LOLOL Rita!!! Your last line made me laugh! Thank you! I can't imagine you thinking about another bed for daylilies, of all things, now....could you??? Always busy as a bee.....I don't think you ever have or take the time to get bored, do you?? Waiting for the "rest of the story" sure to come, right?? :>) Jan G.

I am working in the front yard and making daylily beds. But I had to make a decision on the pond and IF I put it inground were it was then that removed all options of any other use for that area. I would rather leave the area open for future possibitities.

Of course.....keeping options open is definitely logical thinking. More work initially, but more rewards and blooms in the future, right?? Jan G.

More daylilies in the future, exactly!

Well, the stocktank pond is down in the hole the way its going to be. Now they are sorting thru the skid of rocks delivered yesterday because we are going to place the rocks around the pond. Because the ground is uneven and sloping down at the far side of the pond, the rock surround will be very low in some spots and needs to be built up lots in other spots.

Plus I had not really thought of a waterfall as it would not have worked aboveground. Now that its inground, There is room and the perfect spot for a waterfall so I haven't decided how I could add one in the future yet.

Newyorkrita,
I would love to see pictures of your stock tank, before
& after.
I had been wanting to do something similar with a short
hog tank, long narrow and not so tall. Rubbermaid brand.
Freeze proof.

When you are done adding rocks, or have the whole process
in pictures, I would love to see the project.
Mary

I have been taking pictures as we go along. Finished for today. The side rocks are laid around. Now for the top rocks which will finish the edges. Going tomorrow morning to pick up those rocks. Its looking even better than I had expected and its going to look better yet as its done.

Will be posting the series of pictures when its finished.

I am so glad I decided to move it were it actually sits inground now instead of going for the easier fix and putting it more in the sideyard were it sat all summer. This part of the yard is nicely planted and the will be "pond" looks really, really wonderful there even if I do say so myself.

My stocktank is black, 300 gallon about 7 feet by 4-5 feet and 26 inches high.

Please post the pictures!!!
I have a black fish pond which the edges are showing above the ground....not nice at all yet.
I want to see how yours looks with the rocks. I did actually buy rocks to put around the pond...but when they arrived, I changed my mind and made a new daylily bed with them instead. Not one for sticking to an original plan. Husband said "no more rocks till next year" apparently they are heavy!!! lol!!!! I had already moved them 10 times in my head...didn't feel any strain at all.

Will post them after we are done with the project.

Not much progress today. Went this morning to pick out the stones for the ones going round the top. Had to find a pallet of just the right size (mostly) plus that looked like what I wanted. Then they were going to deliver them in the afternoon and showed up around 4 PM. By the time they got unloaded and messed around with the rocks some, it was too late to get much of anything else done.

We did start to set some of the stones around for the overhang just to get the idea of the look and it just does look absolutely stunning. Plus since the concrete was dry from setting the rocks around the sidewalls I just filled up the pond with water now. It only had alittle on the bottom after we set it in the hole so I could see that it really was level.

Then I just couldn't convince the boss (this is the guy that does all my projects) not to set some big stones on one side like he wanted to do. After that he decided they needed to go all around and we would need another pallet of rocks. I pretty told him to get the rocks out of his head, there was going to be no more buying of rocks. You should see the yard there were we are working, its littered with rocks. Plus he is going to be changing his little (well not so little) rock arrangement back to the way I want it to be although he does not know that yet.

I would tell him what I wanted and then he would just say let me do it my way and you can look. So ok I looked, but its only going to be changed back to my way as I have the last vote.

Rita,It sounds like it will look really great when you finish it.Are you making a waterfall on one end of it?I love the sound of a waterfall or a fountain outside.To me,its so relaxing.Hated to give up mine,but wasn't going to fight snakes and racoons.Racoons got in mine along with the snakes and tore up my pretty water lilies and ate my goldfish I had in it.Can't wait to see the photos when you are finished with it.

Jean

No waterfall for now. The way I had it above ground before, I could not have a waterfall. Now with the way it is inground, I could do a waterfall if I want but if so, will be a future project to add it. My pump sends up a splash of water which gives the sound of running water so I do know what you mean about the sound of running water being a really nice addition to the garden.

I have more options to do things with it now that its inground than I did the way it was. And it looks so nice were I have it now, much nicer than were it used to be.

