Converting an in-ground pool to a garden pond

[addy1]

My home town rockville was out in the sticks, farm land. Now you can walk on roofs to get to DC (well almost lol)

 

[michey1st]

I'm becoming a senior citizen, but I still remember ........um.....what was the question? Oh, yeah! SS! If you leave the old Hecht building, go out Colesville road, you'll go past Mrs Kay's Toll House, across Sligo Creek, and pretty soon come to Lieghton Ave. Turn right, go to the first through st. That should be Worth Ave. turn left and 9407 was the number. Strangely, our phone number was "Shepard 9407". When I was there Colesville Rd was a two lane road. When you got to Four Corners, that's exactly what it was with a stop sign...not even a light. Bladensburg Rd was also just two lanes and wasn't split by the church. I went to Montgomery Jr High until we left, and would have gone to Blair HS. There used to be a bowling alley at Four Corners where I worked when I could setting pins. There was no automatic pin setters then. We'd run two alleys, set the pins then hop out of the pit before the ball came. A lot of things come back to me, but we left there in '56. The last time I was back there, the streets were smaller, the houses closer, and only one family was still there that I knew. Within a block there were no less than eight to ten kids, (a couple from Baden St.) and during the summer we'd play hide and seek, in winter we'd sled down the middle of the street. We walked to school and there was a dress code then. One day I forgot to put on my belt, (a requirement,) I got busted sometime middle morning during a class change, and was sent home to get it. I walked home, and as I was going up the steps, mom came out the front door, handed me my belt and said "Better get going." No rest for the weary!

You actually grew up pretty close to me! Bladensburg Road is now University Blvd. If you continue up Colesville, pass University/Bladensurg, the neighborhood on the left is me! Of course, my house wasn't built until a few years after you left, but WOW, your memory is pretty spot on of the area! This is so cool, lol!

If you're still interested in keeping up with the old hood, here's a blog by a local high school kid that is a bit of a history nut: http://aroundfourcorners.blogspot.com/. Here's a fascinating story he recently did about some murders that occurred around 1936: http://aroundfourcorners.blogspot.com/2015/01/1936-four-corners-murder.html Makes for a thrilling read!

Also, there's a Woodmoor/4 corners facebook group where lots of people talk about growing up "back in the day" in the area: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Woodmoor4Corners/

There's a big old, beautiful farmhouse down bladensburg, right on Dennis Avenue that is over 100 years old. Apparently, it's the original homestead of the family that owned my whole neighborhood. Rosemont something? Anywho, it's on 2 acres (unheard of in this part of town) and recently went up for sale. Because of all the renovations that have been done over the years, it doesn't count as a historical property, so it was bought up by a developer and it's slated for teardown to be replaced by 6 mcmansions. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

But I digress! When can I expect my pergola?

 

[Timothy]

How cool is that?! I went to the blog and clicked on the pictures. The very first one showed Four Corners as I remembered it. I couldn't get the image large enough to date it by cars or trucks, but as the caption said "'50's". Looking at the shopping center, the bowling alley was (I think) the second building from the left. Across the road where the gas station is, there's three or four buildings that extend out Colesville. I don't remember what the first building was, but the second one was "Naylor's Seafood Restaurant". As it happens, Naylor's lived across the street from us on Worth Ave. They had a daughter named Valerie. I loved Valerie. Valerie didn't love me. Dammit! (We're talking 11-12 years old here.)
Thank you for the links! I'll have to read them.

As for the pergola, let me check my schedule.................

Addy, I remember when Rockville was boonies too! It seemed like a long way from SS then, but today is probably minutes.

Does anybody remember Glen Echo? It had a wooden roller coaster and I distinctly remember my dad taking me on my first coaster ride. When the train caught on the drive chain and was ratcheting up the hill, I pleaded, I begged, I promised anything, just stop this thing and let me off! Just stop, I'll climb down the framing! Stop! They didn't. I.was.petrified!

 

[addy1]

Addy, I remember when Rockville was boonies too! It seemed like a long way from SS then, but today is probably minutes.

My dad rode the train to work, he worked downtown Rockville, we did not have a car.

I don't do roller coasters have never liked them

 

[Tula]

Wow, just catching up on this....what a beautiful pond and bog.....such a beautiful setting!!!

 

[Timothy]

Wow, just catching up on this....what a beautiful pond and bog.....such a beautiful setting!!!

Thank you Tula. As mentioned above, it's a perpetual work-in-progress, but enjoyable.

Today we worked around the new structure moving rocks around to create a small rock garden, and planted a bunch of stuff around the pergola. Clematis, (climb-at-us) hydrangea's, and several I don't remember. I'll post a photo of today's results in a day or two. Half of the plants are a little shocked - as am I. I think it was the rocks that made me wilt........I know it was the rocks!

