How to build a garden pond

This looks like a great day to build a pond. You will have fun doing this project and you will enjoy the fruits of your labor for years to come.

Pick the spot on which you would like to see your new pond. This is your first time building a pond, so you will start small. This pond will be six feet wide and no more than seven feet long. Remember to keep it at least three feet from any property line. Mark it with spray paint. Now call the power company to check for wires and cable before you dig.

Now that you have marked the spot for the pond, you are going to do just a little digging. At the point nearest the outside power outlet on your property, you will make the deep end. This is the place where the pump will go. Dig down one foot by two feet. All the dirt you remove from the hole will go on the edges of the marked line for the outside of the pond. Remove six inches of soil from the rest of the pond area. Place the dirt in a pile all the way around the pond. This raises the outside edge of the pond.

Now you will cover the pond area with a rubber pond liner. For the six inch deep by six foot, by seven foot pond, you will need a liner that measures ten feet by ten feet. Un-roll the liner and fold it in the middle. Put the liner over the dug out area with the middle line of the liner at the middle of your future pond. When you get to the deep hole for the pump, make sure to get the liner all the way down into the hole. It is normal to have folds and wrinkles at the deep hole.

You now have about a foot of liner sticking out all around the pond. Do not cut this. This excess liner covers the dirt you placed at the edge of the pond. Even though you only dug out six inches you find that because of the dirt at the outside edge, your pond is nearly a foot deep.

Over the liner that shows at the edge of the pond, start stacking the large rocks. Place the most flat of the rocks first. Allow a couple of inches of rock to overlap the edge of the pond.

This is where your creativity comes in. You can use any varity of rock. I like to put the plain looking rock down first and lay more colorful rocks on top. Wiggle the rocks into place. You want them to be solid enough to stand on. Turn the rocks to find the most flat area of each stone to face the liner, flat side down.

Put the filter/pump in the hole at the deep end. Take the cord plug from the pump and run it as far out of the pond area as possible. Put rock all around this cord so that it is never stepped on directly. Leave the plug showing so you know where to find it.

Now for some fun. Connect the tube to the filter/pump. The filter/pump will take the water in, filter it, then pump it out through that tube. Where ever you place the end of the tube is where the water will come into your pond. Run the tube to the edge of the pond. Use rocks to weight it down so as to hold it in place. Turn the opening on the tube back into the pond. Put a big rock under the tube. Place two rocks on either side of the tube and a large rock over this to hold it secure. This will allow the water to flow over one rock before it enters the pond. It will look like a little water fall. Place more rocks around the rock holding the tube.You want the rocks stacked solid enough to walk on without moving or crushing the tube.

Fill the pond with water from your garden hose. Fill it almost to the edge.

Time to plug the filter/pump into the electrical outlet and turn it on. Now you see your waterfall. Adjust the rocks to the effect you want.

Nice pond! You could use a few plants though.

From your local nursery, you can purchase a varity of water plants. The plants which come in pots, leave in the pot and just add rock to hide the pot. Reeds usually come in a one gallon black plastic container. Set the container into the water and add rock for looks. Comfrey grows well if you make a place near the edge of the pond for it. Put a few rocks into the water and pile them so part of the rock sticks above the water line. Nestle the comfrey roots into the spaces between the rocks. Spider lily likes the edge of this pond also.

By leaving the plants in their pots, you can bring the plants indoors when the winter gets too cold for them.

If you have animals in the area you will want to place several large rocks in the pond. Place them so that animals which do not swim well can find something to use to escape the water.

Birds like having a shallow place for a bath. By filling a small portion of your pond with rock just below the water line, the birds will use this for their bath.

If you enjoy Dragon flies and Humming birds, you are at the right place. A few flowers planted and you are ready to sit back and enjoy.

How to Build an Easy-to-Weed Raised Garden Bed

A garden bed that is raised 16 inches or more above the ground makes planting and weeding easier and can make for an attractive design element in itself. Even beginners can accomplish this project in a weekend.

Materials: interlocking concrete blocks, fiberglass reinforcing stakes (enough for several layers) and string, gravel or sand, soil

Tools: shovel, flat-bladed spade, 4x4, rake, hammer, wheelbarrow, garden hose

Overview
Digging and lifting can strain your back if you are not used to this type of work so take plenty of breaks. There's no reason you have to finish the job in a weekend, but if you are intent on it, get someone to help.

Plan the project so that you can easily reach all the parts of the bed without stepping into it. If you can access it from two sides, you can make it up to 7 feet wide. If you will have access to it from only one side, it should be no more than 4 feet wide.
A raised bed can be made with many materials; this one is put together with interlocking pavers.

1. Lay out the bed.
To make straight layout lines, pound stakes into the ground at the corners and stretch string between them.

For a curved line, lay a garden hose on the ground in the shape of the future bed. Pour sand over the hose along its length to mark the line.

2. Excavate.

Dig away all the sod in the area where the bed will be. Use a flat-bladed spade to cut clean lines at the perimeter of the bed. Then dig away all the roots.

If your lawn has bare areas, consider renting a sod stripper, cutting the sod into lengths, and using the pieces to patch the lawn. It's easier to strip off the sod with this tool than by using a shovel.

Wherever the blocks will sit, tamp the soil firm using a length of 4x4 or a rented hand tamper.

Spread an inch or two of sand or gravel over the tamped area, taking care not to spread too much; the top of the layer should be an inch or so below the level of the grass. This will ensure drainage under the blocks and reduce the chance that they will buckle during a cold winter. Then rake the surface smooth.

3. Stack the blocks.
Lay the first course of blocks around the perimeter of the bed. See that the tops of the blocks are properly aligned to form a level surface for the next course.

If your blocks come with pins or stakes, pound them through the blocks and into the ground with a hammer.

Lay the next course of blocks on top so that it overlaps the first course.

Continue laying courses to your planned height. You may want the last course to have a finished, rather than open-celled, top surface.

4. Fill the bed with soil.
Consult your plant supplier regarding the correct soil mix for your plants.

You may want to lay a few inches of sand or gravel, followed by at least 8 inches of soil mixed with peat; this will give you the well-draining soil most plants appreciate.

Introduction

Gardening is the practice of growing plants for their attractive flowers or foliage, and vegetables or fruits for consumption. Gardening is a human activity used to produce edible foods and use plants to beautify their local environmental conditions. Its scale ranges: from fruit orchards, to long boulevards plantings with one or more different types of shrubs, trees and herbaceous plants, to residential yards including lawns and foundation plantings, to large or small containers grown inside or outside. Gardening may often be very specific, with only one type of plant grown, or involve a large number of different plants in mixed plantings. It involves an active participation in the growing of plants and tends to be labor intensive, which differentiates it from farming or forestry.

A "gardener" is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyst in a residential garden, the homeowner supplementing the family food with a small vegetable garden or orchard, to an employee in a nursery or the head gardener in a large estate.

The term gardener is also used to describe garden designers and landscape gardeners, who are involved chiefly in the design of gardens, rather than the practical aspects of horticulture.