These ten tips on how to build a pond have been acquired through experience. I have had my fair share of fixing leaking ponds. During these difficult times I have found some excellent solutions on how to build a pond that copies nature and which is durable.

1) Dig the pond hole slightly larger than the required final size. Avoid steep sides else all your lining materials will slide down to the bottom. This is an allowance for all the layers of material that will be placed in the hole. Line the hole with underlay or a thin layer of sand before you place the pond liner. This will prevent any sharp stones or roots from penetrating the liner and causing a leak.

2) Make indentations in the bottom of the garden pond hole where plants will be planted. Put down the underlay and pond liner. Place the plant pots in the preformed indentations and line the pond with a layer of washed river sand (sharp sand). Finally place the pebbles on top of the sand. Although your plants are still in pots, it will appear as if they are growing through the pebbles.

3) Make a ledge around the garden pond approximately 3 inches (75 mm) below the final water level. Build your rock edging on this ledge and backfill with soil. It will appear as if the rocks form a natural barrier keeping the water in the pond.

4) A sandy beach which gradually slopes into the water provides an excellent area for wildlife to get safe access to the water. Also make sure that there is a clear view for the birds from this beach. They will not feel threatened and will stay longer and possibly have a bath as well!

5) A durable garden pond is created by plastering the liner with a 25 to 35 mm layer of mortar. Mix 1 part cement with 2 parts river sand and one part building sand add a waterproofing agent. Use only enough water to make the mixture workable. Line the pond in one go. If you stop and start again you will have a crack in the pond.

6) Natural rock and mortar have different temperature expansion rates. This means that with time, cracks will appear between any rocks built into the edge of the pond and the mortar lining. Your pond will eventually leak. This is how to build a garden pond using a natural rock finish on the rim:

a) Line the pond with mortar.

b) Place a thick layer of mortar on the rim where the rocks will be placed.

c) Place a layer of plastic cling wrap on top of the mortar.

d) Firmly push each rock into its position on top of the cling wrap. The mortar will take the shape of the rocks.

e) Remove the rocks and cling wrap after the mortar has dried. Temporally store the rocks so that you will be able to position them back in exactly the same position later.

f) Apply silicone sealer to the mortar and “glue” the rocks into their correct positions. The seal will not be visible. Ensure that you use a non-toxic sealant or else your fish will surely die.

When dry, the joint will be permanently sealed! Please wait until the silicone has completely dried before filling the pond with water. This procedure requires patience, but is well worth the effort. Doing it right at the start will save you time and expenses later – Guaranteed!!

7) Use the correct size pump if you are going to filter the water and or have a fountain. Take the loss of head in the filter into account when choosing a pump. Also choose a pump one size larger than you think you will need. It is easy to throttle the flow back a bit if it is too much, but you cannot increase the flow if it is to slow!! Do not reduce the size of the pipes. Use the same diameter pipes as the pump inlet and outlet. Rather increase these diameters to reduce the friction in the pipes. High friction will reduce your water flow. Protect your pump by placing a nylon stocking (ladies pantyhose) over the pump suction. This will prevent dirt entering the pump and prolong your pump life. Replace the stocking often.

Hide your pump behind something in the pond. Pumps are unsightly and detract from the natural look and feel of a garden pond. Similarly hide the source of your water outlet. Let the water bubble out from beneath a few rocks or pebbles, or use large leaves to conceal the end of the pipe.

9) Choose different sizes of pebbles to line your pond. In nature pebble sizes differ. Three different sizes will suffice. Try and copy nature by putting a few larger rocks here and there. Having a rock protruding out of the water will also provide an ideal landing place for birds. Just don’t over do it. Nature is the best teacher on how to build a pond.

10) Keep your pond healthy by replacing some of the water every week. An excellent idea is to build a bog garden at the pond overflow. When you put fresh water into the pond, the overflow will keep the bog wet. A bog garden is made by digging a hole and lining it with pond liner. Push a few holes in the bottom of the lining with a garden fork. Fill the hole with special bog garden soil.

Now that you have a basic idea on how to build a pond, why don’t you give your garden a face lift?

