Just wanted to comment and say that your whole adventure with this pond has been a very interesting read :) It's so cool that you updated with the latest pond photos. It's exciting to read and it looks like everything is going to turn out great!!

Final pictures will come out tomorrow. We're installing the new grass and we put some bigger trees in (to include magnolias).

I literally can not wait! It's been great fun to follow your project. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

Before I post the final pictures tomorrow, I wanted to post my before pictures so that you can see what we started with. It was a waterlogged space with a concrete slab and grass patches

FINISHED PRODUCT.

My verdict: Exactly what I wanted. I love it!!

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Ivie, you must be thrilled! It looks beautiful, and what a transformation from the uninviting pond you started with. Thank you for posting all the photos. I totally agree with PoolSupply: it has been a treat to watch your project come together!!! Congratulations!

Looks beautiful! And I'm happy that you finally got your dream backyard (even if after a bit of a struggle). Now you can sit back and enjoy your pond and greenery :)

Ivie, I'm glad you finally got the garden you wanted! It looks like you have some great plant choices and the before and after shots will be inspiration for others to transform their boring gardens into their own sanctuary. One final tip is to make sure your new plants get adequate water. It takes a season for your new plants to put down roots and then they should be firmly established. Enjoy your new garden!

Wow! You've ended up with something really lovely to enjoy. I'm so happy for you!

Glenna, I definitely want to keep it maintained so my landscaper will be maintaining my yard and we also programmed the sprinkler system so that they get adeqate water. I know the trees and plants will still grow in some so I know in about a year or two, it will look completely different.

Last updates....

Decided to sprouce up the front a little with a raised bed. The first picture is the before and now what it looks like after. I put flowers leading up the driveway and solar lights too. It's very pretty. Im satisfied :)

Nice recovery from the c-ment pond. However no matter what you do, the whole yard design is wrong. BIg yard with a small crappy pond in the corner.

The correct fix would have been to remove the c-ment pond and design a larger pond that centers the yard and then landscape around it.

If I bought your house, I would deduct $40,000 off the final price and tear it up and redo.

Thanks for your opinion koilover but I designed it the way I wanted it and I like it better in the corner. And nope, I wouldn't deduct 40,000 of my sale price for anyone :)

I love that you spent some thought and money on landscaping. Too many American yards are barren, boring stretches of grass.

I really love what you've done with both the front and back. Your house looks wonderful :)

Thank you guys so much!!! The yard is doing wonderfully... I really enjoy being out there. I'm still going to tweak somethings a little as the new layout requires my sprinkler system to be reset and I would like to work on putting a few potted plants behind my pond... and of course patio furniture. But its doing very well and I have no regrets :)

Beautiful yard! Well done, nice recovery and it is SO nice to see all the helpful wonderful positive comments!!!

Thank you Emily. I appreciate you deleting the additional commentary. I have been on Houzz for about a year and I have never seen a designer being that rude or negative.

It's not all bad. Everything looks good but the pond in the corner. I mean can you even hear the water that far away?

I would have had the pond in the center with the patio edging up to it. Made it alittle larger & then landscaped around it.

I can hear the water very well believe it or not. I chose to put the pond where it was for a specific reason. In my last house, I had a pool and the pool was the focal point of my backyard. I ended up selling the house because it was a bigger hassle than it was worth to me, I hated the pool, and I decided that I love the sound of water not necessarily the view of it. Besides, I have a dog and she needs the backyard space to roam. I dont need Bella having any issues with the pond breaking up my backyard. I didnt want my pond to be the focal part of my backyard but a mere enhancement or addition. The plants are the focal part of my backyard with the sound of water (from my pond) as a nice backdrop. That was my reasoning hence why it is in the corner. My backyard is not that big because from where the chairs are, I am about five feet away from my pond (look at the last of the pictures I posted... the top right picture).

Ok then a pond is not what you needed. Just a nice waterfall set up that recycled the water would work. You now have a skimmer set up with a biofilter which will work with fish. Did you want fish?

I looked at the photos, and you are closer to the pond then I first thought.

I said in my first post "nice recovery", but It's just not the design I would have gone with.

Yes I want fish but I dont have any right now. I want to see how it works this first year having a pond and then I will get fish.

Lyare, the yard looks lovely, it meets your needs and it greatly enhances your home. That is what is important. That is ALL that needs to be said. Congratulations on making a lovely silk purse out of a sow's ear - you'd never know it!

OH, nice house, patio, trees etc, but please put a paint job on that fence.

The poster already said the paint job is phase 2. Sometimes there is just too much to do all at once and funds, time and emotional energy is at a standstill.

Major improvements from first landscapers work. I love putting water plants in containers and creating a look that seems natural. Maybe you can add some water plants in the pond. I love lilies and Corkscrew Rush. Enjoy!

I agree with koilover...stain the fence It kills the whole look.

May I add a P S to Emily Hurley's comment? lyare, don't be hurt by criticism made by someone who cannot present credentials or even post a profile. Negative, mean remarks smack of passive aggressive behavior. This forum is for fun, help, constructive ideas, support and, very often, the generous contributions of the authentic professional.

