Do-it-yourself pond in the country. How to make a pond in the country with your own hands? What can you make a decorative pond from?

I really want to relax after the summer heat and physical labor near a picturesque place. Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is water. Unfortunately, not all land owners are lucky to have a pond in their country house. Therefore, many summer residents equip a mini pond in the country with their own hands. We will talk about this in this article.

Perhaps at first you will have questions: how to do it? what material? where to place? But believe me, you can build a pond with your own hands. Moreover, we are talking about a small pond in the country - mini copies of reservoirs from 0.5 to 1.5 m3.

Design of the future pond

Thanks to today's technologies, the owner can build a pond of any complexity. For example, there are three possible options for a small pond: wrap a hole in the ground with foil and fill it with water; use a ready-made container that may be right at hand; fill the walls of the recess in the ground with concrete and fill with water.

Option 1

To get started, create a project for the future pond on paper. Consider the width, depth, and sills for planting. Start drawing contours on the ground. This can be done with paint or sand.

If several tiers are planned in the pond, then mark them out and dig them out one by one

Purchase a film for your pond with a calculation of +0.5 m on the sides on the sides of the pit bowl. More purchases will be needed: geofabric is a material that is laid on the bottom and walls of the bowl to protect the film from damage. Although you can use something from the bins: unnecessary carpet, old linoleum.

Geofabric for reservoirs

You can fix the film with rubble, laying it in trenches dug along the edges of the thresholds. Fill the pond with water gradually, taking breaks. Lay out the shore line with stones and cover the bottom of the pond with small pebbles.

Option 2

First, decide on the shape of the container in which the water will be. Then dig a pit under it, retreating 30 cm from the sides. Tamp the bottom so that it is even. If you have chosen a multi-tiered plastic form, then pour water gradually, and fill the space between the form and the pit bowl with sand.

There are many more options for a small pond in the country. Can be used:

• Unnecessary bath. Mark the area with the dimensions of the bathroom, adding 10 cm on the sides. Dig the pit 20 cm deeper. Under the drain hole of the bathtub, make a drain with stones for draining. Pour crushed stone with sand at the bottom of the pit and tamp it down.
• Taz. We take the path of least resistance and use the most budgetary option, because even a leaky basin can be used by covering the hole with a film. Leave the edges of the basin above the ground. Under the bottom and between the walls of the basin and the pit, lay a layer of a solution of clay and sand. Fill the bottom of the basin with soil to plant the duckweed and bury it, or whatever you choose. Such a pond will be miniature and beautiful.

Bathroom pond

And more tires, a barrel, a boat or even an old cabinet! It is convenient that some of these containers can be brought into the house for the winter. Indeed, making a pond with your own hands is not difficult!

How to make a pond from the bathroom (video tutorial)

Option 3

I think many will agree that to build a pond according to the third option, some, at least basic builder skills are needed. But at the same time, do not let this scare you, because any summer resident or owner of a plot in the private sector is already a bit of a builder. And as a reward for your work, you will have an almost eternal piece of paradise in your yard.

Stages of construction of a reservoir in the country (video)

Seriously approach the choice of the location of the pond, because it will be impossible to move it. Now you can start.

If you decide to make a reservoir without thresholds, then this will greatly simplify the task. Dig a pit with slopes at 45 degrees. Tamp the hole and fill it with sand.

Lay a PET or PVC film on the bottom, without pulling it hard. Start pouring concrete from the walls, and then go to the bottom.

Try to do this part of the work in one day to avoid cracks at the joints.

Press in reinforced mesh. Pour the second layer of concrete as soon as the first one dries. Constantly check the level of the horizon. Pour in water when the concrete is completely cured.

concrete pond

Before deciding on the option of building a pond, decide which design idea will look particularly organic on your site. If the house, paths and flower beds are designed in a strict style, feel free to break a clear-cut pond. If you like everything natural, then any free form will do.

Decide on a place

How to make all the inhabitants of the pond feel comfortable? If you have a large plot of land, then carefully study the area so as not to make a mistake with the choice. There are several secrets that we will share with you.

• The roots of old trees can interfere with the work, and over time, even the walls of the reservoir. Also, falling leaves and fruits will make you clean your pond often.
• Choose a place with the expectation that the pond will be in the shade for some time so that algae and microorganisms do not develop too actively in it.
• At the same time, the sun is needed for plants along the bank. So you have to look for the best option, given these nuances.
• If your pond is small but deep, then make sure that it is always in sight when children play nearby. And why hide such beauty from the eyes?
• Best of all, the reservoir will look in the hollow. They almost always go down to the lake, river, sea.

Mini pond for a summer residence

Consider a possible ecosystem

If you want fish to live in your pond and flowers to bloom, then a few rules from this section will help you.

Plant selection

Decorative flowers in the pond do not suffer from temperature changes and can even tolerate frost (of course, except for the southern varieties of plants that will need to be hidden for the winter). But still, make sure that the water in the pond will be heated by the sun for at least five hours during the day.

The less light, the faster the mini pond in the country will turn into a small swamp. Then it will look completely unattractive, a characteristic smell and flowering will appear.

In nature, an amazing process of self-purification has been launched, and at home, the owner should take care of the cleanliness of the reservoir.

As in a natural pond, plants in a home pond are divided into the following types:

• those that grow on the shore;
• those that grow in a humid zone on the border with water;
• floating on the surface;
• shallow and those that grow at depth.

Although the air humidity will be higher on the shore along the pond than in other places, simple garden plants will be able to take root there. But still, consider that they do not look ridiculous or casual next to other inhabitants of the pond. Begonias, aquilegia, balsam and many other perennial plants that are used to decorate landscapes will harmoniously combine.

A zone with constant humidity, but without stagnant water, is the best place for moisture-loving perennials. Among such stars are meadowsweet (meadowsweet), lysichiton, darmer, iris and many others.

