Sunday, April 19, 2015

Hop and Skip to a Pond Makeover

Saturday morning is usually a recovery period from the working week that's just gone past, a period when it's not always easy to make a decision on anything definite to do in the garden. Or even whether to go somewhere else instead or not unless there was something arranged beforehand.

Sometimes the best antidote to a cloudy head is an aimless walk in the garden first thing in the morning. And last Saturday I found myself wandering down towards the pond on the bottom patio.

Hmmmm....that Gunnera tinctoria is waking up nicely and looking good....



Which made me then think that it's been quite awhile since I last walked on the edge of this pond. And there are views of the garden whilst stood on it that are a treat by virtue of how infrequent I stand on it.

So a quick hop on to the pond edge was made and skip across it (which is quite a skip and a miscalculated move would find me in amongst the goldfish).

Knickers of course just had to follow...



Now my eyes wander, first this Tetrapanax papyrifer 'Rex' growing on the bed behind the pond is waking up nicely and looking good.



Then a quick look back on to the Gunnera which is now below my line of vision rather than level with it.



And then I spot the Clematis armandii vigorously growing on the pergola which was then opposite me rather than usually being underneath it. It's flowering with full might and is looking fabulous!




Then I turned my head and spotted the Staphylea holocarpa 'Rosea' covered in pink little blooms.



Then the jungle hut beyond it.



Then it was time to back, skip and hop back down then look back into the pond itself.



Not bad at all but there's a part of me that thinks we've neglected this pond a bit since the big koi pond has been up and running. This used to be a koi pond before being 'just' a goldfish pond now. Perhaps it ought to be turned back into a mixed koi and goldfish pond again like it used to? It needs a mini makeover!

Enhance the filtration and streamline it so that there won't be as many pipes and cables going across the coping stones which is a testament to all the retrofitting and afterthought that came after the completion of this pond years ago. Perhaps change the shed itself behind it as well (which houses the filtration) as it's getting on a bit? Or maybe not as it'll make the mini makeover not so mini anymore. We'll decide on that later but for sure the inside lay out will be modified.

As with any pond there is a lot to consider, but one of the key considerations is the filter to use. We have considered a number of options, taking into account the ease of use, the time needed to clean and at the same time the performance. Weighing up the options and also the space available we have decided we need a small(ish) filter with good performance but easy to clean.

So for the filtration we have decided to go with an Eazypod which is so easy to install and has a very good reputation. In terms of filtration the manufacturers state it is capable of filtering koi ponds up to 10,000 litres. As you can never over filter a pond, and its always best to take the recommended abilities with a pinch of salt I would tend to err on the side of caution and half the suggested capacity. With that in mind the pond has a capacity of about 2,800 litres so even with the planned changes that will bring this up to 4,000 litres this should be more than good enough for the job. 

We will of course set the filtration up in such a way as it will be easy to add additional components to it should we want to in future.  

Talk about impromptu decisions! Well sort of impromptu as giving this pond a makeover has always been on the backburner. Only a mini one for now though as we're busy enough already as it is this year without adding a big garden project to the mix.

The hop and skip gave me clearer head, which resulted in the start of a garden project!

Mark :-)

28 comments :

  1. There are always new projects in a garden!! that makes it so much fun :). And it is great that you have some places to hop to and see different views of the garden!! It makes it even more interesting. It almost looked like a bloomday post, hehehe.

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    1. Thank Lisa :) to be honest I missed out on featuring so many blooms during bloom day meme that I may have to do a part two!

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  2. Great views of the garden! It's always good to see it from different angles.
    I think you guys would get withdrawal symptoms if there wasn't some project to be done in the garden... and it just gets better and better. I love how it changes from season to season as well. We don't get those sort of dramatic changes here.

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    1. We do love your old garden Missy and looking forward to your new one :)

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  3. There are always projects, especially for you guys! The garden is looking wonderful...

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    1. Thanks Loree :) projects are hard to get out of our system!

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  4. Nice clematis armandii.
    Afraid mine just got too big for its space and the summer shade was too dense.
    It's a bit tender here in York and after a cold winter it was scorched

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    1. It can get rampant Roger as you probably have experienced. This one had to be cut back hard a couple of years ago and it initially responded by producing much bigger leaves. Looks like it will need hard cutting back again this year.

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  5. I was going to say that the hop and skip gave you a great vantage point for photos but it looks as though it also added a significant number of chores. Best wishes with the new project!

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    1. Indeed Kris, those little skips created more work :)

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  6. I'm glad your head is now as fresh as the garden looks. Leaves emerging, projects emerging, spring is such a great time.

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    1. Thanks Denise :) spring is such a wonderful time of the year!

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  7. I had just been wondering what project you might tackle next. There's my answer :-).

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  8. Projects always give focus to garden work, and usually miscellaneous related things get completed at the same time. Looking forward to seeing what creative new things you accomplish.

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    1. That's true Gail. Hopefully this relatively little one won't be that difficult :)

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  9. Lovely blooms among the greenery!

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  10. There you go, thinking again. That always seems to lead to more projects for you guys! Your Gunnera looks fantastic and makes me want to get one again. (The large one I had eventually was growing in too much shade, started to decline, and the gardener didn't move it before it decided to give up. Oops. Have fun with your mini makeover!

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  11. Great pics! But do be careful as you hop and skip around the garden taking photographs - last September I literally concussed myself by being so interested in photographing a friend's very pretty garden shed. I tripped and hit my head against her stone steps. This garden blogging can be a dangerous business.

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    1. Glad you weren't hurt Alexandra but yes, blogging has its risks of injury too!

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  12. I sure love your garden. It doesn't matter what you do it looks fantastic!

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  13. I sure love your garden. It doesn't matter what you do it looks fantastic!

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  14. We all benefited from your rare morning of indecision. Thanks

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  15. Looking at something from a different angle is always a good way to solve a problem! If I'm feeling indecisive, I wander to the garden with a notebook in hand and write down even the tiniest thing that needs doing. That usually becomes quite a long list and what to do with my day (and week!) is sorted. It's a good year for clematis; the armandii growing locally is also rampant with a really strong scent!

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    1. That's a good way to get ones bearing in the garden Caro :)

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