Next project: Container Pond

A container pond is a water garden in a container of some sort. You can use half whiskey barrels, a flower pot, a bucket, anything that will hold water. I chose to use a large plastic flower pot. It's textured to look like stone or a rustic clay of some sort. Next time I'd go with a darker container since I think it would look better. But, since I got it for really cheap, I'll stick with it for now. I put the pot on top of some bricks to elevate it off the ground (helps with temperature control, and so the bottom doesn't rot out). I situated it about 2 feet inside my carport. It will still get sun but has some protection from the elements, and it won't get roof run-off, hopefully will stay cleaner that way.

This is, I guess, part 1 of the container pond saga. I got a small "container fountain" at Lowes, just something to keep the water from being stagnant. I put a piece of pantyhose around the pump to keep some of the debris out (no filter right now), put the tube through the hole of an upside down broken clay pot (keep it upright), and put all that on top of some bricks to give it the height needed to get above the water surface. It barely reaches, it's like an inch above, but that works for me since I don't want a lot of surface motion.

Next, I got a few "feeder" goldfish from the pet store. I think they're also called comet goldfish. Whatever, they were cheap (29 cents each) and since I don't really know what I'm doing, if I kill them, they won't cost me much. Gee, that makes me sound cold-hearted. Oh well. :) The fish are currently hiding at the bottom of the pot. You can sort of see them in the picture, but it's blurry. I put in 6 last night, but this morning I only saw 2. The others may be hiding, or they may have been eaten by a raccoon I guess. I think I want to get a small koi and try that out. I know they can get big, but I've also read they grow to fit their container.

I threw a couple of plastic lilypads in the pond to give the fish something to hide under, but in the next couple of days I will start getting water plants to both clean the water and look a lot better. Plastic foliage is not really my style. I also (eventually) want to have some other plants in pots sitting around the pond. Things that look appropriate by a pond, but also something pretty. We'll see what I can come up with.

This is it so far:






My dogs are really enjoying drinking out of it, except the little one as she's too short. She is stuck with the bowl on the floor and I think she feels left out.

I am also having some difficulty with the electrical supply. My pond is on side of the carport, the electrical outlet is on the other side. I have an extension cord, but I need to somehow attach it to the ceiling grid to keep it out of the way. This is difficult with only a rickety old step stool and I am fat and clumsy so... not a good mix.