The beauty of rocks is that they don't grow and don't require cutting. My experience with lawn is that you need to cut it and that can provide a whole host of issues.....including how to get close enough to the edge and not cut the liner and how not to get the clippings in the water.
I agree that rock placement can be a real challenge.
Let us know how you make out.
Flora

Flora, thank you for the response!

I think I have a better question that may help me get to my answer. I'm almost embarrassed to ask this, but it's the only way I'll get the answer: do people line the edges of their ponds with the rocks and field stones to weigh the pond liner down or just to disguise it? In other words, do I need to be securing it with something heavy rather than just having and inch or two exposed and which I can cover with plants? If it does need to be weighed down, can I put stakes through it? From what I can tell so far, what I may need to do is put the stones on the liner several inches below ground level, cover it with soil and plant as I want.

I actually don't want lawn around the pond. It's going to be surrounded by natives (grasses, forbes, and some sedges) and I just want it to look as natural as possible. I do want to have a couple of stones where butterflies and other creatures can sun themselves and I do want to make it easy for critters to get into and out of the pond.

I just don't want to mess this up after wanting one for so long!

I also don't like a "ring of rocks." You don't need rocks to weigh down your liner, but you must raise the edge of your pond at least a few inches above ground level to keep dirty wash off from going into your pond when it rains. The easiest way to do this is to make a LEVEL border around your pond (using bricks, blocks, landscaping timbers, or whatever) bring the liner over the top of this border and then bury it straight down on the outside of the border.

Most people cover the exposed liner with rocks both to disguise it and to avoid deterioration from sun exposure. If you have a narrow border, and you plant right next to the pond, your plants will hide the liner.

A waterfall made from flat rocks is nice, and a flagstone or other flat-rock path coming right up to one side of the pond gives you a viewing and maintenance area that fits in well (and can cover the liner on that side).

As others have noted, there are many ways to treat the edge of the pond. I think weight helps prevent slippage and sagging, and it is important to keep excess liner for future needs.

I used sod on part of my pond and have been very happy.

{{gwi:235537}}

This was the initial sod but I later expanded to cover most, but not all, of the stones--looking for a natural shore look. The sod took on the stones, some grew into the pond. The sod was made into a low berm to divert run-off from the adjacent patio.

Most objections to this relate to maintenance. A venerable past poster, webfeeet, used to say that natural isn't a golf course, let it grow. I chose to do that to a certain degree.

{{gwi:181583}}

The soft green grass is a nice counter-point to the extensive stone work and greenery that really defines the water feature, in my opinion. The picture could be more revealing, but the long, soft, semi-kempt grass does, to me anyway, make a nice visual transition and counterpoint from stone patio to the pond.

Maintenance is easy with selective trimming using a cordless grass scissor tool. I can control where the cut grass goes, mostly, and what little goes in the pond just goes into the skimmer. Admittedly, it is not a huge area to deal with.

As we always say, every pond and its setting is different. Combinations of stones, grass, plants, decorative items can be custom-tailored and easily changed when desired.

I hope this adds to the other good advice you are receiving.
Mike

You might get the information you want through this website;
http://www.pondliner.com/questions_form. On the grounds of their retail outlet, they have at least one pond that has the grass growing right up to the edge of the water.
roselover_5b has a good point though, grass clippings are a problems. I have rocks and a wide gravel walk around my pond just to keep the bermuda grass and attendant clippings out of the pond

Thank you, everyone, for the excellent ideas and information! I have some hope now that maybe I'll manage to make a pond that works. The idea about that form is a good one, too, since that's where I just ordered my liner!

Thanks for the pictures of your beautiful pond, Mike! It's nice to see an example with grass. What a beautiful place you've created.

You are welcome and thank you for the compliment. It works for me aesthetically and in terms of maintenance. A few people have posted about natural grass along the pond's edge with the usual objections. I suspect those who don't understand how clean it can be use mowers and weed whackers. When I trim it takes less than half an hour bent over or on my old knees to trim the grass. If some goes in the pond--well, that is why we have skimmers.

It all is the beauty of ponding--endless ideas and approaches and thoughts. With all these good ideas and insights you will find what you like best and adapt and change as a good pond keeper.

Luck - Mike

BEAUTIFUL POND, Mike! In our area, Bermuda grass is a major problem in all types of gardening that gets good sunlight. It is very invasive, to the point that many people give up their vegetable garden rather than fight it. It sends out long runners, even into the pond. To control it you about have to have a hard flat barrier several inches into the ground to stop it.
Yeah, I sure hear the comment about the old knees, too much concrete finishing years back.

