Waterfall reconstruction

 Neglected Pond and Waterfall

Over the winter the pond tends to get very neglected.The pump is switched off,the fish go into hibernation and so do we!Last summer we noticed the pool needed topping up weekly and we concluded that there was probably a leak in the liner for the waterfall and so we decided that the pond needed a bit of TLC!

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 The first job was to have a discussion with the illegal labour.He concurred with me that it was a good idea to completely remove the old water fall and start from scratch (Great minds think alike)

 Removing rocks and stones from the waterfall liner.

 Removing the liner.

 Cutting and digging out new steps for the waterfall.The pond filter can be seen at the top of the waterfall.

 I decided that it might be a good idea to cut down some of the trees shading the pond.When they were first planted they were described as "Dwarf conifers".Not so small now!They looked fine when first planted but now they are out of proportion to the pond and shed their leaves every year.Come June i have to wade in to the Stygian depths of the pond and clean the accumulated mud and silt out.Not my favourite job!

 Now you see it.

 Now you don't.

 More trees taken out above the waterfall.

 Stumps dug out.Donkey work !

 Laying the slabs of the waterfall

Unfortunately i got so engrossed in the building of the waterfall that i forgot to take photo's right the way through every stage.I like to document these projects but somehow you forget about it.The important thing is to get the job done!!

Because the liner became punctured, probably due to the burrowing activities of rats and moles i decided that i needed to build a layer of bricks for backing for the liner.Let the little critters try burrowing through that!.Once the foundation bricks had been laid  i then rolled  out the pvc liner on top and to the sides.The final stage was to silicone seal the sandstone paving slabs,risers steps and cheeks to one another and back fill the cheeks with bricks and finally rockery stone to disguise  the construction.

As You can see i had to drain the pond a little to build the final steps.

Cheeks in position but not cut to size.

 The foreman checking out the finished article.

 What do you think of the terracotta vases.Very classical !The final touches were to construct a new rockery and clear overgrown marginal plants from the edge of the pond.

O yes,and cut a final tree down.
                                               
                                                                Update

Gunnera
 Third year of growth on our Gunnera.V pleased with progress.

Petasites
I also planted a Petasites in a mini bog garden which i constructed just by the pond.These plants are very susceptible to dry conditions and attack by slugs and snails.I dug a pit about  15 inches deep, lined it with thick polythene ,perforated the liner for a little drainage ,backfilled the pit with well manured soil and then planted the 3 inch high Petasites.First year growth was up to 30 inch height and i hope by next year i will have a well established clump there.I am planning to construct another mini bog garden next year and plant them with Arum lilies!