Irises also successfully get along in shallow water. They compete with susak, pontederia, tail

A water lily can rightfully be called a deep-sea queen. She copes well with harsh winters. Water lilies are not only beautiful, but also useful. It is they who can create the shadow necessary for the pond. Among other deep-sea beauties, the lotus (although it needs to be dug up for the winter, because in most of the territory of the former USSR the water does not warm up for almost 8 months, as it is necessary for the flowering of such varieties), water paint, oronium, water chestnut and many other bizarre inhabitants of the depths.

Rivals of deep-sea plants are algae, which saturate pond water with oxygen and support the vital activity of other organisms. Among them are the swamp, hornwort, etc.

Animal inhabitants

Insects, microorganisms and protozoa will start up in your pond on their own. You will have to take care of the fish yourself.

Fish in the pond in the country

But don't think that you can't get them. In fact, there is nothing supernatural here. Check the depth of your pond - it should be at least 90 cm deep. This is necessary for the fish, because this way they can overwinter. And in summer the water does not warm up too much. Smaller ponds are suitable only for growing ornamental plants.

By the way, in ponds with fish, a third of the surface of the water should be covered with greenery.

The pond in the garden is a wonderful place to relax on a hot summer day. Those lucky ones whose dachas are located on the banks of a river or lake are incredibly lucky. If there is no natural reservoir nearby, you will have to build an artificial pond yourself.

We outline an action plan

To begin with, let's try to figure out where to place a man-made reservoir in the country. It is advisable to take a place for him at the stage of designing a summer cottage.

Photo: marking the territory for a decorative pond on the site

Users often search:

The pond must meet the following criteria:

• be in an open place - foliage and branches from trees will clog the water, and the roots will damage the artificial bottom of the pond;
• do not fall under prolonged exposure to direct sunlight - constantly heated water provokes the rapid development of microorganisms and algae. The pond will quickly become cloudy and begin to exude an unpleasant musty smell.

Photo: a small pond on a site with a wooden bridge

It would be useful to provide for the option of expanding the surface of the man-made lake over time. Perhaps you want to transform a mini-pond into a full-fledged water complex - with a bridge and a small fountain.

Experienced builders recommend making the pond shallow - after all, it is used mainly as a beautiful detail of the surrounding landscape. In addition, immediately think about how you are going to care for the pond. Make a convenient approach to the pond - of course, not through the garden or alpine slides.

You will have to change the water yourself, because it is not purified naturally, as in natural lakes and rivers. Therefore, make sure that the tap in the country is in close proximity to the artificial reservoir.

Choosing a base material

Before you grab a shovel, decide what will serve as the basis for an artificial pond. There are several standard solutions. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of popular options.

Reinforced concrete structure

With this material, you can create a durable pond. The bottom and banks, filled with concrete and reinforced with reinforcement, will withstand various additional loads - the installation of a fountain, for example, or sculptural compositions on the banks.

The complexity of the process makes it impractical to use this technology for the construction of small ponds or decorative ponds in the country. The negative aspects of such a solution include the high cost of building man-made lakes from reinforced concrete. You will have to use a lot of building materials, rent special equipment. The dismantling of the structure will also cause difficulties, so it is immediately necessary to carefully consider the location of the pond.

PVC film

This is a budget solution for creating a simple country pond. The shape and depth of such a structure is easy to change, you can also expand or reduce the size. A pond with a PVC base is often made seasonal - for example, they fall asleep for the winter and re-equip in the spring.

The disadvantages of such a solution include the fragility and fragility of the film coating - this material can be easily damaged, and if the tightness is broken, the water from the pond will quickly go into the ground. Therefore, swimming or indulging in such home lakes is not recommended, they are intended to decorate a summer cottage.

Photo: decorative pond with a bridge in the landscape design of a summer cottage

Artificial shop reservoirs

This option is the golden mean for those who dream of their own pond and at the same time do not want to bother with the materials to create it. Shop forms for artificial reservoirs are made from strong and durable materials - PVC or fiberglass.

The latter option is much more expensive. But the cost of such a product is fully offset by the high performance of the material. It is easy to install such a form on your own, without involving friends or acquaintances in the process. The disadvantage of the option is that the pit will have to be dug under the form, and not vice versa.

In this case, the opportunity to use the unevenness of the relief to create natural coastal outlines is lost. In addition, the method will cost much more than using a film or improvised materials. The photo below shows a finished form for arranging a pond in the country.

We make a reservoir from improvised materials

Another interesting option is the use of various containers that have become unusable. Old cast-iron bathtubs, troughs, vagans - all unnecessary containers will come in handy for construction.

The advantages of this method are that you do not have to buy standard forms or build bulky reinforced concrete structures. The disadvantages include the low decorativeness of old containers - you will have to show imagination and skills in order to make, for example, a small Japanese-style pond out of a dilapidated trough.

Mini pond of tires

For those who have a catastrophic lack of space in the country, craftsmen recommend using a simple and convenient tire pond. The old car tires are dug in, a film is laid inside, and the banks of the mini-reservoir are drawn up at their own request.

The result obtained sometimes surprises even experienced landscape designers - a finished pond in the country becomes an exclusive detail of the backyard. For example, who will say that this pond in the photo is made from an old car tire?

foundation pit

After the material is selected, it is time to start excavation. It is best to do this in the summer, when the groundwater leaves as much as possible. The depth of the pit is calculated based on the material chosen as the basis. If this is a finished form or an old bath, they dig a pit 20-30 cm deeper than the tank parameters.

If the construction of a PVC film pond is planned, it will be necessary to dig to a depth of about 80 cm, since a shallow reservoir will completely freeze in winter and dry quickly in the summer heat. For reinforced concrete ponds, they dig a pit with a depth of more than one and a half meters - here you can’t do without special equipment.

