Converting an in-ground pool to a garden pond

[addy1]

I do have a couple of plants at the end of the bog that are trying to escape though.......

A lot of mine have escaped, they are in the stream, along the back fence, in the slope garden, they all seem to grow by seeds and runners. They either get to stay or get mowed down. I need to clean out part of the stream, creeping jenny has grown to much and is diverting some water................

Luckily, for me, my gardening style is not OCD, what grows gets to grow where it is.

Your pond and bog and flowers look great Tim

 

[Timothy]

They ARE hollyhocks!!! Gorgeous.

Thank you Country! The only thing we do to help our plants along is in the initial planting, they get put in planting soil with a sprinkle of Osmocote. I use that with everything, and it doesn't burn the roots.

Those are gorgeous hollyhocks! I stopped trying with them years ago. I don't know if it's the new hybrids or what, but I can't find a variety that will stand on it's own. And I'm not into propping anybody up! My grandmothers both grew beautiful hollyhocks next to their front doors, and I would love to have them in my garden. Maybe time to try again...


Edited to add: Hollyhocks are biennial - they bloom the second year. However, they are prolific self seeders, so you many have blooms every year if you leave the bed undisturbed. This year's seeds won't flower next year, but last year's will... if that makes any sense!

Thank you Lisa. If you like I can try to find out where these came from, and/or collect some seeds and send them along providing I can recognize the seeds.
They seem to be pretty hardy as they've withstood several rain/wind storms this year with no assistance from us. I have noticed they attract the bumble bees more than any other flower in the garden.

..........

Luckily, for me, my gardening style is not OCD, what grows gets to grow where it is.

Your pond and bog and flowers look great Tim

Thank you Addy.
My gardening style is much the same as your's. I extend my desire for the "natural look" to the door yard as well, and keep the yard mowed, but not groomed. I may trim with the weed wacker every third mowing. I call it the "controlled over-grown look".

 

[addy1]

I do zero weed wacking too hard on my arms and back. If the mower can't chop it it grows, So over the years I have planted the fence lines rather than try to wack them. It just grows back...............

 

[haver79]

Just catching up on this thread. Tim your pond and bog look fantastic. And your boats are very cool. Sounds like a great winter hobby.

 

[Lisak1]

collect some seeds and send them along providing I can recognize the seeds.

I would LOVE that! Let me know if you have any success! thanks!

 

[Timothy]

I do zero weed wacking too hard on my arms and back. If the mower can't chop it it grows, So over the years I have planted the fence lines rather than try to wack them. It just grows back...............

This is the same thing I've done in the front door yard. There's a "wild" zone between the road and the yard that I don't mow or wack which provides a buffer zone. Our side yards are bounded by woods, so no problem there.

Just catching up on this thread. Tim your pond and bog look fantastic. And your boats are very cool. Sounds like a great winter hobby.

Thank you Haver! It's nice to be able to do the physical aspect of the pond and bog during the warmer seasons, but even though winter isn't my favorite season, I use it as an excuse to hibernate and the models go a long way toward easing the "cabin fever".

I would LOVE that! Let me know if you have any success! thanks!

Lisa, I've done some research and can now recognize the seed pods! This fall providing no pests invade the 'hocks, I'll gather up a bunch and make them available.

Tim

 

[Chelseabreeze]

Hi Timothy. I am new here. I have read your experience with great interest. Congrats on a beautiful environment you have created. I have also just finished the conversion of my 16x32 inground swimming pool to an organic swimming pond. Mine is not yet as full of plants, but it has turned out well. It is especially interesting how different approaches can be applied. I used an air compressor driven water circulation system. I just posted my experience with pics in this thread if you care to know. Are you regularly swimming in your pond?
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/my-organic-garden-swimming-pond.17687/

 

[Timothy]

Hi Timothy. I am new here. I have read your experience with great interest. Congrats on a beautiful environment you have created. I have also just finished the conversion of my 16x32 inground swimming pool to an organic swimming pond. Mine is not yet as full of plants, but it has turned out well. It is especially interesting how different approaches can be applied. I used an air compressor driven water circulation system. I just posted my experience with pics in this thread if you care to know. Are you regularly swimming in your pond?
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/threads/my-organic-garden-swimming-pond.17687/

Thank you Chelsea. I read your link and particularly liked the way you expanded your original pool footprint. Our pool was a metal form and vermiculite sheets to support a vinyl liner. Much easier to convert with a new liner in the original size, rather then lower the original steel walls and girders to create the shallower area's on the perimeter, although I like the concept very much. (Being basically lazy, less is more in my case!)
I don't swim in our pond. It would be hypocritical as my initial argument to create a pond from the pool was the water temperature seldom reached my comfort zone. With the pond water volume being less than one third the original pool volume, the water temps have increased to above my personal threshold, but that has remained a mute point in pond conversations. I don't want to have to justify why I would swim in the pond, particularly after having destroyed a perfectly good swimming pool. My rationale would not stand up to my wife's scrutiny, so I just content myself with sitting in the "Inn" with an adult beverage feeling smug and watching all the other critters swimming around.

 

[Timothy]

Hello all!
It's been a few days, (years?) since I've visited this thread although I have stopped in occasionally to see what's going on.

What prompted this visit was an inquiry on turning a swimming pool into a pond/water garden. It's been several years since we converted ours by more or less just freelancing. No fancy plan, just a desire and a "wing-it" sort of project with a shovel and wheel barrow plus a lot of input and help from the folks on this site.

With an appreciative nod to those that helped us I thought I'd provide some photos of our conversion and show how the project has matured without a lot of sophistication, just muddling through.

 

[TJeep_1999]

Glad you posted again. It bumped up the thread to the top of the list and I was able to check out the build from start to finish. I'm typically not a fan of pool to pond conversions, but you did a fantastic job blending it into the environment. I love the deck/pier look on the side which seems especially fitting with your model boats. Job well done and thank you for sharing!

 

[Timothy]

Thank you for the positive comments!
Being September (the best time of the year,) it won't be long before we have to start thinking about shifting into fall/winter mode, but we did have several lunches, neighbors stop by, and hours of time just enjoying the quiet and "hiding in plain sight" this season.