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Wildlife ponds, edging and hessian....

MissMMissM Posts: 36
in Wildlife gardening
I've just built a 3m x 2m pond about 90cm deep, lined and filled. In order to not see the black liner I've covered it in hessian... but am now concerned that it will wick. The hessian at the moment is going into the grass/mud edges that cover the liner. Should I worry about wicking? Should I cut it back to just lie on the liner and cover it with subsoil (from the large pile I have)? Will the plants take over anyway? Advice please!

Lots of planting/landscaping to do... but the edging needs to be sorted before I get going on that!


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  • madpenguinmadpenguin Isle of WightPosts: 2,448
    I think one of the problems with hessian is that it will rot fairly quickly.
    “Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
  • MissMMissM Posts: 36
    Yes but presumably by then the plants would have taken over...?
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Third rock from the sunPosts: 35,503
    Hello MissM. Are you intending edging completely with the flags you have already placed on the edge? Are the plants you hope will 'take over' marginals?
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • MissMMissM Posts: 36
    No - I will have a mixture of edging probably... beach one end for sure. And yes marginals will be what I imagine will take over . Wasn’t sure about turf going to edge of pond...
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Third rock from the sunPosts: 35,503
    edited January 2019
    Well it is possible to just turf to the pond edge but you would probably have to trim the liner right back to the pond edge too as the turf will dry out in hot weather.
    p.s. I meant to say that your pond looks fabulous and I hope you will post a picture as soon as you finally get your plants established.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • PosyPosy Isle of Wight.Posts: 3,601
    It will wick until it rots. I have a real problem with edging, too, because you want it to look fairly natural. I haven't solved this yet.
  • MissMMissM Posts: 36
    Difficult. Garden is urban, not that big... I have compromised and have cut the hessian back to midway on the liner before it plunges underground! No idea what I'll do next - hopefully when the plants grown it will look OK. I don't want to go spending loads on fancy rocks - I have lots of bits of paving that I'll use  and plant inbetween.
  • BenCottoBenCotto RutlandPosts: 4,048
    Our pond just has turf running straight to the water’s edge. It’s a cheap option but looks good.








  • MissMMissM Posts: 36
    edited January 2019
    I think I'll end up with a variety of edges... time will tell but it should be a better environment for the frog that comes to the garden every year - this was 3ft x10inches...

    Nice pond and garden @Picidae

  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    Yes, that is a lovely, natural looking pond picidae.  How did you get your grass/turf to grow over the lining at the edge of the pond.  We have a thick liner and we didn't think anything would grow over it, so ended up edging the pond with granite stone. The liner overlaps the side of the pond by approx. 6 inches, and we have now planted around the pond as much as we can.
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