Stream doesn't look natural

[Shdwdrgn]

I know I'm a little late to this thread, but for the OP and anyone else who follows through, I dug up some before-and-after shots from building my own pond, just to show the stark difference the plants will make. I also really hated the initial look of my pond after putting rocks around the edges, but I had a little previous experience with it and knew things would grow in.

Here's an initial shot taking in May 2011 as I was still laying rocks around the new pond. They are just kind of bare, out there in your face, looking way too pristine...

By October of that first year, I had a number of plants really filling in around the edges and breaking up the solid look of the rocks...

And finally, this is from July of 2012, only a year after all the plants were put in...

As you can tell, depending on the plants you use, you may not even be able to see your rocks in some places after the first year! Absolute placement of your rocks will not matter at all, however you do want to ensure that your rocks are placed solidly, so that animals stepping around around the edges don't push the rocks into the water.

Hope that helps ease your concerns?

 

[sissy]

creeping jenny fills in a lot of the bare areas and the yellow one and the green one blended look great
[sharedmedia=core:attachments:54801]I have money wort and it looks good with the brighter yellow and takes abuse

 

[mgmine]

Thanks for the pictures and Sissy for the plant ideas. I'll bookmark this to refer back to.

 

[cr8tivguy]

I found this stuff called "Rock-on-Roll" and am planning on using it to hide my liner in certain spots around my pond and bog.

http://www.rock-on-a-roll.com

It's kind of expensive but if it looks as cool as the photos, I'll be super happy with it.

I'll keep you posted.
Tim

 

[Shdwdrgn]

'Creeping jenny' and 'moneywort' are both the same plant. The only difference is what store you buy it at. This should be a fairly cheap plant, and I generally find sales around mid-Summer when you can start getting it for around $1 for 1" or 2" pots. Each plug will spread about a foot per year. That is the yellow you see in my pictures above. It will grow right into the water, and provides a place for fish to spray their eggs, cover for new fry, and the koi just love eating the stuff.

I also have periwinkle mixed in, which can be seen in the foreground of my last picture above. Another good one is stonecrop, which comes in various shades of red and green. And if you like edibles, strawberries do very well in among all the ground-cover. Add in some random tall grasses, and it really starts to get a natural feel to it. The key is variety... I recently counted up the different types of plants I have in and around my pond. I came up with 27 types of plants (not counting the multiple varieties I have of some). Yeah that may be a bit excessive, but I do like having a lot to look at, and my fish certainly appreciate the natural cover.

 

[GBBUDD]

While I understand this is a very old thread I wanted to comment on the fantastic natural looking stream that this is. Now imo they broke the first rule in naturalizing by using thin pieces of slate to create a flat area for the water to fall from .HOWEVER. they are not straight even constant from one level to the next. I'm referring to the third photo on this page. I also love the rocks in the middle of the stream. I think to many think they have to create an angled base for the water to run . While this is true having small shallow pools will give interest all while giving bubbles and current something to show across as they make there way down the stream.
The easiest way to get a stream to look natural is to vary the width and depth have a small pool off to the side of the stream now I'm talking just an area where the area is a foot long by 6 inches wide and is not a round but maybe very thin on one end and flares to the other. These little pockets are a great place for a marginal plant or just a sitting area for a frog









.

 

[brokensword]

While I understand this is a very old thread I wanted to comment on the fantastic natural looking stream that this is. Now imo they broke the first rule in naturalizing by using thin pieces of slate to create a flat area for the water to fall from .HOWEVER. they are not straight even constant from one level to the next. I'm referring to the third photo on this page. I also love the rocks in the middle of the stream. I think to many think they have to create an angled base for the water to run . While this is true having small shallow pools will give interest all while giving bubbles and current something to show across as they make there way down the stream.
The easiest way to get a stream to look natural is to vary the width and depth have a small pool off to the side of the stream now I'm talking just an area where the area is a foot long by 6 inches wide and is not a round but maybe very thin on one end and flares to the other. These little pockets are a great place for a marginal plant or just a sitting area for a frog









.

to which stream/pics are you referring? There's at least 3. If the last, wouldn't you red flag the 'necklace of pearl' border using the round stone as not natural? Nice, yes, but seems there should be more outliers and integration with rocks and surrounding landscape to negate the pearl look for naturalization purposes.

 

[GBBUDD]

Picky picky third picky on the page
Referring to the photos at the top of this page no string of pearls there . You know I'm less than a fan of baseball sized rocks all the same size shape and color stream widths all the same around 3 foot wide same depth if there is any at all no pools . The first group of photos looked well I see the one your referring to yea not my cup of tea

 

[brokensword]

Picky picky third picky on the page
Referring to the photos at the top of this page no string of pearls there . You know I'm less than a fan of baseball sized rocks all the same size shape and color stream widths all the same around 3 foot wide same depth if there is any at all no pools . The first group of photos looked well I see the one your referring to yea not my cup of tea

I wish that poster had an overview so I could see the surrounding landscape and how well they feathered the stream out. I THOUGHT that was what you were referring to, but DO see the bordering rocks/plants/landscape as textured and varied--a good thing. I actually don't mind the stair-step effect as it still looks natural to my eyes. I think its the type of rock and the weathered look it brings.

 

[GBBUDD]

I actually don't mind the stair-step effect as it still looks natural to my eyes. I think its the type of rock and the weathered look it brings.

That was the hole point . not just a square edge of thin slate