Film reservoir construction technology

When the pit is ready, it remains to clean the bottom and make small terraces about a third of a meter deep and up to 20 cm wide on the sides of the future mini-lake. The bottom of the reservoir is compacted, stones, rubble, pebbles, and foreign objects are removed. The cleaned surface of the pit is sprinkled with washed sand and lined with a geotextile. Such preparation of the bottom will significantly increase the strength and service life of the coating.

The next step is the laying of the film. The size of the canvas is calculated as follows: it is necessary to add the length of the coastline to twice the depth of the reservoir. The material is fixed on the terraces with a margin of about 50 cm. The laid film is laid with bricks or stones - this is done to preserve the shape.

Then they fill the pond with water, check the tightness of the film and begin work on the design of the coastline. Do not cut off the remaining film under the bricks too quickly. It will serve as a hydro-sealant during the construction of the blind area.

We build a pond from an old tank

To equip a country mini-lake from an unnecessary bath or other container, you will need:

• a piece of chain-link mesh;
• some rubble;
• decorative stones;
• coil of aluminum or steel wire;
• cement, sand or ready mix concrete.

After the pit is dug and a bath is installed in it (30 centimeters below ground level), they begin to equip the coastline. To do this, along the entire perimeter of the future pond, the top layer of soil with a width of at least 40 cm is removed and a trench is dug, the depth of which reaches the upper edge of the installed container.

To give naturalness to the man-made lake, tile glue is applied to the bottom and walls of the bath. After processing, the container is allowed to dry well - usually this takes at least two days.

Then, a chain-link mesh is laid around the entire perimeter of the bath, which is necessary to reinforce the sides and bottom of the pond. A concrete mortar or a sand-cement mixture is applied to it and allowed to dry. Then comes the turn of the decorative design of the banks: planting plants, decorating with stones, paving paths, installing figures and other design techniques.

Thematic material:

Pond from the finished mold

The pit prepared for the reservoir is cleaned from branches, piles of earth and other debris. The bottom and walls of the pit are rammed. If the countryside has too loose soils, they are strengthened. For the finished form, a perfectly flat surface of the pit is important. The plane is leveled with a building level.

The bottom of the future pond is covered with clean washed sand, which is also compacted. This layer ensures the integrity of the finished form.

After that, the container is placed in a pit and filled with water. Empty spaces between the sides of the mold and the walls of the pit are filled with sand, and this is done gradually. First, a layer of 25-30 cm thick is poured and watered. After a uniform distribution of sand, the actions are repeated until the space between the installed bowl and the walls of the pit is completely filled.

Carrying out this procedure is mandatory, since the form for an artificial reservoir is quite fragile and easily deformed. Even pressure from all sides will prevent warping.

After 24 hours, the gap between the sides of the tank and the walls of the pit is checked: if there are voids, sand is added to them. Then the water is pumped out of the pond, the mold is finally washed and filled with clean water.

The final stage is the decoration of the finished mini-lake at your discretion. There are no strict rules and trends here. Just make sure that the country pond brings pleasure and joy. After all, that's what it's set up for.

How nice it is to sit by the pond on a fine sunny day, admire the water surface, relax, unwind. But what if there is no water nearby? Build it yourself on your site! This does not require huge financial influences. All the nuances of creating and arranging a small country pond will be discussed in our article.

Purpose

If you have decided to equip the landscape of your site and decided that you must have a pond in your yard, then before you start work, you need to determine what functionality the pond will have on your site.

According to their purpose, ponds can be divided into three types:

• decorative;
• fish pond;
• for swimming (pool).

Decorative

A decorative pond can be small, built solely to decorate any area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe garden. Being a component of a landscape composition, it can be its finishing touch or an original addition to a design project.

Such a pond is created for an aesthetic purpose: it is pleasant to admire it while sitting in the garden.

Ornamental ponds can be larger: the pond itself is deeper, the compositions are larger, where bridges, fountains, streams, and lighting can serve as decor. In addition to a pleasant sight, such ponds are also a place to relax: on a warm summer day, you can sit around the pond in sun loungers and get your dose of ultraviolet radiation.

For fish breeding

Who among us does not dream of watching the fish frolicking in our own pond and pleasing the eyes of the household? In addition to the decorative function, such a pond will also serve as an antidepressant: fish swimming in the pond are an excellent sedative and relaxing remedy.

Such a pond should be large enough for your fish to feel comfortable. It can be absolutely any form. But whoever you decide to breed - crucian carp or ducks - do not forget about the need to filter the water, as well as to enrich it with oxygen.

For swimming

A homemade swimming pond is a lifesaver on a hot summer day! The size of such a pool will depend on your wishes and on the possibilities of your site. If the size of the plot allows, then you can build a beautiful reservoir in your yard in which you will swim in the summer. You can also get by with a smaller pool, which will be no less pleasant just to plunge into to cool off on a hot day.

Style of artificial reservoir

Conventionally, ponds can be divided into two large main groups, each of which has many varieties:

• regular pond;
• landscape pond.

A regular pond is created using a ready-made form. Surely you have thought out a landscape project in advance, so you already have a good idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhat a home reservoir should look like. Based on the wishes for the design of the pond, you can choose a suitable finished shape: they are not only regular geometric, but also more complex types: broken, asymmetric, and so on.

A landscape pond differs from a regular one in that a ready-made form is not used in its construction. Therefore, any configuration can be given to it.

The size and appearance of the reservoir can also be different: you can build a small Japanese-style pond, the main advantage of which is simplicity, or you can give free rein to your imagination, not being limited to the standard round shape and create a large pond filled with various decorations.

How to make a pond with your own hands?

Let's assume that you have decided on the type and functionality of the pond. Now let's look at how to practically implement the conceived idea.