While I was taking a well deserved break, I spied what I thought was a new tenant. I carefully got up and slowly moved to a better vantage point and indeed! There's a turtle that has found our pond after five years. There was no place for it to exit so I had to excuse myself from the agenda and build a turtle ramp. I just hope it finds it which I'm pretty sure it will. I've seen it's head poke up among the lily's, around the islands, and several different places so sooner or later the ramp will become apparent.

Turtle exit....

(to the right of the mermaid for those that only saw the mermaid.)

 

[Tula]

Well, hello Mr. Turtle....what a cute little fella

 

[CountryEscape]

Wow, good sized turtle. Looks like a Painted turtle, huh? I get them each year since I have a farm pond in my pasture. I love the turtles, since they don't eat the fish. I saw a frog in one of your earlier pics, too.
Love your new pergola, and reading your posts. You are very witty, and I enjoy that type of reading, plus you are a very good writer. Keep up the good work, both in writing, and work. I agree, my yards and ponds should be called Therapy, too. Super impressed with everything. I'd love to have that size of a pond, but alas, I will be satisfied with what I have. Your goldfish will soon be 24" long, too!

 

[Timothy]

Thank you Country! I'm flattered to say the least.
I can't claim to have designed the pond size. It was the initial swimming pool that determined that, and I honestly can't claim to have had the purist of motives in the conversion. The pool maintenance was a nuisance for sure, and coupled with that and my 78 degree threshold of even thinking about getting in the thing, the costs and enjoyment returns were minimal.
I must confess I had additional incentive. I enjoy building and running radio controlled boats as well. I sometimes refer to the pond as "The Small Boat Test Facility". (SBTF). Our winters are long and this provides building time while everything outside sleeps under three feet of snow and ice.
Regardless of the activity, whether tending to the gardens, expanding the "Inn", building model boats, or entertaining friends in the evening, it seems to all center around the pond. (BTW, we have discovered another thing in the bog's favor...it seems mint thrives in the corner closest to where we sit in the evening, and provides absolutely fresh leaves for the mojito's!)
Here's a couple images of my attempts at model building.
This was a commision;

This one is 17" long. I named it "Sun Of Jamaica" because it seemed to fit in a moody, contrary sort of way.
(And, there's that cheeky mermaid again.)

This is one of my favorites, and thankfully one of the largest. This is "Nonesuch" as there are no plans, just a free-lance add on until it's done. (Still adding....) You mentioned frogs.......your attention is invited to the aft starboard quarter of the last image.

 

[CountryEscape]

Wow, those boats are unbelievable with detail! I bet you really enjoy making them, it shows! Haha, funny, that frog was waiting for you to start the motor and take him for a cruise.
I found a patch of some type of mint growing in an area that the previous owners had put railroad ties around at old soft maple tree. I had been spraying it because of all the weeds that grew, never figured out what I wanted to grow. This year, IF I sprayed it, must have been before the mint started growing and now that's all that is in the bed, save for one clump of grass in one corner. I have no idea why no other weeds are growing there, but it's cool. Pretty white flowers and all. But, I didn't plant it, no idea how it got there, as I've been here almost 6 years, and never noticed it before. Maybe I always sprayed it to kill it before it got tall enough to know what it was. I know now, and will leave it be. Here it is. Not sure how I could ever have missed it in the past! It's at least 3' tall.

 

[addy1]

Nice boats

CE mint makes great tea and the bees love it!

 

[CountryEscape]

I saw bumblebees on it when I took that pic! I have learned about so many plants in the last 5 years, since I bought my house. Guess I either never knew about mint, or it was never tall enough for me to know what it was. Can't believe it has survived being round-up sprayed over the last few years, though. Guess it's really tough to kill, but it's allowed to stay! I have cat mint in my yard, but it has blue/purple flowers. I have no idea where the white flowers and tall mint ever came from.

 

[michey1st]

Timothy, your boats are WONDERFUL!!!!!

 

[Lisak1]

Guess it's really tough to kill

That should be on the plant tag for any mint that's sold!

 

[Timothy]

It's been a little while since I've updated the progress and made a determination on if the bog was worth the effort. I was actually waiting for the pond water to warm up to pass final judgement. Historically, as most of you know, the ponds start out clear in the spring, then cloud up a little (or a lot in our case!) during the warmer days as pollen and algae get into water. I discovered here on the GP site in another thread very recently that my bog is slightly under-size compared to the pond. Nevertheless, it is working better than I had hoped. Those of you who have always had clear pond water have been deprived of the satisfaction of seeing a grand transformation in clarity!
In the images below it may not look spectacular, but from where we've been in the past, it is gratifying to us to see how far the water has come.
The water is three feet deep in this area;

Needless to say, I am a believer! I'm thinking of creating another smaller bog behind the waterfall which could make up some more filtering area, plus add a little more interest to the area.
This was the garden area this morning......bees, dragonflies, birds, and a cup of coffee....

There should be a subtle notice in the site's header to the effect "Caution, Ponding May Become Addictive"