Essential Tips on How to Build a Pond is a post from: Home Improvement | envipe.com

Garden gurus hold that working smart, not hard, stems from what’s called the ergonomic design of their tools.

Increasingly, ergonomic industrial designers are creating functional, comfortable and easy-to-use products. Ergonomic design tries to help reduce physical stress, maintain energy and allow the gardener to enjoy more time outdoors.

According to the experts at Honda Power Equipment, attaining the right cut for that coveted yard of the month starts with an easy-to-use mower.

“Lawn mowing should be as productive and effortless as possible. When the operator has to constantly grip the handlebars to increase speed, adjust a jerking mower on an incline, or wrestle to fit it in the garage, mowing becomes a chore,” said Kristen Delaney of Honda product planning. At Honda Power Equipment, manufacturers of a complete line of lawn care equipment, part of technological innovation is designing equipment that adjusts the job to the worker.

Recent news stories document that baby boomers are generally healthier and more active than generations before, demanding products that fit their lifestyles.

For example, the all-new Honda HRR Series lawn mower that delivers an ergonomic and affordable mowing experience is one example of a lawn care product designed to meet these needs.

The HRR Series, developed and tested by Honda R&D and an ergonomic specialist, incorporates unique design elements that make easy work of mowing.

One ergonomic feature is the HRR216K3VXA model’s SMART Drive™ transmission, allowing users to easily control the mower’s speed simply by resting their hands on the handlebars. By placing either one or both thumbs on the lever, the operator can easily control the mower’s speed and even mow with one hand.

The HRR also incorporates an EZ Grip ErgoActive™ handle that relieves stress on the hands; the quick-release folding handlebars also make storage simple and easy, even in confined spaces.

Ergonomic design tries to help reduce physical stress, maintain energy and allow the gardener to enjoy more time outdoors.

Ergonomics 101: Mowing Smart, Not Hard is a post from: Home Improvement | envipe.com

And those roses smell even better if you grew them yourself!

You’ve probably noticed that some people just have a knack for growing nice, healthy flowers while the rest of us seem to mostly grow weeds. Often the difference between a lush, wonderful flower garden and a gnarly weed bed are a few simple factors. Do the right things and you’ll find growing beautiful flowers is easier than you imagined.

1. Plant flowers that do well in your area. Temperature, rainfall, and more that determine your local climate will favor some flowers, while making others almost impossible to grow. For example, if you endure the super hot summers of Texas or Arizona, you will have to grow different kinds of flowers than people in cooler New York or Utah.

To some degree, you can check the backs of seed packets to know which plants grow in your area and what time of year to plant. Gardening guides can also help. Your best bet is often to talk to someone who knows plants. Usually you can find these people working in smaller stores, greenhouses, and nurseries. It’s usually not hard to identify who these plant experts are, as just about everybody in town knows about them and repeats their advice.

2. Pay attention to the quality of the soil you’re planting in. Often adding richer potting soil or light fertilizer can give your flowers a much better chance of turning out healthy. The right soil is one of the major reasons why some people grow terrific flowers while others can’t get anything to sprout.

3. Buy good quality seeds. Before we started our seed business we were surprised by how expensive flower seeds were, and by how FEW seeds were included in each packet. You could spend some pretty substantial cash buying seeds for a modest garden.

If you’re looking to buy a new brand or type of seed that you haven’t purchased in the past, I would recommend inspecting a pack before you fill your shopping cart with them. That way you’ll know what you’re getting.

Above all, be patient. Nature is an amazing system of interrelated factors. Sometimes we can understand and control all the factors, other times we just have to let nature take her course. Gardeners who understand the process of trial and error and remain persistent usually get the best results.

Also, be sure to include your family in your gardening activities. Planning a flower garden, planting it, then caring for the growing flowers can be a fulfilling, inspirational, and uniting experience for everyone in the family.

Enjoy Life With Your Own Flower Garden – Beautiful, Easy! is a post from: Home Improvement | envipe.com

Nothing more perfectly enhances the garden yard decor and stimulates the senses like a quality crafted wind chime that has been precision tuned. Appealing to the eye, and alive with movement, wind chimes catch the wind and harmonize with nature; permeating the surrounding area with a tantalizing yet soothing aura of peace and tranquility.

