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My kitchen extension will have double doors opening out onto a patio. The house is lower than the garden so when the extension was built to enable the door to open out onto the garden we had to dig out a patio area. 
I've just bought a load of secondhand tiles but I don't really want a large concrete area - so I was thinking I could break it up with a pond /water feature. I don't want fish. This would be for whatever came along and some pond plants

I spotted a large pot in the reclaim yard....but it's not big enough.

I've been Googling ponds- is it easier just to buy a preformed oblong and build around it?? I want to have some water noise? I don't want to pay a fortune either. I spotted a lovely stone bath and thought I could do something like this....


But a little out of my price range.
I will be planting in some spots, I want herbs for cooking near, I thought I would line some of the walls with creeping rosemary.
[attachment=3181][attachment=3182]

[attachment=3183]This is one that was big enough ....but too expensive


Maybe I could buy a preformed pond liner??
Any ideas?

I've also been reading about making a trough with something called hypertufa? Portland cement, peat moss and vermiculite? Waste of time??

If you want running water, think about where the electrics will be - or go solar, when you'll need the solar panel in a sunny spot.
Hypertufa used to be the "thing" for making alpine gardens out of old sinks. isn't yogurt involved somewhere? Not tried it myself.

I've an electric point near where I want the pond. So electrics are sorted..
I just need a cheap option.

Can’t you get your builders to knock something up from brick ( your bound to have some left overs) and then you can clad it with natural stone. Dry stone wall type thing then you could plant in the gaps as well. Or clad with something else.

How much is cheap? My Mil had one made from a cold water tank that sat inside a brick surround, looked very good

A tank like these https://www.tanks-direct.co.uk/370-litre...gKeMvD_BwE

(21-06-2021, 09:33 PM)Scarlet Wrote: [ -> ]This is one that was big enough ....but too expensive


Maybe I could buy a preformed pond liner??
Any ideas?

Hope you remembered where you had left your car keys!

We did a classic pond in a half barrel in one garden; it sat against the edge of a patio area so we could look into it, and we built up one side with rocks so that wildlife could get in and out. The barrel was cheap and didn't need lining and the rocks were lying about. No running water, but it only took half a day to put in.
I've just been looking at solar pumps because I want an ornamental bit of moving water close to our seating area. Here they seem to start from about 24€ but I found one discounted to 5.99!

With solar pumps do they have batteries for storing power, as most people like to sit down and relax in the evening and listening to running or bubbling water can be quite relaxing, well after you have been to the toilet 2 or 3 times as for the pond, as Sc suggested get your builders to build one for you and line it with polythene, I would suggest that you make sure the bottom has a low point so that you can syphon or pump all the water out if required