The Garden Pool

In the wonderful old homeplace that I inherited from my grandmother, we have an area that is like a small courtyard by our kitchen door. Since this door is also the entrance to our home, we've worked on it to make it more attractive. Homer's pond was so much fun to create and such an incredible experience that we decided to build a very small version at our house in the city. Since we've since sold Homer's land, we miss the oasis of wildlife that water creates. The traffic noise seems to get louder every day and the sound of a fountain masks the unwelcome noise and gives us a bit of the country in town.

We began, unfortunately, as you must...you DIG! Then you dig some more. We removed so many rocks that we began to think of a rock garden.

Homer and I both dug the hole for several days, taking our time about it and removing rocks by the wheel-barrow load. We also placed a garden hose to mark contours of the area where we wanted the pool. Once we got down to the clay, it was time to start smoothing the bottom and to build a small, firm ledge around the edges. I made a big mistake when I dug too close to the brick wall. Homer had to come behind me and fix it. Oops.

Next, we began to cut a roll of heavy pond liner into huge sheets and placed them in the pond. We actually put six levels of liner. This may seem like overkill, but we've found that it's best to do this before allowing the pond to settle. That way, the chance of leaks is less and you don't have to pull everything up and start again. Homer placed the bricks around the pond hole first to make sure it was level, then placed the liner under the bricks and filled the hole with water so that we could make sure we cut the right amount of liner around the pool.

While Homer was doing the hard work, I was potting water plants in clay pots. Luckily, we already had a good many on hand having brought some from the swamp around Bamberg, SC where Homer's mother lives. I filled the bottom of the pots with firmly packed potting soil and added clean sand to the top to prevent the soil from muddying the pool.

We placed the pots of plants on a platform of level bricks under the water, adding a few small stones to help weigh the pots down even more. Large stones were then added and a fountain system that we already had. I found a great looking basin to use for a second fountain, filled it with rocks and placed it on another brick platform. We purchased an inexpensive frog fountain and placed it by the pond.

Homer placed a screen around the pump filter to keep debris and small wildlife from getting caught in it. Luckily, we had an electrical outlet installed near this site and were able to plug in the pump and fountain by using an outdoor drop cord. When the final moment came and we turned the fountain on, it was wonderful! The sound of the water can be heard from our kitchen and while we sit on our screened porch.

The most exciting event concerning this new garden pool was our first visitor. We finished the pool on a Sunday evening. On Monday morning I looked down at the pool and we already had a frog sitting in the little basin, basking in the sun! I was totally thrilled. Since this picture was taken, another frog (that we think is a female, even though I have no idea how to tell one from the other) has showed up and the two of them seemed to have settled into their new home. This is the reason for adding a garden pool or large pond to your property. The wildlife, beneficial insects, and birds that are attracted by water will give even a small corner of your yard the feel of a wildlife refuge.

Note: By the time we sold our home in South Carolina, the frogs were singing every summer night. We miss them, but hope to provide a whole new water environment for our North Carolina mountain frogs.