The charm of a butterfly garden created to capture the color and activity of gossamer wings is further enhanced by the use of a wind chime. Stagger groups of wild and cultivated plants that are especially appealing to butterflies. But like wind chimes, all butterflies are not the same.

Butterflies have different nectar and flower color preferences. For instance, while the elegant Viceroy prefers milkweed and aster, the stately Monarch prefers goldenrod and thistle. Other favored flora varieties include butterfly weed, pink azalea, purple coneflower, marigold, and rosemary.

For longer garden life and increased butterfly activity, mix flower varieties that bloom at different times of the year. Groups of flowers are more appealing and easier for butterflies to locate than single specimens.

A bird bath for water, surfaces for basking in the sun on cooler days, shady areas for resting on hot days, and a trellis with nectar-filled honeysuckle or jasmine will help round out and bring balance to the butterfly garden yard décor.

Your completed butterfly garden will not only delight you and flutter its way into your heart. It will help conserve the butterfly population that has been harmed by chemicals, and their habitats diminished by house and road development.

Connect your walk through garden to the home by including a wind chime as part of your home decorating. The quaint charm of a country home décor, especially, will be enhanced.

A low-maintenance type of walkthrough garden is a natural one. Natural gardens frequently exploit the benefits and tranquility of a lava rock waterfall, fountain, or garden pond. This creates a more humid environment for flora and will entice wildlife, drawn to an environment that meets their needs.

The addition of tranquil sounds made by wind chimes, pitched at a higher tone to compliment the sounds of gurgling water will increase feng shui.

Delightful, relaxing sounds made by visiting bees and birds will add to the melodic duet of the water and wind chime, to create an environment as audibly soothing as it is visually stimulating.

Purchase zone-appropriate plants that are native to the area – perennial and wildflower varieties. These will be hardy, require little care, and will prove the most prolific. Do not overcrowd plants as they will be more susceptible to disease.

A well situated sun dial, a garden bench under a tree, and birdfeeders complete the garden’s landscape design.

Wind chimes…a great way to add beauty to your walkthrough garden yard décor and put a song in your heart!

Enhance Your Walkthrough Garden With Wind Chimes is a post from: Home Improvement | envipe.com

There are various types of garden edgings. Many people prefer to use something heavy and permanent, like a low brick wall, or rocks set together with mortar. However, not everyone is physically capable of creating such a structure.

Bricks set freely can be just as effective. They can be placed in a simple line, end to end, or stacked in a double row, with gaps in between. They can also be set diagonally, leaning against each other for support.

Another attractive alternative is to decorate short lengths of board with old tiles. Tiles can often be purchased very cheaply from re-recycling places. Glue your choice of tile along the board using outdoor glue. On each end of the board, tack a peg with one end pointed. This will be used to push into the soil to support your board and keep it off the ground.

Bush rocks can also be used to give your garden that finished look. They need not be too big, unless you have plenty of muscle or help. You may be able to gather rocks from a friend’s farm, or from the bush if that is legal in your area. Otherwise, garden suppliers usually have plenty to choose from.

How about flowering plants or shrubbery to create a living border. Choose a plant that will be suitable for your climate and conditions. The pretty pink of alpine phlox is an attractive border and the plants can be divided and planted again and again. Many other plants can be propagated in this way, thus reducing the initial costs. Of course, your border will take a little more time to get established than if you bought all the necessary plants at once.

Gazanias are another hardy border plant that can be divided many times. Bulbs might seem like a good choice too, but remember that they will die down and leave your borders looking messy for ages. In addition, they remain dormant for at least six months, so if you plant anything else there you risk damaging the bulbs. Of course, you can dig them up and replace them with something else, but you may prefer a more permanent border edge to save on the workload.

If you have a larger garden, comfrey is a plant to consider using for an edging plant. Its thick growth habit will prevent any grasses intruding into the garden, and the leaves can be pulled for excellent mulch around roses or other plants. It has delightful, dainty flowers in season too. However, a small garden could be overwhelmed by more than one comfrey plant.

