I'm not sure if most people would consider my plastic half barrels to be ponds, but I have 8 of them. 4 are filled with water to grow lotus and water lilies. 4 are filled with a peat and sand mixture for a variety of bog plants.

It is something that I started on as something new. Now I have "ponds" of all sizes all over the backyard.lol
I started with a small half barrel, then moved up to a preform from Lowes. The next year found me pulling that out to have kiddletts to dig me a pond that is 10' X 8'. Hubby teses me about just digging up the whole backyard and adding water to it.
I still have the barrels full, plus the free form, plus some 5 gallon tubs, and the big pond. Can you say I love water plants?

Thats me I put water into anything hat will hold it. I also love water plants. I have one of those dollar general buckets with the rope handles, and a blue kiddie pool, and a 90 gallon preform. Which by the way started this crazy ponder. I always tell hubby, the more water you see the less you have to mow. He's happy with that.

Misty

I have a preformed pond about the size of a bathtub that I have waterlilies and various water plants. 3 half barrel ponds with lotus in two and a carnivorous bog garden in the 3rd.

bathtub pond

Momo Botan lotus

visitor in the lotus pond
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Unknown lotus

waterlily

bog orchid in the carnivorous bog

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! Awesome pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very nice pics. I have never had no luck with lotus, though I love them. I still haven't loaded any pics to my laptop yet.

Misty

I have a couple ponds south of Nashville.

I would love detailed how-to's on building the carnivorous bog garden. I adore pitcher plants!

Evelyn

I would gladly swap a plant or two for some water hyacinths at the May swap.

Evelyn

I love that bog orchid, is it hardy or tropical? I thought there would be more people with ponds. My lilies have lots of growth I also bought an iris from Lowes the other day and it should bloom very soon.

Misty

Misty, the bog orchid is hardy. It is a Calopogon bog orchid.

The link below is a site that I followed in building my little bog. It is also the site where I bought the orchid, pitcher plants, venus fly traps and sundews. All are hardy and come back year after year.

Here is a link that might be useful: pitcherplant.com

Just had a pond put in in the fall. I'm learning. The Koi are so great. Put it in for hubby, never found such a great destresser for the whole family.

My son Daniel (7) loved the pitcher plants too spent days feeding them. Discovered what the like and don't. (Closed top means they're eating.)

I've been told about two great spots for ponders here in ETN. Something Fishy near Tricities Airport and Johnson County High School in Mountain City, grow Koi and water plants.

Dealing with algae til plants get some cover!!! Need that spring vegetation cover.

Any lessons for a novice??

Those pics are great.

I moved into my home about 8 years ago - previous owners had a pond that was lined with cement. In it I have goldfish, hundreds of frogs and water lillies & pickerelweed.

Over time the cement form has developed a crack so the water level drops a few inches every couple of days. I don't know how to fix that, so I think I'll dig and put in a new one, a plastic preform like several of you have.

Do you put the preform directly into the ground, or do you put a liner underneath?

-Jennifer

Jennifer, unless there's something you don't like about the current pond, wouldn't it be much easier to just add a pond liner?

I would just put some underlay on the cement then liner.

Anyone got pics of there ponds?

My preform is above ground with dirt around it.Then I have ferns planted in the dirt. To start with it was "in" the ground. Only that is where I pulled it up to enlarge the pond.lol

Wow - that's a darn good idea. I could do that in a day.

My goodness - I am sure glad I asked that question. Thanks!

-Jennifer