What is the best location for a Pond? 

The decision to put a pond in your backyard is a great decision, adding beauty and tranquility to any area, interest with fish and plants and helpful to the native birds, frogs and insects in your area. You may need to check with your local council for guidelines that govern you area.

If you are lucky enough to have a choice of different locations, then consider the following aspects to make your pond most desirable;

All living things require sunshine to grow, so full sun will always be better than full shade, flowering water lilies and flowering marginal water plants all require direct sun. A location that receives all the morning sun, but shaded from the hot afternoon sun is ideal.

You will want to sit and watch your pond, so one that you can be viewed from your favorite sitting position either from within the garden, or from a window inside your house will increase your enjoyment. Another tip, try a position where you can’t view the entire pond at first glance, this adds interest and intrigue making you wants to move closer for a better look.

When considering the depth, a ponds beauty is in its expanse of water, not the depth, so we suggest a depth of 60cm, with a 10cm layer of fine gravel on the base, this will give you 50cm of water, great for water lilies, all fish (and no, Koi do not require 1m depth), 50cm or knee deep, it is out of the realm of most wading birds, making it harder for your fish to get eaten and it wont be too uncomfortable if you have to step into the pond.

You will more than likely want to have access to power, for a pump and or lighting so take into account when planning.

Leaf litter from large trees can be annoying, but the trees beauty will far out way the inconvenience of having to remove leaves every now and again.

Building a pond does not have to cost a fortune, quality ponds liners are available from as little as $7 per sqm, quality pond pumps and filters that have low running costs are plentiful, as an example for a 2,000lt pond, say 2m x2m at 50cm in depth, budget around $300 for a pump and a UV backwash filter. The only hard part is digging the hole and that doesn’t cost anything, except maybe a few kilo’s from the exercise.

Article published in Garden Guru Magazine Spring 2009