A good-sized area in our customer’s front garden was heavily shaded, leaving large patches of bare soil. It was an unused space. But with potential, something needed to be designed here.
Having worked for the customer on a previous project, they were keen to use our teams skills to revisit and create a new pond area for their front garden. In the previous project, the Thai Garden Design team had built a rock waterfall wall and small pond, to ensure an impressive a unique entrance area when coming into their home.
The project was a great success, building a natural rock wall across two sides, with running water cascading down both sides into a catchment trough. The wall look is incredibly natural, not at all contrived or fake, showcasing the art and skill of our team.
The Project
Dusty ground, old uneven walkway pavers, patchy and uneven grass.
The front garden area of this villa was a waste of space, and not a reflection of this designer Bali-style villa at all.
Due to the success of our first job, the couple were keen to create a similar look and feel for their front garden, a space of around 100 SQM.
The solution was to be a good-sized pond, excavated and lined with HDPE membrane, a good alternative to concrete when installed professionally.
HDPE liners can be cut to size, come in various thicknesses, and provide long lasting pond lining for many years. The flexible nature of HDPE means natural curves can be easily achieved, and because it can be cut to size, any depths can be accommodated.
Alongside the pond, an overhanging wood plastic composite deck area would be constructed, giving nice views of the fish, and this would lead to a side walkway to the main back garden in the same material.
Finally, an existing raised deck at the very back of the house would be removed, to be replaced with the same wood plastic composite deck material, which lasts longer and fairs better that real timber in the harsh Thai climate.
The Design
At Thai Garden Design, we been designing, building and maintaining ponds and waterfalls of all descriptions in Thailand for 30 years. Before any pond project we map out the area, depth and size of any waterfall feature, so we can provide drawings for approval.
In this project, the main body of water would benefit from the aeration from a tall, cascading rock waterfall at the far end, giving the best views of the feature.
The rock ledges would gradually fall down, spilling over gently into the main pond.
At the right-hand side, a good-sized wetland filter would be built, feeding fresh, filtered water into the pond, and opposite that, a small inlet, where leaves and unwanted surface debris would accumulate, and easily fished out by the maintenance staff.
The decking installation includes a galvanized steel framework, bolted onto wide concrete footings, with wood plastic composite top deck boards secured with stainless steel fixings.
Installation
The pond was first marked up, approved and then excavated. After the total size of each element was confirmed, the HDPE liner was ordered to size. The liner is always ordered oversize, so the team can cement in place, and in most cases, build rock edging and walls to give a natural finish, and one that matches with the look of the waterfall.
Alongside this, the decking team installed the reinforced footings, and levelled and graveled over the area, not before installing anti weed fabric, to keep any future weeds at bay.
A rock selection was offered to the client and their preferred type approved. Team could then begin the waterfall build! Large, attractive rocks were used to build up the edges and the waterfall, with the team using their creative skill and experience to get a real, natural look to the whole feature.
For the wetland filter, drainage blocks were installed at the base of the filter, allowing water to evenly rise for the first 20-30cm, before rising up through layers of fine gravel and pebbles. This screens out any debris, and over time the wetland builds up natural bacteria which cleans impurities without any need for chemicals or cleaners.
Outcome
The final pond and waterfall is spectacular!
Water clashes down the initial steep cascading rock shelves, tumbling down giving off a wonderful clamorous noise. As the flow progresses down to the lower shelves, it gently peters out into a more even and rhythmic fall, finally flowing calmly into the main pond.
Adjacent to the main waterfall, the wetland also gently pushes up fresh water into the pond, creating ripples that flow to all sides, aerating and ensuring the pond looks alive, water moving constantly.
Pebbles and large rocks on the floor of the pond, on top of the liner, can be seen clearly through the water, giving a complete jungle pond feel.
The pond and waterfall have been expertly created so that, they might have been part of this landscape for years, the design and layout of these ancient rocks giving this impression.
Lotus plants have been positioned to give some splashes of green across the water, adding to the authentic creation, and tall water plants in the wetland filter. The decking has been built to the overhanging edge is curved around the shape of the pond, offering a great opportunity to sit and dangle your feet in the flowing water.
The decking walkway, with non-slip side up, is large and allows great and easy access to the back garden, covering over the once unsightly bare soil and patches of weeds.
