Old Cement Pond help

[HTH]

And again do see out the local pond club.

 

[Waterbug]

Waterbug - we generally call the house Georgian or Federal...but hey it was a housing development in the midwest in 1912 so there is not a lot of purity of style. Neither are we purists as you may have noticed from the house's interior. We're not recreating a 1912 house but it is nice to save old things if they work.

Unfortunately I only know two styles, Italianate and Craftsman. So I put pretty much every house that's remotely close into one of those categories.

Surprisingly the pond is as tight as a drum. I've drained it a few times in the last two years...even spent a long time cleaning all the muck out of the gravel. I too, am amazed that the maple tree hasn't sent a root through the side.

Small pond, thick concrete, can be self supporting. Meaning you could probably pull it out of the hole and it still wouldn't crack. When the concrete is thinner it depends on the soil for support and then there's problems.

We have some hardy lilies returning. In the end, we'll probably limp along again this season while we continue to seek ideas. I also had thought of elevating the floor with hog flooring. My understanding is that 4 feet is too deep for lilies and this would make leaf removal easier. Last year we had them on submerged plant stands. We did grow cannas in the shallow pond and will again this year. I need to get electricity near by and can work on some of the ideas presented to get at least a bit of water movement.

The hog floor wouldn't allow cleaning would it? I can't imagine pulling it out every year. How about concrete blocks as stands?

You could also plant medium sized lilies which can take 3-4' of water over the crown. You can lower the water in the spring to get them started faster and then raise the water level. Lot easier than changing the stands. My guess is 100 years ago they didn't have all the smaller, shallower, kinds we do today. Mostly people post about the smaller kinds. I think collectors like smaller kinds because they can have more.

I've read, but never tried this, that lilies produce more flowers when deeper, more toward their maximum depth.

Speaking of internet geekdom there are forums specifically for lilies or water plants which are mostly lilies. Hard to beat GardenWeb for that. And there are some people here who know a lot about lilies, or at least way more than I do for sure. If you start a new thread and put "lily pond" in the title you might get some of them to post.

 

[d56auction]

Hi Everyone,

You all gave me so many good ideas and helpful comments this spring. I thought I should let you know what we ultimately decided regarding our old lily pond. If you'll remember our concerns were water depth and water quality. The small elevated sides of the pond made it difficult for pets or small children to escape if they were to fall in. So...here we are...

We opted to remove the small sandstone sides and essentially have the pond at ground level with a bluestone surround and a modified fountain that pulls water from the pond and and circulates it back down with a good bit of splashing on the trip. I installed an expanded steel "floor" that raises the bottom to make the overall depth about 20" for safety and for better lily depth. Having some trouble uploading photos...but hopefully this will give you and idea. Water is brand new and still a bit cloudy.

Jack

 

[SE18]

Beautiful! I'd like to make a suggestions. Make a small ramp or stick from shore to pond for amphibians or animals that may fall into the pond. That way they can get out without drowning and not foul the water. More photos when you're done.