I have more work to do with the rock placement but my help is not coming back until Saturday. My idea is for the water to look like its a pool in a rock grotto. Its coming along and I think this is going to be one of my better projects.

Last fall I did a much, much smaller pond, 12 inches deep by 3 feet round preformed and put that inground upstairs at the edge of the woodsey shrub border that I created. It turned out so great and I just love it. I think thats what pushed me to get another and bigger set up this spring although I have wanted to put in a pond for years. Just never found one just right until this spring.

We have lots of racoons around here too but very fortunately, no snakes.

Ok, here come some pictures of the pond project. Remember its not finished yet.

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Started by digging big hole in ground.

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View from slightly further away so that you can see the setting picked for the pond.

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Then the stocktank was set down into the hole. After we checked again to make sure it was level, basicly a stacked stone wall was built around the pond using the same type of rocks that were used for the stacked stone wall in front of the house. The major difference in looks is that with the wall in the front the even edge of the wall shows from the street and the uneven other side is backfilled so you can not see it. Here the even edge is alligned even were it touches the pond which leaves the other side, which is the part that you see from a side view as all uneven. I really like this uneven look. Looks like a rock grotto to me (well, you have to use some immagination).

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Here you can see the whole thing from further back. Those rocks in front are just sitting there, not yet placed properly.

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View from the opposite direction. See what I mean about the uneven rocks. I like that effect.

This used up all the stones I had of a partial pallet left over from the building of the wall in front and another pallet delivered for this project.

After this the pallet of rock were delivered which were to be used for the caping stones to go around and cover the actual edge of the stocktank so it looked more like a real pond.

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Rocks strewn all over the place.

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Some rocks placed at the top.

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Partial edge placed. Needs more work. There it sits for now. Things are still going to be changed before its all finished.

It's going to look very awesome tucked in the trees like you did it. The rocks look really nice left uneven, like they are. It already looks great, even though it is not finished yet! Jan G.

Its going to look very nice when its finished.I like the setting behind it with the nice shrubery plants,too.When it will all look its best is in the spring when all the plants are blooming here and there.Can't wait to see it all finished with the pretty rocks around it.Its looking really nice already.

Jean

Newyorkrita,

Thanks for sharing pictures, that is really a cool
idea, and probably much more sturdy than having a pond liner
and all the work with laying that out.

I love the look of the stone. I see that you cemented them
together. Should be good for a nice sitting area to watch
the fish next season.

Mary

Your pod is awesome, I really wish I had one. I think it looks good even before the top rocks are added. Will your fish freeze during the winter there? Where are they now lol?

Dot

Yes, the stones around the wall part are cemented or else they would not be sturdy or stable enough. Those stones placed on top to hide the lip of the stocktank I don't want to cement in case I want to add a waterfall some time in the future.

The fish are in my garage in a 35 gallon above ground patio pond that I usually have in a section of shrub border. Its just there for the birds and wildlife. One of two ponds for that purpose that just has some feeder fish for mosq control and no pump or filtration. I had to put it in the garage so I could close the door at night and keep them away from the racoons. Otherwise the racoons would fish them out of that too easy access 35 gallon.

This stocktank has vertical sides which the racoons don't like, and at 26 inches is too deep for those pesky racoons to step in. If they try to go fishing from the sides, its plenty deep for the fish to simply get away from grabbing paws.

Yes, it would freeze in the winter but now that its inground should not freeze all the way. I still will have to use either a bubbler or stocktank heater (or both) to keep a hole in the ice for oxigen for the fish.

Last fall I put a small 3 feet by 12 inch deep pond inground at the upstairs part of the shrub border. It turned out so great and I just love the way that it looks. One of the things that inspired me to get another, bigger pond, as that one is for the birds and wildlife and this one for me to do a watergarden and have fish that the racoons can't easy get at.

Ooh, Rita, not sure if taking out that huge root for the tree was such a good idea. From looking at the pics & how close to the tree it is you removed a whole section with major roots. I don't want to be a bummer on this whole project, but each root takes care of certain branches in the crown of the tree & you might be experiencing some die back on it. On top of that those major roots are the tree's stability in wind storms. I am by no means an expert, but the info I get is from reading what the tree pros say on this sort of thing. It is one thing to remove feeder roots farther out from the tree because they will alway regrow, but the major ones you removed is another story. I would seek out an expert's advice on that to make sure you don't have a fallen tree in the near future. Better to be safe than sorry.

