Buadhai Builds A Pond

[a. boozer]

จอก - jok
English is Pistia or "water lettuce". Great for filtering the water.

Thanks BH.

[Propagator]

Water Hyacinth is a different plant

Don't these need constant thinning as they tend to take over the pond. Have a pond at the place I am buying but has been neglected - will start a thread later when I want to start work on it as will need ideas.

[buad hai]

^Almost all of the floating water plants have to be constantly thinned, including the Pistia shown in my photo and Water Hyacinth. In a small pond it's no big deal. We use a net. But, it can be a problem in a larger pond. And, of course, the Hyacinth is a worldwide problem in rivers and other waterways. You see it all over the Chao Phaya River. You can actually buy rattan-looking furniture made from Water Hyacinth.

[buad hai]

We finally got down to installing the pond edging today. We're using a combination of cut laterite stone, fired clay bricks and rocks.


Ms. B applies some mortar. Just previously we had mortared that big rock in position. A relief to get that done without disaster.


Ms. B loves to mix mortar. Nice hat, eh?


The laterite looks pretty crappy now. But, the top surface will be covered with soil and grass and only the edge will be visible. The water level will be at about the center of the edge of the laterite.


The "stream". Lots of liner to trim


The brick square at the left is the foundation for the fountain. The oblong one on the left side of the stream is the foundation for a low brick wall which will have a sculpture and maybe some plants on the top.

This afternoon I'll trim the liner, put some earth against the back of the edging and work on the waterfall design. I hope to finish all this by tomorrow.

[AntRobertson]

^
Shaping up nicely, BH!

Upon completion I shall be printing all instructional post and giving them to my gardener

[klongmaster]

Upon completion I shall be printing all instructional post and selling them on the internet

Not nice Ant...

BH: I bet this house of yours has the best garden in the whole subdivision...even now!

[buad hai]

Interesting thought KM. I think I will start photographing some of the other gardens. There is one other that is very interesting. Most have yet to start, so there is plenty of time. Might be fun.

[AntRobertson]

Not nice Ant...

Damn you and your sneaky quote edits! Took me a while to work that one out.

Now I have however... you've given me an idea!

[buad hai]

This afternoon I trimmed the liner and underlayment and put soil right up next to the edging. This gives a better idea of what the finished pond will look like:


The laterite will be covered with turf.




The rocks look a little out of place now, but with plants growing around them they will fit right in.


The final water level will be about half way up the laterite.

[AntRobertson]

^
This is probably a silly question... but how are you going to stop overflow?

[buad hai]

but how are you going to stop overflow?

You mean like from heavy rain? I won't. I'll just let it run over the banks. I will probably contour the surrounding soil so that there is a low point, but that's all.

And, no, it's a good question. Normally people build ponds so that the banks are above grade level. This is to prevent runoff into the pond. I think it looks odd, so I designed this pond to be like a real pond, with the banks and water level slightly below grade. A heavy rain will cause this pond to fill up and overflow.

[AntRobertson]

^
Ahh righto I see what you mean. Yeah that would actually look much better - more natural as you suggest

[buad hai]

Finally got the edging and waterfall done. I went at high noon to insure no rain:


The jumble of rocks is where the waterfall is. The water won't fall very far. Poor planning. It will look better with more plants.




The water flows from left to right and will run off that bit of slate into the main pond. That is, unless I got the levels wrong.

[buad hai]

You can see how muddy the water is from last night's rain. I need to get some turf around it to keep the mud from flowing in. I've also got to change the contour of the land a bit to make a little less slope toward the pond.

[Scooter]

Looks good.
How many hours would you say that took you then? Including the hard labour Mrs B done.

[buad hai]

^I'd say total work time is less than 40 hours. That doesn't include time spent looking for stuff to buy, just the actual digging, moving earth, pouring concrete, fitting the liner and adding the edging. There's still landscaping and plumbing to do as well as building a few low brick walls here and there.

Today we're off to buy lotus mud and turf. More later.

[Scooter]

I'll just let it run over the banks.

Won't you loose fish?

[a. boozer]

BH. That's something that you haven't mentioned, what sort of fish are you stocking your pond with?

[buad hai]

The fish will be Platies, ordinary goldfish and comets. I don't think the fish will wash over the banks in a heavy storm.

[buad hai]

We bought grass today. When we drove up to the vendor he asked how much we wanted and we said, "Tem rot", or "fill 'er up". Turns out the trunk of a Vios can hold about 12 square meters:



I've spread sand around in piles. Tomorrow's drill will be to coat the laterite with a layer of sticky clay (din bua) and the spread out the sand and tamp it down. The turf goes on top:



At this point I'll only surround the pond with turf and decide later just how much more we want.

[klongmaster]

^how much to 'fill-er-up" BH?...mine takes about 800 baht but that's petrol...how much for the 'grass'...

[buad hai]

The Yah Malaysia was 25 baht per square meter. Seems like a bargain to me. Only 300 baht for a full trunk. The Japan grass is only 15 baht per meter.

[klongmaster]

BH: I've been thinking about you today...you have such an obvious gift with plants and can picture the finished product...which many cannot do...I'm sure there are many TDers who would gladly pay you to create this sort of thing on their plot of land...would beat the shit out of teaching English for three or four beers a night...

make a business from your obvious talents...and then you won't have to worry about the rise or fall of the dollar...




.

[buad hai]

^Thank you very much, but let's wait and see how this garden really turns out....

No turf setting this morning as it's pissing down rain and the wind is howling. I hope the sod survives until the rain stops. (No "sod" jokes, please.)

[a. boozer]

(No "sod" jokes, please.)

Oh BH! Go on, don't spoil my day! Had thought of a couple, but in deference to your request......................!

However I do genuinely hope that your 'sods' do not become too sodden today!