Where to begin?

Of course, you should start by determining the location and size of the future pond. The choice of location is very important. Still, a pond, even if it is functional, should please the eye of the owner, complement the landscape composition, fit perfectly into it, or even become an accent in your design project.

When choosing a place for a pond in the country, you should take into account not only and not so much its visual advantages, but a number of other factors that affect the choice of location:

• Plot size. It goes without saying that the size of the pond will be whatever the size of your garden will allow it to be.
• Site relief. Different terrain allows you to achieve different results: on a flat surface you can create a wonderful laconic pond, the water in which will please the eye with its smooth surface; uneven surface allows you to fantasize with fountains and waterfalls.

• Groundwater level and soil. You must consider these factors when determining the depth of the pond (you may need certain consumables and additional forces).
• Lighting. It is preferable to find a pond in the shade: exposure to direct sunlight for a long time will increase the evaporation of water, and the microorganisms living in the water will become active, and the pond will lose all its attractiveness. To prevent this from happening, when choosing a place, pay attention to the light regime. This is especially true for small ponds and ponds with fish.
• Environment. Of course, the trees and shrubs surrounding the pond look very attractive, but do not forget that the foliage falling from these plants will pollute the pond, and the close proximity of tree roots can spoil the waterproofing.

• Power supply. Particular attention should be paid to the location if the pond is planned to be decorated with fountains or lighting in order to think over the electrification of this part of the summer cottage in advance.
• The prospect of expansion. You should always take this point into account, perhaps in the future you want to increase the pond itself or expand the recreation area near the reservoir, you want to fix or redo something.

To do this, be sure to leave a piece of empty space in the garden on one side of the pond.

• Consistency with other buildings: after all, a pond is part of the overall composition, so it is necessary to take into account the general appearance of the summer cottage, thinking through the design of the reservoir.
• And finally, the visual component. Of course, the pond should be pleasing to the eye, so its location must be arranged so that it can be seen from most places in the garden.

The size of the pond, of course, depends on the size of the site, but not only on this. The size of the reservoir also depends on your design project, in the end, just on your desire.

So, let's look at the main parameters:

• Dimensions. There are no specific recommendations regarding the area of ​​the pond. Some sources have information that the reservoir should be located on a plot up to approximately 10% of the entire garden area, but these are not fixed standards.
• Lenght and width. These parameters are taken into account based on the total size of the site. If you dig a hole for a pond with your own hands, then they also depend on your physical capabilities.
• Depth. Depends on the dimensions of the reservoir, its potential functionality, soil and your physical strength (again, if you dig the pit yourself).

• Zoning. Experts distinguish three parts:

1. coastal(100-300 mm): it contains plants growing in shallow water, and there is an entrance to the reservoir.
2. Shallow(300-900 mm): There is room for other deeper plants.
3. deep sea(from a meter and further): the area necessary for the habitat of fish. The larger and more diverse the living world of the reservoir, the greater part of the area is given to the deep-water zone. Also keep in mind: in order for the fish in the pond not to freeze in winter, the lower part of the pond should be located below the freezing level of the ground.

• Content. At Surprisingly, it is easier to take care of a large body of water than a small one.

What will be needed?

When you have decided on the location and size of the future reservoir, it is time to purchase materials. Now on the market of building and finishing materials you can buy everything you need to equip a pond:

• One of the most costly options concrete pond. This reservoir will serve you for a long time, but consider the functionality of the future pond: if you are going to build a pool, then this option may be the best choice for you, if not, study the other options offered and choose the most suitable one for you.

• plastic containers- an easier option. They come in different compositions (polyvinyl chloride or fiberglass), so their service life is also different: an average of 10 to 30 years. The work on installing the bowl is simple, so this option is quite convenient: you need to dig a hole, set the shape, fill the voids with sand. However, there are also disadvantages in this option: plastic molds are quite expensive, they also need especially careful transportation, they are not resistant to ultraviolet radiation, but they are resistant to frost.

The best choice in this case is a fiberglass mold with a rubber base.

The strongest and most reliable film is butyl rubber: it will last up to 50 years, it is also frost-resistant and very durable.

• You will also need the following materials and tools: a shovel, a hose for irrigation, a cord (for marking), stakes, a wheelbarrow for removing land, a cleaning filter (especially relevant for reservoirs where fish are bred), a pump (it creates the pressure necessary to fill in water, it will also be needed for construction of fountains and for the operation of cleaning filters), a sterilizer (needed to purify water), a compressor (aerator) (required for reservoirs in which fish live, as it saturates the water with oxygen).

Plan and calculations

So, you have thought about how your future pond will look like, found a suitable place for it, decided on the size, materials, but you still don’t know exactly how many materials you will need to build your dream pond. To find out, we will make calculations and, based on the size of the pond, calculate the optimal amount of materials needed for its construction.

Suppose we decide to use polyvinyl chloride film (PVC) as a basis, since this material is affordable, strong enough and easy to use, and also subject to repair.

PVC film comes in different colors: black, brown, blue (or cream):

• a black film will cover the bottom and allow you to observe the reflection of the sky on the surface of the reservoir;
• the brown film resembles the real bottom in color, which will make the reservoir more realistic;
• a light film (blue or cream) will allow you to see its inhabitants under water, for example, fish.

When buying a film, you should take into account the composition (PVC is stronger than, for example, polyethylene film) and thickness (we need a film whose thickness is more than half a millimeter).

It is also worth paying attention to the manufacturer, strength, UV resistance and the absence of toxic substances.

1. The length of the film is equal to the length of the reservoir + 2 depths of the reservoir + 400-500 mm, just in case.
2. The width of the film is equal to the width of the reservoir + 2 depths of the reservoir + 400-500 mm, just in case.

It is necessary to glue the film with glue bought in the same place, in a hardware store, for example, "Tangit" or adhesive tape.

