Ideas for former ornamental pond

[Ccort]

Hi!
I have emptied my ornamental pond after being tired of caring for it. However, I would like to keep the structure in place, if possible so I can start the pond up again if I desire to. In the meantime, I am considering filling it with dirt and decorating the area.
Two things...if I fill the plastic pond tubs with dirt and DONT poke holes for drainage, will this just become a disaster? I am hoping rainwater will just go over the sides.
Secondly, ideas for what to put here? I am considering a low lying bird bath but open to some fun ideas!

 

[cavemanrich]

This is how I see the situation, and solution.
Fill the pond with course sand. Construction concrete grade would be the most economical way to go. Fill all the way to top of pond liner lip. The broken portion of the liner will work to your advantage. It looks like it is about 6 inches cracked down. When rains do come, the first extra water will overflow over the edges. When rains stop, the water level will retract to about 6 inches below sand surface. This will not be immediate, but a day or so time. The sand below the 6 inch surface will always stay wet. That should not be a problem though.
If you filled with soil/dirt, you would end up with a mud hole,, that would not drain very well.
Another option, is to leave the pump in place. Place a milk crate over it. then attach boards to top, and sides of crate. (or a few old shirts/towels will do same) (leaving just about ½ inch gap at bottom. Backfill around the crate with sand, and then on top. Then finish filling pond with the sand. This way you can drain the water from the pond. Most of it. anyways. You would only need to do if you had heavy rains. Once no more water would be discharging,, turn pump off.

You can place pottted flowers into the sand. Have half of the pot sticking up out of the sand. Have the bottom of pot with those small holes, contact the sand. The roots will grow down into the sand and utilize the water there.
Ask anything else to be clarified, If I did not explain sufficiently.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[raingarden]

If you want another pond at some future date will you want it to be just like the old one? I suspect you would want to start fresh with a new idea. I'd pull out all the plastic stuff now while you still can and replant it as a rock garden or something. If you bury it then you will have a bunch of old plastic stuff buried in the yard forever.

 

[Ccort]

This is how I see the situation, and solution.
Fill the pond with course sand. Construction concrete grade would be the most economical way to go. Fill all the way to top of pond liner lip. The broken portion of the liner will work to your advantage. It looks like it is about 6 inches cracked down. When rains do come, the first extra water will overflow over the edges. When rains stop, the water level will retract to about 6 inches below sand surface. This will not be immediate, but a day or so time. The sand below the 6 inch surface will always stay wet. That should not be a problem though.
If you filled with soil/dirt, you would end up with a mud hole,, that would not drain very well.
Another option, is to leave the pump in place. Place a milk crate over it. then attach boards to top, and sides of crate. (or a few old shirts/towels will do same) (leaving just about ½ inch gap at bottom. Backfill around the crate with sand, and then on top. Then finish filling pond with the sand. This way you can drain the water from the pond. Most of it. anyways. You would only need to do if you had heavy rains. Once no more water would be discharging,, turn pump off.

You can place pottted flowers into the sand. Have half of the pot sticking up out of the sand. Have the bottom of pot with those small holes, contact the sand. The roots will grow down into the sand and utilize the water there.
Ask anything else to be clarified, If I did not explain sufficiently.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I think you're onto something here. Funny enough, I actually used the milk crate with a pump idea years ago for a temporary fix for something under my house. Never thought to use that here.

 

[Ccort]

If you want another pond at some future date will you want it to be just like the old one? I suspect you would want to start fresh with a new idea. I'd pull out all the plastic stuff now while you still can and replant it as a rock garden or something. If you bury it then you will have a bunch of old plastic stuff buried in the yard forever.

I hate the idea of digging up the clay that I have throughout my backyard in order to put a new one in later. I have a love hate relationship with the pond. Its soothing, its fun, but my kids constantly try muck it all up and throw stuff into it, forcing me to clean it all out too many times. I could see, in a few years, heck maybe next year if I miss it enough, going back to it.

 

[raingarden]

I hate the idea of digging up the clay that I have throughout my backyard in order to put a new one in later. I have a love hate relationship with the pond. Its soothing, its fun, but my kids constantly try muck it all up and throw stuff into it, forcing me to clean it all out too many times. I could see, in a few years, heck maybe next year if I miss it enough, going back to it.

Ponds and kids are a really bad combination for many reasons. It is dangerous for non-swimmers.

 

[tdgill]

I would just fill it back up with water...

maybe let the kids pick out some goldfish of their own