Apart from our frames being used on garden beds, they have also been used to put covers over garden ponds, shading the plants and protecting any little swimmers that happen to be in there. There are many prefabricated pools you can get, but making one yourself is fairly easy. Here are some hints.
- Have a flat and level base, so plants growing in pots can sit flat on the ground, throughout the entire pool.
- When using concrete make sure it is thick – at least 10cm, with plenty of steel reinforcing, to ensure it does not crack and therefor leak, not what you want in a water pond.
- The depth should not be more than 60cm as most aquatic plants can’t live at greater depths.
- If installing a prefabricated pool, excavate down an extra 10cms and remove all bumps, sharp objects and roots and add a thick layer of sand.
- Then place the pool into position and wiggle till it sits comfortably and level.
- If you are not using a prefabricated pool, once you have added the sand to your pit, push in heavy duty black plastic, maybe doubled, to make it even stronger, and fold down the edges leaving 30cms overlapping the edges.
- Use some water and sand as you go to help push down the edges and keep them in place.
- Then fill with water and weigh down the overlap with rocks and other decoration – this is your time to play and to create the landscape around the pool.
- Ensure you have a good overhang somewhere, to protect fish from sun and predators.
- Plant in and around the pool to your tastes, location and area.
- Done!
A word on Composting
As part of our support and encouragement to Australian made and designed gardening products, let me introduce you to Monty Monitor, a state-of-the-art tool to help you manage your compost. A sleek design, just stick in your compost and it will continually track your composts health, transmitting the analysis to your phone and letting you know how it is going, if it needs attention, and what that attention should be. Smart, and Australian! You can see more at Monty Compost Co.
Let me know what you think of this.
Enjoy
Peter