After you understand the film, you have to make a sketch of your pond. First, draw a mini-sketch on paper, and then directly on the ground, indicating the depth and width of the tank, as well as the depth and width of the steps. You can write with a garden hose or sand - it's convenient.

Making: step by step guide

After all the preparatory stages have been successfully completed, you can proceed to the main actions:

1. We remove the top layer of soil.
2. We dig a hole.
3. We remove the earth.

It all sounds quite simple, but be careful, do not forget to take into account all the recesses necessary in the future (for plants, for steps, etc.), as well as the features of your reservoir (waterfall, pond, pool). When installing a pool, a large pit will have to be dug with an excavator, as in full-scale construction.

When the job is done, the foundation pit was dug, and the walls were well rammed, you can proceed to waterproofing. If you do not pay close attention to it, then water will begin to flow into the soil, and we do not need it at all. If you do it right, everything will turn out the way it should.

There are three ways to form a substrate on the bottom of your pond:

• The easiest and cheapest way is to fill the bottom with sand and stones. But the result of this method is short-lived: a few years and such a substrate will cease to function properly.
• Another way is to cover the bottom with geotextiles. The result, of course, is more durable, but the cost of this method is higher.
• This method is the most reliable: cover the bottom with PVC film. It is not very energy consuming, and the result is the most durable.

Let's take a closer look at the third option, as its result will allow us to enjoy the pond in our garden for many years. The main thing is to follow the instructions.

The fact that we have chosen the film method of waterproofing does not at all forbid us to fill the bottom with sand before laying the film: in this way we will protect the film from unnecessary damage by stones or roots. When laying, unfortunately, it will not work out completely without folds, but it is better to make one large fold than many small ones: it can then be pressed with stones or glued. The main thing is not to stretch the film, otherwise it will break under the weight of water.

To fix it, you need to dig an additional track, lay a film, fix it with rods and sprinkle stones on the track, and then lay the hole itself with them. When you have mastered the film, you should pour water into your hole. Do it carefully, without sudden pressure. You should act carefully: the film, although durable, can still deteriorate and tear from incorrect actions. After 1-2 days after filling with water, you can cut the film.

Now it is necessary to strengthen the shore so that the reservoir looks beautiful and neat. Let's pay attention to the soil: if it is black soil or clay, then vertical walls can be made, but if it is sand, then the walls should be inclined. It is believed that the ideal slope of the pond bank is 45°. With such a slope, the coast does not crumble, and during the freezing period, the ice does not stick out. Do not forget about the plants: since the planting depth of all plants is different, it is necessary to provide shelves for planting in advance.

It is possible to strengthen gentle banks with a geogrid or geomat, and steep banks with gabions, piles and retaining walls. By the way, there is an option for those who are not yet ready for such large-scale work on their site, but still want to be the owner of a small island of happiness in their garden. A pond can be built from very improvised means. For example, from a tire.

The pit will be needed much less deep, the film will need much less, and in the end there will be the same amount of joy. The creation process is extremely simple: you need to dig a hole according to the size of the tire, insert it into this recess, lay a film on the bottom, pour water, decorate the outside with stones.

Of course, the pond will be very small, but if it is properly decorated, it will please the eye no worse than a full-fledged reservoir.

What plants to plant?

Of course, in order for your pond to look impressive and attractive, it needs to be decorated accordingly: decorate with plants. In order for your pond to be closest in resemblance to a natural reservoir, you need to do landscaping.

We offer several options:

• You can plant plants at the bottom of your pond. It is better to use local plants: they will take root faster.

• You can also plant various plants in some kind of container., for example, in a barrel and put around the pond. At the same time, you can plant whatever your heart desires, choosing containers to your liking and, in accordance with the style of the pond and the garden composition as a whole: it will look impressive, while not visually separating from the overall picture. In addition, just by replacing the container, you can easily change the appearance of the entire environment, if you suddenly get bored with the previous look.

• The highlight of your design project can be a decoration in the middle of the pond. Place a beautiful stone in the middle of the pond, and place a pot with some interesting plant on it, or decorate it with some figure, for example, a mermaid. Such a move will certainly attract the attention of others.

• To keep the water in your pond clean for as long as possible, you need to protect it from leaves, branches and insects falling from trees with a special mesh design.
• If, nevertheless, the leaves are in the water, a net will help you: just remove unnecessary debris from the water so that it stays clean for as long as possible, and the pond delights you with its beauty. But the net will not help get rid of debris from the bottom of the reservoir. Therefore, it is sometimes necessary to clean the pond with a water purifier.

Not difficult at all. It can be made in any size, depending on the space on the site that you would like to allocate for this. The rules for arranging such an element of landscape design will be approximately the same, regardless of size. On a summer day, it is infinitely pleasant to relax near a pond created by one's own hands and proudly show it to guests. Any owner of a summer cottage can create a beautiful garden pond, equip the banks, populate it with bright fish. Everything will depend solely on your imagination.

How to determine the location for the pond

In order for the pond on your own site to turn out to be functional and attractive in appearance, first try to determine a convenient location for it.

It would be ideal to start the construction of the pond in a free area, which is not under the scorching sun, but also not shaded by trees. If it seems to you that a suitable site has been found, pay attention to how it is lit. Poor lighting does not allow the planted plants to develop calmly, and this negatively affects the appearance of the reservoir.

It is not very good to build a pond in a completely open area, where on hot days there will be real sunshine. Single-celled algae love the light, they will grow stronger and cause water blooms. If you have a shallow body of water, living creatures and plants in hot weather will not feel comfortable and may die. And the owners are unlikely to be pleased to relax in the sun. It is better to choose a site for creating a pond that is not surrounded by trees, next to which there is a building or a fence. Then at midday the pond will be in the shadow cast by them, and the sun's rays in the evening and in the morning are far from being so hot and will not damage the structure.