As someone who knows people with houses in that area, this very much looks like the type of backyard that would appeal. And, again, knowing people in that area - they can be sticklers on splitting new fence costs. Great improvement. ;)

Remember a feature needs to look it was already there naturally, not look like it was put it there foreign to the space....sure your kids did not go out there and make a mud pond for their pet turtle? lol

If the pond turned out like this i really want now to SEE THE REST OF HIS/HER WORK.......

You always want to see a drawing or pic of your contractors vision....beans are not all the same.....i can invite you over for beans but you think of your favorite pintos but i mean green......communication is the key. Always pull pics of what you want and present to anyone doing any work for you so you are on same page dont let them dictate what your pond will end up looking like after all you are paying the bill and having to live with or redo their work.

For contact information: http://www.rollingplanter.com or here on Houzz: http://www.houzz.com/pro/tetonluft/rollingplantercom

@koilover......your opinion is your opinion and that's fine. However, do not be negative to someone because theirs is different. I agree with the homeowner...I wouldn't drop my price $40,000 for anyone because they didn't "agree" with my placements. I would tell them to move on. The backyard turned out beautiful, especially because it makes the homeowner happy! I'm sure it would offend you if someone ask you to drop the price because of those reasons! She didn't ask for negative comments, only helpful ones. The fence does not detract from the overall effect. It fades into the background. It will be a gorgeous yard when the plantings are grown! There, that's MY OPINION!!!!!

Hello everyone I am new to Houzz and was reading on this post. I have attached some pics below of a pond we did, the homeowners wanted the whole yard converted to a place of tranquility and here is what I came up with. The pond is deep enough for fish which they have and the owners absolutely love it. Since I finally caught up with all the post your back yard is lovely.

@AMA Landscape welcome; the poster received a tremendous amount of responses and her issue was not only fixed and resolved, but the yard looks absolutely beautiful. See the "after" pictures above (Iyare I postings).... Great job! I love Houzz... I think this is going to be the next best interior/exterior decorating website/forum online. Watch out HGTV!!!! LOL. Houzzz "Digtal Imaging by Tina"

@AMA Landscape... Great job on the landscape. Is there anyway you could soften the fence. It has such a stockade feeling. Could the fence be white washed? Could ivy or other vines been established on it. Something looks very unfinished here...

Your yard looks like night and day between what the first incompetent landscaper did and what you have now. It looks wonderful now. By the way, I think everyone should have their own say about what they want to do on their own property and I think anyone looking to buy your house would be thrilled to have the pond. Enjoy it!

Hello RollingPlanter, I agree but we were working with a budget. on my original design I have decorative lattice along the back fence with crossover vines. The homeowner has stated they did do that so I am anxious to see it come Spring once everything starts growing. On the opposite side of the property I planted Red Tip Photinias to soften the fence so it looks nice. They also added there patio furniture on the flagstone area. Thanks for the feedback.

The pond outline reemphasizes the the fence line; you need to visually break this with punctuated plants and and rock placements.... undulating laterally and layered vertically. Think in scaling terms: overstory, understory and groung cover. Large rocks, cobbles and pebbles. Create three points of separate yet cohesive interest. Less is better.....psychologically an easy read and consequently calming.

looks like he ran out of ideas when he came to the pond. We were called to fix this from another company in town .This was there idea of a pond. We redesigned it using the same material on site except for the pond pump.

Redesign

Having trouble loading the redesign sorry.

The corner-of-the-house water feature appears to be right up against the brickwork - not a good idea if it causes rain (or snow?) to remain against the foundation. Even egg-sized stones which are sometimes used to landscape this margin should be 6"-8" below basement window sills and weep-holes in the brickwork.
Safety bylaws, even for a shallow pond, should be required reading. A pondless waterfall might suit some gardeners. The falling water passes through 1 or 2 filters and collects in a sunken tank with a grill on top and which is covered with assorted rocks. It also minimizes mosquito problems :)

Beautiful yard.............so glad that you posted pics of the final results :)

I agree with millieonare.The contractor should have taken that into account but did even worse , not only was the water getting to the foundation but all the piles of stone where pitched towards the foundation . The top resevoir hab a 90 to 100 pound flat stone as the cover poorly place also pitching towards the foundation .To top it off the home owners are in thier late 60, and had to navigate to the top of this heap of loose rocks only giving them less than 12" of walking space to the top . let alone lift a 100 pound rock . I was so upset with what they did i took it all apart and tard the walls to the foudation both sides ,installed a 6" ftooter both sides installed block in porland cement to set the stone steps to the top and made it 24" width both sides .We built them solid steps to the top in the same stone ptiched to the pond side by 1"all stones away from the foundation , sealed all gaps to brick wall with silicone and gave them a lighter cover about 25 pounds. We incressed the water flow and added another fall for better sound and visual interest .finally cleaning out the pound from over grown plants.They did'nt even know they had 12 fish in the pond. We did not build this thing we only made it safe and better for them. MR.Robets was very happy.

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