It does look really cool!!! I love the design!

I can't believe the three roots we removed could possibly cause that tree to fall. There are lots more still there. Since its already done there is nothing I can do about the idea that some branches might die. I like were the pond is and I doubt that I would have chosen not to put it there because of the tree. I have two of these big blue spruce in my front yard and I limbed both of them up this summer. One way of looking at it is if the darn thing croaks then there will be more sunlight for daylilies (althought its not my intention for the tree to go).

Like I said, I'm not an expert, it is just what I have read. Post the question over on the tree forum. There are a ton of very knowledgeable, horticultalists types that hang out over there. It is basically the same concept of having to stake a brand new tree, it doesn't have it's roots settled into the ground to prevent it from blowing over. Once it's roots getted settled you can remove the stakes because the roots are what is holding it into place. By removing the roots on that side, it doesn't have any strength to hold in in place on that side, so if the winds come in on a right angle...grant you, the winds would have to be very strong, but after certain storms I've seen fallen trees that did not have the missing root issue. I just think it is better to be safe than sorry & think you should just check into it is all. Limbing up trees is a whole different story, you are not doing anything to the roots. The only structural change you will see with the Spruce is that it will appear more droopy because you removed the bottom branches which support the top branches. People do it all the time, in fact I really kind of like that look & it's all over my neighborhood.

I love, love, LOVE the stacked uneven rocks. With the greenery around it, it looks like a natural pond except for the shape which the rocks can disguise. It is going to be a wonderful addition!
kay

Rita,

First of all I have to say that I am still giggling about your choice of location for your pond's final home... of course the shady place where nothing else (daylilies for example) would thrive versus a sunny patch of potential garden was the perfect placement... even if it meant a little more work now.

What a beautiful project! I can imagine how much happier you are to have it in the ground rather than above ground.. both for maintenance and asthetics.

I can envision the finished product and know that it will be stunning. The way you have the rocks done reminds me of a hidden spring... something glorious that you stumble across as you are walking through the forest. A wonderful addition to your already beautiful world.

I will give you a little food for thought... unfortunately from experience. You may want to lightly tack your top stones with cement as well... nothing totally commited so you can't break them loose later if you want to change something, but just enough to hold them firmly in case big bubba racoon gets to the very edge. I have a similar setup, although not so elaborate, and THOUGHT I made sure that all of the rock overhangs were placed securely. Between the dogs, cats, and coons, I have had to fish several rocks out of the bottom of my pond over the last few years. And my pond is shallow... I can't imagine getting one of those big things out of your deep one!!! It is amazing what kind of force a fuzzy little critter clinging on the edge of a rock trying to get a fish can create!

Do you do only goldfish, or have you tried Koi? I don't know how they do in that area, but your pond would be the perfect size for them.

Can't wait to see pics when it is no longer a work in progress!!

Julie

Rita.I hate to tell you this,but them Racoons can get in your pool and get the fish.I have a cement round pool in my front yard.Its 8 ft in diameter and 30 inches deep.I had big fantail goldfish in it that were all 6 to 10 inches long.Since its out in the sun all day,the water got pretty warm in it,so I had a lot of water hycinths in it for shade.My water level had dropped about 10 inches,so water wasn't all the way to the top.I had a 5 bowl fountain in the middle.Was so pretty.One night Racoons found it and got in it,ate 4 of the fish,tore up the plants,and they had a hard time getting back out of it,but they got out.I knew they had trouble getting out as I had a coating of green algea around the inside,and next day, found all the claw marks where they fought to climb back out.The pool sprung a leak a few years later,so don't use it no more,and made holes in the bottom so it won't hold water.I do hope they don't get in your pool,and you can injoy it and have fish in it to injoy, too.

Jean

The spot were I put the pond now is not totally shadey as I had some low matenience shrub roses there I had to move plus there are shrubs all around there which you can see from the pictures. Just too shady for daylilies and probably too shady for waterlilies. Since I don't grow water lilies its no big deal. As it turns out, I am so happy with the placement of this pond, I think its one of my better ideas!