Do not try to place the pond near trees. Their roots grow imperceptibly and after a while they can damage the bottom - tear the film or move the form.

If you intend to decorate the pond in the country with your own hands, arrange lighting, filters, using a pump, also consider the proximity of the source of electricity.

Pond in the country from a special plastic mold

If you want to create a beautiful landscape in the country with the addition of a reservoir, but there is no desire to bother with the correct arrangement of the bottom, you can purchase a ready-made form for it. They are cast under production conditions from fiberglass or plastic. Such a container can last at least 10-12 years, it has good resistance to temperature and sunlight. But when installing a plastic mold, you should perform all the steps carefully, otherwise there is a risk of damaging it. Cracks that appear on the surface cannot be effectively closed.

Fiberglass is a more expensive material that is also used to make garden pond molds. It is extremely durable and can last for many years. When using this option, the service life of the reservoir will be twice or three times longer than in the previous case.

The first step in order to arrange your own mini-pond is choosing and acquiring a form for it. It will need to be arranged in the ground. To get a pit, the shape of which exactly matches the required one, transfer the contours of the future pond to the surface of the earth. It should be done in this way. Put the purchased plastic bowl on the ground, then start sticking sticks around it, retreating from the outlines by about 15-20 cm. Stretch the rope between the sticks. Then put the plastic base aside and dig a hole, trying to keep the intended shape. The edges of the pit should be 30 cm higher than the height of the bowl. It must be ensured that the location of the pit is horizontal. To do this, use a flat board or building level.

Pour a layer of sand at the bottom of the pit - this will be the base of the pond. Place a mold in the prepared hole, fill the free space left between the plastic and the edges of the pit with sand. Then pour the sand layer with water from a hose to facilitate shrinkage.

Fill the mold with water. The shores can be decorated with stones. Taking on the creation of a country pond with your own hands, photos on the topic can be viewed in advance to determine its appearance. You can equip beautiful stone shores that are close to natural in appearance, plant plants.

How to create a pond from a film

Do-it-yourself pond in the country can be built from waterproof PVC film or butyl rubber. The option is convenient in that the owners of the site choose the shape and size on their own. Polyvinyl chloride film is resistant to ultraviolet radiation, perfectly tolerates temperature fluctuations, and does not lose color for a long time. It can last 10-15 years. Butyl rubber is somewhat stronger and more durable, but also more expensive. It is worth using it for reservoirs that are planned to be deep enough. It is worth buying material with a small margin in order to thoroughly fix it around the edges.

The step-by-step device of the reservoir will look like this:

1. Creation of a pit. If you are going to plant plants in water, you can equip shelves for them along the edges of the pit - ledges with a depth of 15 cm.
2. When digging, try to work so that the walls of the pit do not crumble. If the soil on the site is clayey or black soil prevails, you can safely make them vertical. When working with sandy soils, the walls of the pit should be made inclined.
3. After digging, remove roots, stones, any large formations that may interfere with work. The film should be protected from possible mechanical damage and tearing. To do this, arrange a sand layer at the bottom or cover it with geotextile.
4. Lay the film on top of the sandy layer and lay stones along its edge to secure it. If when digging ledges, steps were created, do the same for them.
5. Around the reservoir, in addition, you can dig a shallow groove with a width of 20-30 cm. This will allow the stones that fix the film to be on the same level with the ground. To enhance fixation, you can fill them with cement.
6. When the container is completely ready, it's time to fill it with water and plant the plants.

Decorative pond equipment from an old bath

Your pond at their summer cottage can be made from anything. For example, if you have a bathtub that has fallen into disrepair, it can be used as the basis for a pond.

In this case, the pit is dug out depending on the size of the bath - about 20 cm are added to them. When you lower the bath into the prepared pit, its edges should be lower than the ground surface. Dig a groove along the perimeter of the resulting hole - its height and width should be 30 cm. Place the bath in the pit and give it a strictly horizontal position, using a level to determine it. Fill the voids formed on the sides with soil or sand. At this stage, the base of the pond should look like this: a bath dug into the pit with a small groove encircling the perimeter.

The next step is to mix the mass of tile adhesive with water, to which the pigment of the desired shade is added. Glue should be applied to the inner surface of the pond blank. Do not try to level it well - the sides of the bath should acquire a dark shade close to the natural color of the soil and a similar structure. Then cover the structure with a film and leave it alone for one day - you have to wait until the glue has completely hardened.

Lay a special metal mesh along the edges of the bath for fixing. Cut out fragments of the desired shape and lay them around the perimeter of the bath, while covering the edges and internal surfaces by about half their depth. The bottom should remain open, and the walls of the container and its edges should be covered with a grid.

Now you should prepare a bonding solution from cement, water and sand. It is applied over the mesh, without trying to particularly level the surface. Additionally, stones are inserted into the thickness of the solution from time to time - this will help to further strengthen the grid, and the appearance of the pond will give more naturalness. It is necessary to carefully cement the drain.

Where the mesh covers the edges of the bathtub, it is appropriate to place large stones. They will be able to emphasize the shape of the pond and give the banks a natural look. It is not necessary to observe a geometrically strict rectangular shape - on the contrary, you can lay out fragments along the edges in a wave-like manner, in the form of steps, visually expand the banks. Irregularities and elevations imitating natural relief look interesting. In some places, instead of large stones, add handfuls of crushed stone. Give the pond a beautiful outline, focusing on your own taste.

Pour clay into the bottom of the tub, add water and mix the solution. Spread it on the sides, closing the cement, fill in the voids formed between the stones. Such a solution will dry quite quickly - after a few hours you will already be able to pour water inside. Plant aquatic plants in the grooves around the pond. The water will become a little cloudy in a few days, the appearance will become natural, it will be difficult to guess the true origin of the pond. More details can be read.

