourselves? It would be neat to grow something up over that arbor, like wisteria. But I guess you would have to plant it in the soil in the front right or back right of the deck.
Had you lived in the house awhile, before you put all this in? I'm so excited for you! Looks absolutely wonderful!

Thank you Michelle, exactly what I needed. Great job on the pond and the deck etc!

Thank you so much for the compliments! Digging and rock moving will defiantly make you feel your age but I am so glad we built it. Building the arbor was a breeze compared to building the pond. We have lived here 20+ years and have built everything ourselves, still working on the house. It's slow but it's us.
I was also thinking of planting something to cover the top of the arbor but if the trumpet vine has it's way I won't have to worry about it.
The only problem is that all I want to do now is hang out by the pond.
Michelle

Lol, we ALL know about that problem :)

THAT is what I want my pond to look like someday (it's getting there)!! You definitely learn patience w/ gardening in general and ponding specifically! Excellent job, Michelle, and I know what you mean about "all we want to do is hang out by the pond". The gazebo we're slowly building over our pond is just joists right now, but we slap a piece of scrap plywood down on it just so we can sit by the pond! It's really quite distracting when you should be WORKING on something :)

Jill

Hi There,
Here is the pond after it's 2nd summer. We are in a terrible drought so plants had to live on hand watering. The rain just seems to miss us. I hoping for rain this fall/winter for good Spring growth.

Michelle

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At this point you've heard a slew of compliments, but I'll add mine anyways - that is really amazing...excellent construction and design. Makes me want to redo my own pond...
~Mike

Absolutely outstanding; the evolution was really nice to see.

What are the dimensions of the pond? Gallonage?

Where in Texas are you anyhow? I am in Austin, and the lack of rain this year (about 10" YTD)has made our back yard look like a desert.

Thanks Mike and bwalters. Just a simple design that's easy to care for. Well, all but the opening and closing of the pressure filter, but that only gets done in the spring.
The pond, including the planting shelves, is about 15 x 17 and an average of 3 feet deep and it holds about 3000 gallons. We live north of San Antonio in Spring Branch. I don't know exactly how many inches of rain that we lack but it has been VERY dry here since last summer. The Guadalupe River and Canyon Lake look terrible. I sure hope we all catch a break soon.
Michelle

Well a year has gone by and some changes made. Moved purple fountain grass (way too messy) and put in another bicolor iris (blocks wind and leaves but is soft enough to work around)and finally put down some zoysia sod. We put fishing line up to try to keep a hungry barred owl away. We haven't lost any more fish but I think he still takes frogs that hop around at night.

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Wow!!! I just loved watching your progress. Thank you for being so diligent about posting the pics. It looks wonderful, just wonderful. I imagine you spend some very satisfying evenings-mornings-afternoons whatever, just sittin' an lookin' as my son would say. LOL
Great job on all of it.

Thank you bluesunflower, I thought if I added pictures of the pond as it ages it might help some people that are considering putting in a pond.
Yes, it is a terrific magnet, for us as well as wildlife. We have had a covey of quail visiting lately. It's fun to watch them run all around the pond. Last summer a bobcat made an appearance, that's the only cat I have ever seen my dog refuse to chase:D

Not only was the pond an inspiration, so was the arbor. I called the DH in and said, "I want that." He just smiled.

Thanks, I'm glad to hear these pictures might have given you some ideas. Oh, and my DH was not overly enthused about digging a hole in this rock we call a yard either. But he came around eventually after seeing the pictures of other ponds. Now he is just as magnetized by the pond as I am.

Just Beautiful :o)

WOW!!! I have to say, THIS is my vision of "The Perfect Pond"!!! Love Love Love the way you did the rock work around the pond!!! Outstanding!!! Very Inspirational!!! And the deck is perfect too!!! (Don't forget to give yourselves a high five!!!)

Very nice. I am very pleased by the progression. It is hard for some people to visualize how it will look later on. Of course, a pond is always a work in progress. Sandy