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With the pond fully excavated,
we will look for and remove any
rocks or roots that remain in the
hole. A geo-textile underlayment
is installed over the pond area to
help protect the pond liner from
punctures. Then we install a
fish-safe EPDM rubber liner over
the underlayment. Starting in the
bottom of the pond, we pull the liner
in to conform to the shelves and
contours of the pond.
Once the pond liner is in place,
we can begin placing boulders along
the vertical walls of each shelf,
starting at the bottom. We use a
variety of shapes and sizes to help
us fit each boulder in place, much
like building a retaining wall.
We love our waterfalls, so we
typically identify and set aside
some larger boulders that we will
want to use to frame each side of
our waterfall. We also set aside a
boulder we think will work well as
a “spillway” stone. This will be the
stone that the water will flow over to
create the waterfall. These boulders
will be installed as we rock in the
rest of the pond. With all of the
boulders installed, we then cover
the pond shelves with gravel.
Gravel is an important component
of the pond. It helps hide the liner,
stabilize the larger boulders and
also provide added surface area for
beneficial bacteria to colonize. All of
this will help keep your pond looking
clean and beautiful.
A pond can look great on its own,
but it’s also important for it to blend
in with the surroundings. This is
where edge treatment comes into
play. We like to use a variety of
techniques and materials to achieve
as natural a look as possible. The
use of boulders to create retaining
walls helps us extend and soften
the slopes of the berms around your
waterfall. Driftwood, logs, bark,
moss, mulch and plant material
can all be used to transition from
the water garden to the terrestrial
garden space.Marginal water plants and lilies
help soften the look and feel of the
pond as well as play an essential
role in the health of the ecosystem
pond. Planting shrubs and other
terrestrial plants along the berms
helps further conceal the BioFalls
and skimmer and truly naturalize
the space.
To save time, we like to fill the
pond while we are working on some
of the edge treatment and terrestrial
landscaping. This is important,
as we may need to rinse and pump
out any dirt, dust and debris that
may have been on the boulders and
gravel we installed.
After the pond has been rinsed
and filled up comes our favourite
part of all: turning it on. Watching
the waterfall begin to flow over the
rocks, into the pond, and listening to
the calming sound of flowing water
is truly satisfying. HA geo-textile underlayment is installed over the pond to help protect the pond liner. A variety of boulder shapes and
sizes are added, including a spillway stone for the waterfall.
COURTESY OF GENOSCAPE