How to revive an artificial pond

When creating their own pond, many site owners dream of having fish in it or at least decorating it with vegetation. Then your home pond will turn into a real work of art. To choose a beautiful appearance for your building, you can watch a video on the topic.

When choosing plants for planting, remember that some of them are able to grow favorably only at a certain depth. If the water column is not more than 30 cm, you can plant yellow iris, marsh marigold, heart-shaped pontederia. With a pond depth of 30-50 cm, you can choose an ordinary arrowhead, reed, broad-leaved cattail. In a pond more than half a meter deep, plant water lilies and lotuses, water hyacinths.

In a home pond, you can settle carp, veiltails, some varieties. These fish are the most unpretentious and able to live in such a reservoir. But you should know that when you start the fish into the pond, it should. Water without it will deteriorate, and this will quickly affect the decorative features, and the health of the fish will suffer if they swim in dirty, muddy water with an unpleasant odor.

To do it yourself on the site, you need to put a lot of effort, but the result is worth it. You can create yourself a beautiful, decorated in full accordance with your tastes. The contemplation of the water surface, which is bordered by tastefully selected plants, has a calming effect. Resting in the heat near a pond made by oneself is surprisingly pleasant.

In order for the pond to last longer, it should be freed from water for the winter. The exception is reservoirs made of plastic molds: when emptying them for a period of cold weather in the spring, you can get a twisted, squeezed shape.

Almost every garden has a pond. And he definitely gets into the frame: the owners love their pond (or even the smallest pond), are proud of it and consider it perhaps their main garden achievement. And this is understandable. But the strict eye of a professional often notes the unfortunate blunders in the creation of reservoirs, which are repeated in many gardens with offensive constancy.

We asked landscape designer Valeria Ilyina to analyze some common amateur mistakes and talk about what you need to know in order to make a decorative pond, stream or waterfall in your garden with your own hands.

Are you building a pond? Make no mistake!

Perhaps it makes no sense to convince someone that a pond in the garden is good. Water like a magnet attracts everyone's attention and even in photographs it always looks mysterious and alluring. Is it any wonder that today the reservoir has become an indispensable attribute of the "gentleman's set" of any design project for the development of a new land plot or the reconstruction of an old one.

Unfortunately, as a result of a formal approach to business, one garden becomes similar to another. Gardens are churned out by professional designers like cakes are baked, and they actually turn out to be cloned. To be honest, the gardens of amateurs are closer to me, which, although they sin with some dilettantism, still attract more with their ingenuous sincerity. All actions of an amateur come from the heart, and therefore the path is often tortuous, but in the end the truth is found, and not least thanks to intuition.

To make the path to beauty shorter, let's try together to analyze the characteristic mistakes that miraculously repeat in many reservoirs, and analyze their nature. And after that, we will gradually analyze all the subtleties and secrets of a quick, easy and economical creation of a reservoir that is ideal for your garden. So, the most typical misses.

Wrong size

This is the most common mistake: the pond does not match the size of the garden and its surrounding plants. A small puddle located somewhere at the fence or at the entrance to the garden and squeezed on all sides by lush and beautiful garden plants, no matter how hard you try, will always look miserable.

Wrong place

In no case do not place a reservoir against the backdrop of unsightly buildings, a sloppy garden, a pile of garbage, a rickety fence, and who knows what else.

old fence- not the best background for a pond

Water always attracts the eye, so placing your pond in an unsightly place, you thereby focus on the shortcomings of the garden.

Mistakes in the selection of material

Purchasing garden supplies follow the law of similarity. If the house is made of brick or stone, then their color, texture, shape and size must be repeated in the material of the fence, paving, finishing of other buildings. The same applies to a wooden house or a house sheathed with siding.

Often you can see a picture when individual corners of the garden are very good: beautiful plants are logically grouped, the reservoir is carefully and with fantasy decorated - and the overall impression of the garden is negative. You start to analyze, and it turns out: a brutal-looking house is made of red brick with white trim of plastic windows, a powerful fence is assembled from ready-made concrete blocks painted with bright pink paint with white scallops on top, a carved gazebo is gilded with turned beams, an asphalt tape of the path leads to it, over which the yokes of openwork white arches for roses are thrown, the presence here and there of colored plastic, various-sized borders, flowerpots, and to top it off - like a gold medal for bad taste - a plastic water lily on a living leaf of a nymphaeum completes the picture. As they say, comments are superfluous.

Conclusion: while arranging the garden, introducing new elements into it, try to predict the final result, predict how the garden as a whole will look like. The body of water should always match the garden, buildings and surrounding plants in size and style, and be positioned in the most advantageous position depending on the image you choose.

Defeat in the fight against the plastic mold

A common misconception: a ready-made plastic mold is the best choice if you decide to create a pond, as they say, with little money. Yes, indeed, manufacturers offer a wide range of such "baths", and it seems that you can choose a shape for every taste. But everything is not so simple. Even the largest of them (and they are very expensive) will not be big enough in the garden, and the small ones just look like a misunderstanding. At the same time, all of them, although obviously small in size, have an overly intricate shape that will never turn out to be natural in place.

The edges of such forms have a rounded profile, on which it is impossible to fix neither soil for coastal plants, nor stone, and especially gravel. Some of the more expensive forms have quartz sprinkling glued with a wide tape along the upper edge, but most often it is so strikingly different from our local materials that it still cannot be decorated.

Plastic molds are made by stamping, and cheap products often have an annoying defect - the edges are skewed along the periphery, due to which, no matter how hard you try, you will not be able to dig such a shape neatly and evenly in principle. Needless to say, a piece of black plastic sticking out above the water will nullify all your efforts. For clarity, such a reservoir can be compared with a luxurious suit, in which a carelessly sewn lining is bristling in the most visible place. The sight of such a suit is at least regrettable.

