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>More Pond DesignsPuddling with ConcreteSafe Ponds for ChildrenClay puddling, I am glad to report, is an art in pond construction that went out with handlebar mustaches and high-wheeled bicycles. It never was much of an art, in my opinion, but I don't think any discussion of pond building would be complete without some mention of it, for it was one of the pioneer techniques of water gardening. Puddling with Clay
All the clay-puddled ponds I have seen required a constant trickle of water into them to make up for that lost by seepage. Spring or stream water, always 15 to 20 degrees colder than still water warmed by the sun, maintained a pond temperature too cold for good (frequently too cold for any) water-lily growth. A trickle piped into the pond from a household water system would be even colder, and expensive to boot. The clay linings of these ponds attracted crawfish as spilled molasses attracts flies. After a couple of them had burrowed through the pond's lining, many a pond enthusiast in the old days discovered that overnight his beautiful water garden had become just a mud hole, so to remain until he patched the holes and refilled the pond. Clay-puddled ponds are now blessedly of the past, and good riddance. Any structure that will enable a couple of crawfish to ruin a man's whole summer just isn't practical enough to bother building. DEW PONDS Natural dew ponds, also known as cloud ponds and mist ponds, are near-miraculous works of nature. They just happen, sometimes, in shady places that remain constantly damp, even in hot, dry weather. The mystery of them is their principal fascination. They have no apparent source of water, and yet they thrive, their cold, clear waters never seeming to diminish. A few English water gardeners with plenty of time and even more patience have been able to construct them and make them work. An artificial dew pond is built, much as a puddled-clay pond, although on a much smaller scale. The layer of straw that goes into the excavation is much thicker, perhaps a foot or more of it. The clay lining is tamped in upon the straw in the conventional way. Continue to Puddling with Concrete |
Planning Your Pond |
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