The Whirlpool
Posted: February 15th, 2012, 10:49 pm
When you move into a new house you dig a new pond, well more than one but this was the first. All part of an overall plan to control & direct the huge amounts of rainwater runoff that come from bushland behind me. This was mid to late 2007.
In 2009 the first pond was filled in with overflow from the main pond channeled underground to the front flood pond. Unfortunately it wasnt enough to handle flows so a solution had to be found.
In April 2010 I started digging out for a flood pond. The initial digging went well except for the camphor laurel roots which I cut thru to fit my plan. I knew they existed & have incorporated a major one into the embankment next to the steps that sit on top of more roots!
The turn stone in place and the first section of floor laid. Then more digging...
I managed to get a fair bit of floor done before the rain came.
By December I had managed to get the rest of the digging done. There was no hope of it ever drying out due to being in the clay layer.
Finally completed in January 2012 it has fast become my favorite space in the garden. A hoped for bonus is a whirlpool effect during heavy flows from the top pond. The floor is slightly lower than the creek it flows into ensuring a nice shallow pool lasts long enough for tadpoles to grow in 
Looking down into the shadows, it wont take many years more to get a really nice dense canopy over the whole space. The main trees are Japanese raisin (Hovenia dulcis) with an English mulberry at left and Gymnostoma at right of the steps.
I am not the only one who enjoys the space.
Matt
Looking down into the shadows, it wont take many years more to get a really nice dense canopy over the whole space. The main trees are Japanese raisin (Hovenia dulcis) with an English mulberry at left and Gymnostoma at right of the steps.
I am not the only one who enjoys the space.
Matt