How To

• Build a Pond
• Obtain Materials
• Finishing Touch
• Obtain Plants
• Obtain Fish
• Pond Tips
• Further reading

Finishing Touches

Finishing Touches are those little things that can make a big difference to the look of the Garden Pond. When I originally built the pond, I did not intend to put a wooden deck round the top edge. When I had finished painting the outsides of the pond with non-toxic white paint, it didn't quite seem finished. My late wife, Yvonne quickly sized up the situation and suggested that I make up a wood top similar to that of upside down model railway track. It was a magnificent idea, and the result is clear from the following photographs which show the the tops after staining and before being fitted to the pond.

All the wood used to construct these wall topping was TREATED SOFTWOOD. This is critical in a water garden environment to avoid rotting. Even though the timber had been pre-treated, we used a wood colourant to achieve the look we wanted. Because of possible leaching, we used a water based product so as to protect the fish. BRASS screws were used both in construction and also for the fitting to the pond wall in order to avoid rust problems at a later date.

Note the different sizes that were necessary from this view. The extended section at the top of the photo was made to accomodate the owl shown at the top of this article.

The wood top overlaps both sides of the pondwall for visual effect as can be seen from the above photograph. It is, however, very important for the top to protrude over the pond water in order to deter the fish from trying to jump out of the pond.

In this view, you can see the difference in size of the decking used to cover the filter section of the pond. The finish used is exactly the same as on the wall topping.