Edging a pond

[Nodge]

I've recently put a pond in the garden using a butyl liner. As it is on a slope, part of it had to be raised above the lawn to get it level and I used those log on a roll things to step up from the lawn to the pond level. It's now full of water and I've trimmed the liner to the wooden edging and then tucked it back down into the earth. So from the eding in, I now have a couple of inches of earth, then a couple of inches of liner before the water. It all looks a bit bare at the moment and we've just bought a bag of pieces of slate to hide the exposed bit of liner. It looks very artificial though and I want a more natural look. And there are still bits of liner showing. Is there some other material I can use to cover the edge with. I think it needs to be flexible to hang down just into the water to completely cover the liner. I'm thinking along the lines of cutting up some grass turves to put round the edges. Anyone got any other suggestions?

Thanks

Nodge

[keith_765]

You would be better off putting a row of bricks around on top of the liner and another row in front and a double row on top of the first. Try to keep the liner hid from sun light and above the grass level. If the grass is above the liner then there is a chance of the grass clippings when being cut being shot into the pond water.

Keith

[John]

In article , Nodge writes

We have found that slates or natural stone crazy paving is the best - make sure you have plenty of stone on a firm base or the cats, etc. tend to tip them in. Whilst it starts a bit bare, if you plant a few rockery type plants in the gaps or creeping plants, it very soon looks natural.

[The Wanderer]

I'd second that. Our ponds are edged with a natural stone crazy paving, all firmly set on a bed of concrete. Use fairly large pieces of stone and you can then ease them out over the edge of the pond for an inch or two, and don't be stingy with the concrete bedding. Once that goes off the paving is well and truly anchored into place.

Our ponds are in a longish and narrow part of the garden, with flower/shrub borders and the rockery of the waterfall all in fairly close proximity. A mistake we did make was to use about 6" of pea shingle over a membrane on regular pathways. The edges of the pathways are fairly well defined by the borders and the pond edges. Pea shingle is fine for areas that aren't going to be trodden on frequently, but it's a real PITA on the pathways. It tends to scuff up; you're forever kicking bits into the pond; if you kneel down to get to the pond or the border, you find your feet tend to push the stuff up into heaps and expose the membrane. :-(

When we get around to doing a few alterations in that part of the garden, the pea shingle will be replaced with more crazy paving.

[John]

< snip>

We have put bark chips down on membrane - they work well - just top them up each season with a couple of bags of the "rustic" type when they are on special offer!!

[Geoff Beale]

Not only that, but turves in contact with the water are likely to lower the pond water level by capillary attraction. They will also be a bugger to keep neat. Use something non-porous like rocks to cover the edge of the liner.

[robgraham]

And I would add a third to that, but raise my own question on the concrete / mortar for the bedding - I think I laid concrete and then bedded the crazy paving on that, but I've noticed this year that several stones near the water fall feed to the pond have lifted. I suspect frost action and water splashing from the fall as all the stones the water flows over are OK but a couple on the side have become loose.

How do you make mortar totally waterproof and tolerant of frost.

Rob

[John]

In article , robgraham writes

We have two waterfalls in our stream consisting of flat stones bedded on mortar on the butyl liner. I have tried various techniques to make them last from adding PVA to the mix, painting with a waterproofing agent, etc. None of them work and I am resigned to replacing the waterfalls every 2-3 years when the mortar rots/washes away (since the green algae gets pretty thick by then it is not much of a problem!).