I really don't know how you would hide the liner in your stream without using rock. You could use a log here and there for waterfall, but they will rot just as they do in nature. If native streams in your area don't have rock, they must have a layer of leaves and silt, which would be impossible to replicate in a liner recirculating stream. Rocks would not look at all out of place in your stream. You have such a nice long drop to the farm pond you could do something really dramatic with some large flat rocks for the weirs and some smaller rocks covering the liner. Put a log here and there for accent and you'd have a great looking stream!

Thanks for the comments.

My initial design thoughts were lots of rock, etc. I actually saw a stunningly beautiful and "natural" looking pond/stream into large fish/farm pond in SW Ga. Even though they don't have much in the way of rocks over there, the design in the woodland backyard did not strike me as being "out of place".

There are a few limestone or sandstone outcroppings in the general area, and, when the water if low on the Oconee and Altamaha Rivers, you can see the rock bottoms in many places.

Thanks again for your comments.

You have really put quite a bit of work into your place. Good for you. I couldn't find the photo you were referring to, but I have a few ideas.

You could dig out your stream, line it with rubber liner, then coat it with brown concrete. The concrete will get covered with algae anyway, so you wouldn't be able to see it much. If you wanted, you could even squish leaves into the concrete then stain them brighter colors to make it appear as though there were fallen leaves in the bottom at points. The problem is the edges. You would have to grow plants to cover the edges, or sod right up to cover the concrete and plastic liner edge.

If you dig your stream out wide and really deep, then don't use much water in it, ivies and other hanging plants could cascade over the sides.

I think you have a good idea, and you should go with it.

Renee

That's exactly what I did and for the same reason. Rocks look out of place here. My stream is really short so I don't know if this would look good in your situation, but I dug it, placed the liner, and used concrete with coloring agent and the mesh stuff to hold a form. I have a drop coming out of a hillside that I built, and it looks natural. I did plant ivy to grow into the clay hillside which was dirt taken from the hole when the pond was built. My main mistake was not building the hillside wide enough because I was putting it into an established landscape and wanted to keep a path which would be my only route to go see the plants back there. It would've looked better with more hillside- more natural. I've always disliked the waterfalls coming from rock in mid air, which would never happen in nature. Mine looks more like a creek that has eroded the soil.