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| Hello.
To be honest,I didn't even know Garden Web had a pond forum, but I am very glad to have found you all. My husband and I are living in and fixing up the home and property he grew up in. Right now our main attention is the very old house that we have almost completely gutted, however, this past summer the fairly good size pond right outside our front door sprung a major leak. Because of this, it has taken a bit of priority. The original pond was put in by my husband and his brother 25 years ago for their mother and the leak came where two liners were seamed together. We are not making that mistake this time around and going with one long 20x50 liner. Anyway, what I am trying to figure out and am having a very hard time with, is the landscaping around the rocks. My mother in law always kept a pea gravel pathway with stepping stones (which I was never a fan of and my kids would now toss the stones everywhere). I would really like to keep just grass up to the rock wall, however the mower can't get up to the rocks so it would get "messy" looking. I want it to stay natural looking, but not messy. I was hoping for some sort of low ground cover maybe, but I am not really sure what will work. Right now we have the first half of the pond done. The second half will be done next week and another few days for all the rocks to be moved back (ugh! it took two days to move them out). I would LOVE any suggestions anyone has. I am usually one to over-think everything, but in this case it was not on our pre-planned list and I have planned NOTHING. Thanks in advance.
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by pashta_2006 Z4 ADK NY (pashta@aol.com) on Sun, Sep 2, 12 at 18:42
| Some suggestions off the top of my head are: creeping jenny and thyme. Both spread out and soften the edges of the pond. Plus the thyme smells great if you step on it. Ajuga is a plant that sends out daughters but can take over a bit if you don't pay attention. Irish or scottish moss (difference is in the color) are also low growing, spreading plants. Periwinkle is another low growing, spreading plant. I'm sure others will come up with ideas for you. Anne
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| Thanks Anne. Would I need to run a landscaping edge between any new planting against the rocks and the current grass? Right now the liner is coming from under the rocks and we are going to cut the overhang liner and dump new fresh soil around and under rocks. I was thinking of just planting the low growth plant in the new soil, but now I am wondering if I need to run a border to keep grass from coming in and taking over again. Kalindi |
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- Posted by pashta_2006 Z4 ADK NY (pashta@aol.com) on Mon, Sep 3, 12 at 7:42
| Kalindi, I wrote a long answer to your question and lost it in a cyberspace black hole somewhere. LOL The last sentence was something about the border probably being a good idea; not just to keep the grass from spreading but to keep the border plants from spreading into the grass. As I was typing I was thinking of some of the plants that are advertized in the catalogs like Spring Hill Nursery. Some of the ground covers are flowering (like crown vetch), so you could vary the surrounding plants for color, height, etc. If you google "Ground Cover Plants" for your area you will come up with lots of suggestions; way more than I can make. Anne |
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| Others, as well might want to know your location. Without knowing, I will still suggest mondo grass if you want something slightly formal that looks like grass and will grow right to the edge without needing mowing. It grows about 3 or 4 inches high and will fill in completely from just a few small pots of grass that you can divide into individual plants. |
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| I do not know what zone you are in but I have Ice plant, Creeping phlox, ajuga, and perennial grasses bordering the pond. HTH |
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- Posted by sleeplessinftwayne z4-5 IND (My Page) on Mon, Sep 10, 12 at 14:01
| Oh, oh, oh! Avoid the Crown Vetch. It will spread like crazy and scatter everywhere. It is much better suited in meadows and for erosion control.Also avoid ivy and Virginia Creeper. You can use landscaping cloth and mulch between the grass and rocks. This time of year you can put off planting until spring and use the cold weather to plan for the spring. What kind of light does that area get and what is your planting zone? |
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| Check out some ideas of how I did my rocks and the liner to both prevent water flowing into the pond and to enable planting right up to the rocks. It also always you to raise the water level a tiny bit to hide the liner. Picture A is how I initially had mine and then change it so B, C and D later.
As far as ground cover, creeping jenny loves water and sun and will grown into the water if you let it. Thyme is also one of my favorites. It can handle dryer locations. I think either way you may need a boarder to separate the lawn, or it will grown into the grown cover and vise a versa. |
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