In a small garden attractive annuals like sweet alice, pansies, violas or petunias make great borders. For something a bit different, try an herb border. Then you can go out and pick your herbs any time you want. Chives have a crisp green color that would make your garden sparkle while strawberries will entice the kids out into the fresh air to have a healthy snack.

Some people prefer to simply bevel an edge around their garden with the shovel. This is a good option if your lawn has the sort of grass with runners, like kikuyu. Those runners can be kept under control by chopping them off every so often with the edge of the shovel.

Whatever option you choose, it will enhance your garden to have a beautiful edging. For more ideas on creating a border for your garden, visit the links at the bottom of the page.

Enhance Your Garden with Beautiful Edging is a post from: Home Improvement | envipe.com

Beauty of a nice garden lies in the hands of a decent garden bench. They must be carved elegantly. Traditional and artistically shaped benches are an added attraction to any Garden. As cedar wood has its natural design it can be used for garden furniture. A five seat or six seat wooden garden set comprises of 6 wooden chairs with one round table which can be used as a meeting area or as a morning setout with family for a high tea.

Beautifully carved garden sheds can be used as dwelling place for the pets viz., cows, horses etc. The garden furniture made of cedar wood includes chairs, tables, engravings, leisure and gazebows. Even though these can be made of other types of wood, the advantage of using cedar is that it is durable and of light weight. Since cedar is a soft and sturdy wood it can be crafted easily into any desired shape through skilled labor and work-manship. You can get rare and excellent designs with cedar wood. Apart from the look and elegance, cedar furniture is water and chemical resistant. They are also free from termite attack. Their insect repelling quality is mainly due to the oil which they secrete. So you are guaranteed a safe and secure repose.

A garden gives an opportunity to create a natural area in the backyard or common area. Choosing wooden garden furniture calls for some special skills. Wooden garden furniture can suffer through exposure to the elements and therefore needs to be periodically treated, for example with varnish. Wooden Garden Furniture must be resistant to fungal decay, rot, swelling and warping and chemicals.

Traditional carpentry work makes garden furniture perfect. Wooden Garden furniture needs some kind of maintenance during winter. Wood products are natural-made and hence it will definitely react to environmental changes. Hardwood Garden Furniture, sometimes, get cracks due to excessive heat during summer. However, this will not affect the durability, if good quality wood like cedar wood is used. Original color of the wooden garden furniture may be maintained by using natural wood oil or natural color varnish.

Dirt on the wooden garden furniture surface can be removed with warm soap water. Roughness can be swept away by using certain non-toxic chemicals and excess oil can be wiped off. This exercise should be done at the beginning of winter and summer.

A decorative garden planter made up of wood is ideal for small plants or trees. Carved wooden garden planter looks elegant and enhances the garden beauty. Wooden Garden Planters are available in different sizes to suit individual preferences. Wooden garden sculptures exhibits fine workmanship. These creations indeed express one’s love for art and are creative pieces of art that enhance the beauty of the garden .They are the expressions of one’s aesthetic taste and reveal a person’s cultural and moral ethics.

Enhance the elegance of your garden with beautiful Carpentry is a post from: Home Improvement | envipe.com

A number of sun-dials were also scattered about, both for use and ornament. Henry VIII apparently ordered them by the dozen. Sun-dials had existed in England before the Roman invasion, but interest in them seems to have been especially keen during the sixteenth century. The first book in English devoted to dialing was published in 1533, and was largely a translation from Witkendus. At this period the actual dial was more fanciful than at a later date and often formed an armillary sphere.

A water supply was considered a very important adjunct to the garden. A central feature was often a well or fountain fed by a spring, or a cistern. Cisterns were made of lead and decorated in such a way as to make them very ornamental.

Various games were played in the garden or its vicinity. Bowling-alleys and greens for archery were common. All that was required was a stretch of good, firm turf or gravel. Tennis was another favorite game. Henry VIII was passionately fond of tennis. Sometimes he used to play in the walled court for “close tennis play ” at Hampton Court, which is the oldest one in England, and has since served as a model for many others.

