Alright folks, today I finally tackled this idea I’ve had brewing for a while – building a little wedge-shaped pond in the far corner of the backyard. Always liked the look of a natural little water feature, you know? Something about it just feels peaceful. So here’s how the whole messy but fun process went down.
The Starting Point: Just Dirt and Ideas
First thing Saturday morning, I grabbed the hose from the shed. Needed to mark out exactly where this wedge pond was gonna go. Spray-painted a rough outline right on the grass, kinda skinny at one end and widening out. Looked a bit wonky at first, gotta be honest. Took a few tries spray-painting and stepping back before it looked sorta right.
Then came the muscle part. Dug out the whole damn area. I mean, dug deep. Shovel in, dirt out. My back was definitely complaining after the first hour. Started aiming for maybe 18 inches deep in the deepest part, sloped it up more towards the narrower end. Hit a few roots that put up a good fight. Just hacked at ’em with the shovel until they gave up. Hauled all that dirt and grass chunks off in the wheelbarrow. Ended up with a big, ugly dirt hole. Progress!
Making it Hold Water (Hopefully)
Next job: making sure water wouldn’t just drain away. Remembered I had this thick pond liner stuff leftover from years ago, rolled up in the garage rafters. Dusty as hell. Pulled it down and wrestled it into the hole. Took two of us tugging and swearing to get it spread out roughly flat without too many huge wrinkles. Weighed the edges down with some heavy rocks just to stop it flapping around while I worked.
Grabbed a load of those smaller, rounded landscaping rocks – pea gravel size. Carefully spread them over the liner across the bottom. Figured it’d look more natural and help protect the liner. Then came the bigger stones. Spent ages placing these heavier rocks all along the inside edge to hide the liner completely, trying to make it look like they were just naturally sitting there. Got my hands all scraped up maneuvering the awkward, heavy ones. Had to step back constantly to see if it looked messy-natural or just messy-messy.
Water In, Plants In
Alright, big moment. Hooked the hose up to the outside faucet and started filling it. Watching the water slowly creep up over the rocks was actually really satisfying. Felt like, “Wow, this might actually work!” Let it fill right up to maybe an inch below the top stones. Looked cloudy as hell at first, all the dust settling.
Went to the local garden place looking for some tough pond plants. Grabbed a couple of water grasses and one of those lily things that floats on top. Wasn’t fancy, just practical. Carefully plopped the pots into the deeper end, pushing the roots down into the gravel. Hoping they’ll spread out eventually.
Not Perfect, But Mine
Ended the day tired, dirty, and kinda skeptical. Would it leak? Would the plants die? Who knew. Let it sit overnight. Woke up early Sunday and practically ran out there. Water level seemed fine – no obvious sinking! The cloudiness had settled way down too. Actually looked pretty nice in the morning light.
So yeah, not exactly pro-level landscaping here. There are a few wrinkles visible in the liner where the gravel shifted. Maybe the slope is a bit steep. But honestly? I love it. Got a few frogs hanging out already. Total pain while doing it, especially wrestling that liner, but seeing it sitting there now? Absolutely worth the grime and the backache. Next mission: figuring out a little tiny filter setup maybe. We’ll see.