It would never have looked as good and like it belonged if I had just sunk it were it was. Plus it would have totally killed the possibilty of putting in a gardenbed along that section. I had things growing along in there other years as I usually put my mexican sunflowers there but this year have them upstairs at one end of my veggie garden in front of a row of MARY TODD daylilies and between those daylilies and my tomato rows. That turned out not to be such a great spot although they love it and have grown 7 feet tall. But I can't see anything in back of them and can't even get in there they grew so big.

This year I put Zinnias in pots around the aboveground pond but next year I want to put the mexican sunflowers and some zinnias there inground. It would make a good place to put some daylilies and I am sure that eventually that will happen.

This fall and winter I am going to concentrate on buying some daylilies for the sections I have already gotten ready which is mostly in the front yard.

Forgot to say anything about the racoons. Those racoons just love my yard, they are here everynight. Possums come here at night too but they don't bother things like the racoons do. They pretty much left the stocktank alone above ground. Of course now it will be easier for them to just walk up to the ledge and look in. They don't like to go in water where their feet don't touch ground so unless one falls in, I should be ok. I also keep my waterlevel very high but I am sure they will do some mischief sooner or later.

Don't know about cementing those rocks, they are really big and very, very heavy. Of course if a racoon fell in and was trying to get out, who knows. But just standing at the edge, no problem. Those rocks don't move for me and I sure do weigh much more than any racoon. But my landscape guy thinks they should be cemented. But he also has no idea how I could had a waterfall if I cose to do that if I cement those rocks.

I have some Shubunkins which are a calico type of goldfish and a very few koi. The fish are all small, maybe around 4 inches. I had more fish but when I emptied out the pond to move it, many of them simply were not there. Never found them dead so who knows.

My smaller 35 gallon ponds I can only keep feeder fish because the racoons get in them and have fish dinner whenever they can catch them.

Rita,

If you ever find out what happened to the fish, post it here. We have never seen any evidence of raccoons, but we have lost many fish over the last few years. I always worry that I'll look out there and "Zeke", my enormous koi will be gone, but so far, so good.

"Zeke" is almost two feet long, and is proportional in size to his length. He was only about six inches long when I got him, but we've had him at least seven years. He comes to be fed whenever you walk up to the little pond. He is white with a fair amount of orange and a touch of gray.

There are several other fish in the pond including 4 fantail "golfish" that are a charcoal gray color. They were part of one of the first fry of little fish we had. Every year we get a bevy of new babies, but most don't survive.

kay

Rita - it looks fantastic!!! What a great idea to sink it!! And just in the right place too.

Just an FYI about those crazy raccoons - I have SEEN them (in my old pond) totally submerged, head first with only their back legs barely grasping the edge of the pond (rock)!! Using their front two legs to fish, with their head under water! Never under estimate a raccoon when sushi is on the line!

Here is a little 35 gallon pond I put in last fall . I liked it so much I went with the bigger project this year!

Here you can see the section of sideyard were the pond moved out of. The muddy section is were it used to be.

My side yard.

Heres the pond up and running with my fountain going.

Looking good, Rita! Really, really good!! You can relax this winter and think and dream about all the fruits of your labor that went into getting everything you set out to do and did this year!! Jan G.

Rita,

Very impressive! The fountain and the water lettuce? add the finishing touch.

Love it!

Julie

wow, Rita, I love your little 35 gallon pool with the pavers around it.That looks really "sharp" and I love your hanging basket too. Impatients? in it? The finished pool really looks nice.Hope the Racoons will leave it alone so you can injoy it.What a nice place to sit in the evening and listen to the water bubbling.BEAUTIFUL,RITA.

Jean

Yes, that hanging basket has Impatients.

Work is progressing on the pond again today. All the capping stones around the edges have been worked on and placed. Now they are putting some cement in certain spots so that they don't juggle and move. It is really turning out well and each little improvement makes the whole pond project look even better and better.

Getting just the right stones around the edges is not as easy as it might sound. A rock that did not look good at the end, moved over to the side of the pond, turns out to look just right. So you have to move them around until you get what you want. Since they are very big rocks and much too big for me to move, I deffinately had to have the work crew again on this project.

The raccoons won't need to jump in the pond to go fishing, the fish will respond to a body at the edge of the pond because the fish will think it is feeding time. I've lost a ton of fish this way and the lighter the fish, the easier for the raccoon to catch it.

Your pond will freeze even at that depth. You will need a stock tank heater to keep it open when the temps get down to the low 20's.