Protruding black plastic of the finished form sticking out above the water- poor decoration of the reservoir

It is not superfluous to add that it is not easy and expensive to transport a finished form, especially a large one, and as a result, the final cost of the structure increases significantly. I once had a chance to work with a plastic mold of small size and at the same time intricate design. She was hopelessly skewed. I spent a lot of time, effort and nerves to somehow neutralize this innate defect, but, unfortunately, there are things that cannot be corrected.

However, rigid forms have a future. In Europe, plastic molds of regular geometric shapes have been produced for several years now: round, rectangular, trapezoidal. They have a wide, flat, horizontal edge, making them easy to mount under all sorts of flooring. It is advisable to use them for raised formal reservoirs, which are effectively decorated with stone, wood, plastic, metal; they can be located at different levels and combined with fountains and waterfalls.

Unfortunately, our trade so far offers only round shapes, but we must not forget: if there is demand, there will also be supply. The breadth of the horizons of consumers shapes the market.

Conclusion: before choosing one or another method of waterproofing, you need to comprehensively familiarize yourself with the positive and negative sides of each and conduct a comparative analysis. The lack of information about the qualities of waterproofing materials in the presence of a large supply on the market leads to the wrong decision.

Primer QUICK PRIME PLUS 9.6 KG bucket 11.35 liters Firestone 16 480 rubles
RosPrud

Fountain pump CM 3500 Jebao 6 200 rub
RosPrud

Protective mesh for pond Aquanet 1 3 x 4 m 1 000 rub
RosPrud

Fountain pump WP 2350 F Jebao productivity 2350 liters per hour 3 400 rub
RosPrud

Trying to repurpose an old bath

Speaking of ready-made forms, it should be mentioned that amateurs often try to recycle enameled cast-iron bathtubs. Once upon a time, in times of chronic scarcity and lack of available materials, this simple way to create a garden pond was welcomed by many. However, few people managed to decorate a white bath so that the enameled pond looked more or less attractive.

More often, such a structure looks miserable: greenish white walls, mounds of garbage at the bottom (after all, you can see everything against a light background!), round cobblestones are artlessly laid out along the edge, and a collectible beauty hosta is planted nearby. An unattractive spectacle…

But there are ways to embellish such a reservoir, you just need to move your imagination. The easiest way is to paint the bath with any dark or black paint. Visually, the container will look deeper, the reflectivity of the water will increase, and the edges will almost merge with the ground. In the presence of all kinds of plasticizers and modern mixtures (for example, Eunice-plus cement glue), the inside of the bath can be coated with a layer of 1-3 cm, give it a texture, tint by adding mineral powder or liquid colored pigments or finely ground brown peat to the solution. If desired, if such an image fits into the overall picture, a mosaic of colored pebbles or glass, pieces of a mirror, or simply glued pieces of crushed stone of different sizes can be laid on top of the cement.

If you have a whole arsenal of used household bathtubs, you can dig them close to each other in a chain or square-nested way, depending on the quantity, finish the inner surfaces as mentioned above, and mount a decorative flanging made of tiles, clinker, wood over the joined edges etc. You will get a channel or a pool with separate cells, each of which can be decorated in a special way: somewhere there are plants, somewhere a spring or a small fountain, somewhere there are fish or lights - an unplowed field for fantasy.

Such a structure can be made partially raised over the entire area, or you can place the cells at different levels, and even arrange the flow of water from one block to another. So an old primitive idea can be applied in a completely new way and achieve a wonderful result.

Conclusion: old, used containers can be successfully used to create reservoirs, you just need to be creative and never leave the wrong side in sight.

stone beads

The most common mistake in decorating a garden pond is a rounded cobblestone laid out around the edge like beads. More often such beads lie in one row, but some manage to lay two rows on top of each other.

Such a way of laying a stone will never look natural, not to mention the fact that it is absolutely impossible to decorate a film or a board of a rigid structure. So the multi-colored “monists” lie on the monstrous black shores, and no matter what beauty you arrange around, such an aqua garden will serve as a mute reproach to the owner.

When relaxing on the banks of rivers and lakes, try to pay attention to how nature "lays out" the stones, and what you like and remember the most. Usually, small fractions serve as a background, while larger ones are textured by contrasting groups.

The stone for decorating the reservoir must be carefully selected. Photo by Valeria Ilyina

Conclusion: stone for decorating a reservoir must be carefully selected. It is desirable to use a stone that is uniform in rock and color, but varied in size. This does not mean that the pellets are completely unsuitable, just that they “play”, you need to work with them even more carefully.

Toys around the pond

Another typical drawback that can spoil the most beautiful, carefully thought-out design: the simultaneous presence of a large number of decorative figures and various garden accessories in a small area.

An abundance of accessories and decor elements– a sure way to ruin any body of water

Nobody argues, some bright gnomes and funny lafs can really decorate some corners of the garden, bring a smile. But if plastic frogs, papier-mâché ducks and clay mermaids are already enough, and you were also presented with an “overturned” jug with Maya painting for a fountain, white bent furniture in the rococo style and black lanterns a la Montmartre, it is inevitable there will be overkill. Any of these items can be quite attractive on their own, but put together within line of sight, they will most likely do you a disservice by turning the garden into a haberdashery.

Do not abuse accessories and decor. Photo by Valeria Ilyina

Conclusion: The thoughtless use of decorations will break the garden harmony. Try to look at the garden as if from the outside, and if you tend to get carried away with "decoration", at least spread the decorative "gadgets" in space and time.

Next time we will finish the analysis of the most common mistakes that gardeners make when creating ponds and think about what kind of body of water - a pond, stream or fountain - will suit your garden. Read the article. landscape design,