As you know by now, I have a huge front yard. It now has 16-18 trees in various stages of growth, and assorted shrubs, but it needs just a little ... something. Last spring, someone suggested a pond, and I knew at once that's what was missing.
I've figured out where it will go, and how to divert the water that runs across the driveway into it, as well as the water from the nearest drainspout. This week, I had a pond expert come out so I could get a reality check on my idea.
My reality check bounced.
I want a large pond, deep enough that fish won't freeze in the winter, with a bog to act as a natural filter. This is very do-able, according to all I've read, and dovetails nicely with my concept of a wildlife-friendly yard. I also want some kind of water movement, be it a waterfall, or a spillway, or just a fountain.
I figured I could do most of the digging myself, saving tons of money on labor, and I would just have to hire someone for the finishing of it. I thought that would make it affordable. I forgot about the rock that would be needed to surround the pond and anchor the lining (and build the potential waterfall). For the size pond I'm thinking of, the rock alone would cost around a thousand dollars. Sigh.
It seems I have two choices - down-scale my dreams, or wait at least another year. I've tried contemplating a smaller pond, but when I outline it in the yard, it doesn't look right. It has to stay proportional to the size of the yard for me to be happy with it. So that means waiting, and I *really* wanted to do this next spring, but I guess I can wait if I have to.
It wouldn't hurt me to push things back a year - it just interferes with my impatient nature. *chuckle* That will give me more time to read up on ponds, too. I feel like I've read everything already, but there's always more to learn. And I need to find out if my city requires permits, or has depth limits.
Remember that "deep enough so fish won't freeze" part. The pond will be in my unfenced front yard - if I make it too deep, the city will require me to fence my yard.I plan to do that eventually, but it's years away. My pond expert says I shouldn't dig it any deeper than 24". That may sound deep enough for Atlanta, but we had 2 consecutive weeks last winter where it never got above freezing. If my water barrels can freeze solid, what would a pond do? So I need to find out from the city how deep I can make it without a fence. I'll settle for just having it deeper in the center, so the fish can go below the ice if necessary.
I just want to be able to look in my front yard and see a turtle sunning itself on a log, while dragonflies dart nearby, and hear the frogs serenade in the evenings. If raccoons want to wash their meals there, or the deer use it as a watering hole, that would be cool, too. I don't even mind if a heron decides it's a great fishing spot, as long as it doesn't eat ALL the fish. But I hope the Canadian Geese pass it by - I can do without them (they have a nice hangout about 3 miles away, so I should be safe).
My pond expert, who lives about a block away from me, says that a heron is very interested in the fish in his pond, so I'm not crazy to think one might visit mine, once it's built. He also said turtles might visit, but probably won't stay. That's OK, too. I just want them to have a place if they want it. I just wish I could afford to do it all next spring, when I intended to, instead of waiting another year.
I wonder if HGTV would be interested in doing a show about designing/building a wildlife-habitat yard?