Brooke

Its finished!!!! Looks soooooo good. Its so late to take pictures as its in too much shadow but will take pics in good light hopefully tomorrow.

I know I need to do something to keep it from feeezing and my options are a stocktank type heater or a bubbler of some kind. Will see what I decide to do. As far as the racoons going fishing, at least the pond is deep enough for them to get away from any grabby paws.

Let me try to clarify about the raccoons - your fish will not be afraid of the raccoon - the fish will associate a body, regardless of size, as a food source - the fish will go to the edge of the pond and the raccoon will sit there and grab them. My fish respond to people, my dogs and my cats. Fish are dumb and raccoons are smart.

Good luck with your pond, they are very enjoyable and also a lot of work.

Brooke

Well, for those who gave me advice to cement the rocks around the edges in case of racoons trying to push them in or grabing onto them, I decided to go with cementing. Those rocks are not going anywhere.

My fish don't come when they see me and hardly would come if they saw a cat or racoon sitting at the edge of my pond. Still, now that the pond is inground, I do know that it will make it easier for possible fishing expeditions compaired to the way it was sitting aboveground.

Its drizzeling today so I doubt I will be getting any new pictures today. Maybe tomorrow.

Ok, here are the pictures of the finished project. I am so pleased with this I can just jump up and down. It looks like it really belongs there.

Coming up to the pond section from the side yard. This picture is a tease as you can not see the pond but you can see the newly added rock wall that now extends from the pond to the driveway.

The mudhole were the pond used to be got afew bucketfulls of dirt and got leveled out. I just need to plant some grass seed.

Closer view. You just get a glimse of the pond next to the extended (and new) rock wall.

Getting Closer.

The whole thing.

Closer.

Wall and Pond Closeup.

Back view of the pond with the rockwall around the back.

Looking back at the wall and pond.

It is supposed to look like a spring fed pool in a rock grotto. All finished.

OH MY GOODNESS, Rita.I love it.Its gorgeous sitting in there with them big trees and shrubery plants around it,and the rock wall.Such a beautiful setting for it.Well, as I see it, the only thing lacking is the fish and a confortable place to sit and injoy it.woww.

Jean

Rita, this was an ambitious project, with an exceptional, organized approach that led to an incredible finished result! It really does look like it always was and is supposed to be "right there"!!! With the exception of the few utility lines and a glimpse of the street through the trees and shrubs, you would never know that you are on a city lot. It has such a natural appeal that it looks as though you just stumbled upon it as you were walking through the woods and took a picture of it. When you can't tell that something new was just added to the landscaping, you know your plan worked with nature and the surroundings and is a resounding success!! Congratulations on your creative planning, hard work and beautiful success!! A lot of high end landscape designers could not have come up with something even close to this. Jan G.

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This is kind of backwards but here is an old picture from eary this summer after I first set up the stocktank as a watergarden in my sideyard. It just looks so much better now inground.

Oh, heck yes it does look so much better! It went from "humans put it there to look at and serve a purpose" to "you mean it was not always there from long ago and you just stumbled upon it one day"?? The naturalistic approach you used is so very wonderful.......ahhhh, to live where the trees were that way again! I lived in the bush for 17 years with nature's landscaping at the door. Outside and beauty was an extension of our living room. I don't miss being so remote from my family, but I do miss the trees, woods, rivers just a short walk away, wildlife everywhere around you that definitely commanded respect and awareness of every step you took and always remembering that the kids and I were in the bears, wolverine's, lynx's, and moose's "house", not ours. I walked up on some incredible remains of what the natives had built from many, many years ago in Alaska on a very few of my many wandering treks, and one of them (although having nothing to do with a pond) reminds me somewhat of what you designed in your yard, and I think that is why I was so taken with what you designed and accomplished. Jan G.

The pond all muched. This view is from near the front porch steps.

All Mulched. Picture taken today from the angle I normally shoot the pictures.

Rita,
I absolutely love the way that pond turned out! It is gorgeous!
kay

Rita, Wow is right. I just read through this adventure. The end result is fantastic and its a great location. Nothing like a shady pond area. It's outside air conditioning.
Just Beautiful and more room in the sun for the DL.
Cindy

Wow Rita that pond is gorgeous. I would love to put in a pond, but not into digging up my lawn to run electric to wherever I'd put it. Beautiful work!!! I'm green with envy! Enjoy it!