One partial solution is to use logs and weathered pieces of wood. Creeping vines and groundcovers also work well.

Thanks ponderpaul, I appreciate it. The vegetation has really matured in the couple of years since the picture.

As the conventional wisdom goes, every setting is different. As you can see, I had a narrow strip between pond and patio and so had a manageable area to cover. Before the sod it was a berm of pond dirt held back from the pond by a barrier. Long story why. So I needed to keep that soil in place and sod was the answer that came to mind--quick and very inexpensive. Grass was less an option than a necessity in my mind then. I rationalize the trimming and found a decent way to do it. We did try some plantings in the sod that thrived but blocked the view of the pond when sitting on the patio.

chas045--your suggestions are great. We have used several types of creeping plants in the lower area of the streams and they really cover stones and trail into the pond. I recall reading posts about logs and weathered wood and the pictures showed a nice pond edge along with plants interspersed.

It is agreed in this forum that first having a vision and then having good imagination is the way to go. With the exception of lots of heavy stones, the pond edge can always be easily changed.

We just closed the pond for winter, but the green grass will give some life to the scene until it snows.

This is a good post about pond edging and might encourage something beyond stones alone for some ponders.
Mike

Joann--your pond is special as always and the video is a great way to see it in entirety. I agree one shouldn't be afraid of rocks, and as you say, you have lots of them. But your pond sure doesn't appear monolithic, so to speak, with all the beautiful plantings.

Mixing and matching rocks, plants, grass or whatever is part of the art of ponding to me. I too have tons of rocks and have chosen a variety of ways to lessen their visual impact--my grass and stream plantings, but also like to accentuate the rocks alone in places.

It is often said new ponders should have a vision of what they would like and from there it is a matter of aesthetic, resources, etc. There are ponds with all rocks alone that are appealing but some that are kind of monotonous. But if it is beautiful to the ponders eye (or pocketbook) it has its own beauty.

I think the original poster has gotten lots of ideas about potential for dealing with the pond edge. I hope roselover will share pictures of the pond as it grows, and surely as a plant lover knows it will take some time for everything to mature.

Your video of a lush August on my snowy day is a real lift.

Peace on Earth to all--someday
Mike

I am considering installing 4-6" diameter lodge pine stakes vertically along the front edge of my water garden, each about 4" to 8" high and buried about 6-8" into the ground with a rock and some gravel underneath to aid in good drainage. They are pressure treated and were previously used in a vineyard. Some do have some wide vertical cracks along lengthwise.
I will have to cut each piece and seal the cuts.

What is the best protective coating I can apply to the buried portion of each stake for longevity?

My approach FWIW was to purposely NOT try to make it look natural - but more like an old ruin fallen into discrepair. (used Celtic holy wells as my inspiration - has a circular stone wall in back half about 2 -3 feet high, lower rocks in front -think I'll steal your grass idea for part of the front

So many great ideas and pics/videos!!! I LOVE to see other ponds, it helps me tweek my pond!!!

HOW DO YOU GET grass or sod to grow right up to the edge. I was looking into organic sod (no pesticides to wash off and harm the fish) but no such thing exists. Dont want to do grass seed - that would be a mess. Any ideas? I might just buy a few square yards of astroturf- seriously....

Shalom, have you considered using dirt to build a bit o a burm at the edge of the pond, then use sod to cover the burm, but at the same time just before the burm there would be abit of a valley to catch run off - might even install a french drain just before the edge then the water runoff could be diverted from going into the pond - sod would grow over the french drain and to the ond edge.

just a thought.

McKool

I've dug myself into a large hole,call it the country pond and winter ice rink. Edging is my biggest concern. For safety reason (grand kids and elderly)I've dug back between 6 to 8 ft. around the perimeter a foot down and plan to cut 3/8 plywood 8 inches wide and stake this edging around the pond.On the top edge I was thinking of cutting a 1/2 inch black poly pipe length wise and use this for a cap so the liner doesen't tear. In time the plywood will rot but I'm wondering if this will matter,I plan to have drain rock 1 to 2 1/2 inch spread at a gentle slope towards the drop off with larger rocks displaced along the edge also the poly pipe edge would be covered with drain rock to hide the poly pipe edge and would have a mixture of rocks on the back side of the edge to hold the liner down.Any ideas on a simpler way? Thanks Bernie