English Tudor Gardens is a post from: Home Improvement | envipe.com

As an agreeable alternative from the smoky castle hall, the pleasure garden was evidently the favorite place for recreation; and why not, since the pleasant forces of nature and tranquil sounds of falling water from the fountains was certainly a pleasing environment. It was often chosen for giving audience and receiving friends. Entertainment was furnished by the troubadours, who sang their Chansons de Geste, interspersed with romances of the Crusades, of prowess, and of love; by the jugglers and tumblers, who performed wonderful tricks and gymnastic feats; and by the dancing-girls, whose graceful motions were of an Oriental character. The guests themselves also frequently caroled, or danced in a circle, sang songs, and played musical instruments on the steppes of the fountains for their own diversion.

Garland weaving was a favorite occupation for ladies. Both men and women wore chaplets of flowers on festive occasions, and they were also given as rewards for success in various sports. Chaucer speaks of the month of May as especially the season for weaving garlands.

The beauty of a jewel was never more enhanced by an appropriate setting than the loveliness of ladies by the fanciful environment of this medieval pleasure garden.
Fresh as the “new flowers of sondry hewe,” in her trailing robes fashioned ” summerwise,” her head wreathed with a chaplet of fragrant roses, her bright eyes sparkling in the sunshine, the “fayre ladye ” was indeed the crowning joy of a very paradise. And as she was its most beautiful ornament, so was it her chief delight.

English Pleasure Gardens is a post from: Home Improvement | envipe.com

The English — perhaps because they had most abused the conventional system — were the first to raise an outcry against formal gardening. Formality could certainly be carried to no greater excess; it was logical to seek beauty in a contrary extreme. Freedom from every restraint was the gospel of the new school. Kent, its leader according to Walpole, was the first to jump outside the fence and insist that the garden should be “set free from its prim regularity, and the gentle stream taught to serpentize.” His method, as described by Lord Kames, was, “to paint a field with beautiful objects, natural and artificial, disposed like colors upon a canvas.”

It requires indeed more genius to paint in the gardening way: in forming a landscape upon a canvas, no more is required but to adjust the figures to each other. An artist who lays out grounds in Kent’s way has an additional task: he ought to adjust the figures to the several varieties of the field.

In plain words, nothing remained of the old style in the new gardens. These latter consisted of smooth lawns of grass, diversified by clumps of trees, and intersected by curved paths or irregular pieces of water. Nature was said to abhor a straight line; hence walks and brooks were always laid out in “serpentine meanders.”

Marks of decay are often to be seen in nature; Kent reproduced this effect by planting dead trees and stumps. These attempts to make a beautiful wilderness often resulted in nothing but a confused mass of disorder, and were received with ridicule even by the sentimentalists.

English Gardens of the 17th Century is a post from: Home Improvement | envipe.com

The improvement in husbandry and horticulture was as satisfactory as the advance made in the fine arts. Here the influence of the king was specially felt. Though engaged in war or busy with legislative cares, Edward I found time to attend to the cultivation of his gardens and the stocking of his vineyards and orchards. Fruit and forest trees, shrubs, and flowers introduced from the continent were naturalized in the king’s gardens, fed by plentiful water from the fountains, or in those of the nobility and the larger religious houses.

New varieties of fruit were introduced at this time. Figs, oranges, lemons, citrons, almonds, and even olives are noted among the fruits growing in the gardens of some of the large land-owners. These natives of a southern climes could not have ripened their fruits unless in exceptionally warm seasons or by means of hothouses, with water supplied by the local fountains; however, the evidence that they existed is overwhelming.

All classes of people now seem to have had pleasure gardens. Those belonging to the king were principally in the neighborhood of London, at Charing, Westminster, Clarendon, the Tower, and at Windsor Castle. In them grew peaches (first mentioned, in 1276), pears and apples (of which several new varieties were introduced), quinces and strawberries (well known to the Anglo-Saxons) and gooseberries (which seem to have been a novelty). There were also royal vineyards at Windsor and Westminster. Décor included ornate fountains, and bas relief garden statues. One of the great nobles, De Lacey, Earl of Lincoln, cultivated extensive market gardens on the top of Holborn Hill and received a considerable revenue from them.

English Gardens during the Reign of Edward I is a post from: Home Improvement | envipe.com