The Leather Oaks Garden -- Yet Another Pond Rebuild

We're going to get it RIGHT this time!
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This Page Created on March 20th, 2009
Gravel at Pipe's Feet!      We threw several cart loads of fresh gravel into the pond, but it wasn't looking promising. It seems we had been running the pond at higher water levels than Mark had intended for several years. Adding more gravel would end up with the water depth dangerously low at the pond's shallow, south end.
     Although way too busy and muddy to document it, I finally removed all of the rocks forming the east wall of the pond! From the Rubber Creek inflow (that's where Adrian was kneeling) almost to the biological filter, the liner was freed, and a small pump forced underneath. After removing as much water as possible, the gravel was levelled to a thickness of about four inches across the pond's floor.

Then came the tricky part of rebuilding the pond's East Wall. I found that a major source of the problem was that the clay walls were so saturated they had allowed the rocks to sink into them, lessening the capacity of the pond. Molding the clay to re-form the shelves holding the rocks was the first step. Then, two courses of those brick pavers were placed on the shelves.

 The East Liner Rework!
Refilling the Pond, Again!      With the pavers doing the below-the-scenes work, I had enough rocks to rebuild the Pond Wall almost four inches higher than it had been previously.

The water seems terrible, but don't the rocks look great? (Please, say "Yes"!)
     This is looking a whole lot better! And walking on the bottom, I could sense that the liner was now firmly in place. Before, you really had to have your sea legs to navigate the pond, even when full of water!

You see that ugly expanse of grey mud behind the pond? That's the next issue to address, and points to one reason the wall sank.

 Adrian and Pipe in their new pond!
Adrian and Pipe move apart       We could be anthropormorphic and claim that two inantimate objects needed more personal space. But let's be frank and admit that both statues lost their impact by being almost side by side! My neighbor suggested their new living arrangements, and they've made no objections whatsoever!

If you want to move on to the page describing the pond restocking, and the restoring of its surroundings, please click the photo at left.