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I fell in love with the pond the very first time I saw it. I remember watching early on my first morning as mist rose from the water and three rabbits took a dawn drink. I never saw the rabbits again. Thankfully the presence of people and, more importantly, my cats discouraged them.

The pond was functional, used to pump irrigation water from, but I could dig around it and create a pond garden. I poured through books on water planting and got very keen. Then common sense and Kiwi pride kicked in. Did I really want that British pond look? I started thinking of Phormiums, Cordylines and Hebes, to mix with the Gunnera and roses. and the Pond Border was born. That Gunnera started its life pondside as a cute little plant, about one foot high, with neat crinkly little leaves. Four years later it was HUGE with leaves as big as armchairs... the dramatic rise of Gunnera!

The Pond

In the summer of 1997 I bought my first cricket radio, chose a favourite shovel, and started cleaning up the mess in the Pond Paddock. The paddock grass was lumpy and uneven, with large dirt tracks. Some parts of the ground were bare and there were large piles of soil, mud and stones. In later years I expanded behind the pond, and made a network of little paths to go round the water. And then my family of red-hatted garden gnomes moved in...

Is It Really Finished?

So is it really finished? Perhaps another path could lead from the Pump House up the side fence. I'm sure there's more work to be done here. Please potter around the Pond Garden, and see if you think there's room for improvement - and more plants...

Pond Cottage... Thu 21st Oct 2010: Pond Cottage is a much photographed and admired little cottage which nestles in the trees on the edge of Pond Paddock. It's a gardener's retreat, with a magical view of the pond, naturally!
Sheep - Mainly Merinos... Thu 30th Sep 2010: The Moosey sheep are wool producers only - they are shorn once a year, and never, ever destined for the dinner table. The flock is mainly merino, and they spend some quality sheep-time in the small paddock behind the pond.
Garden Dining Furniture... Mon 16th Aug 2010: Meals in the garden are much more enjoyable with a table, and for months I've been looking out for an appropriate outdoor dining set for the pond decking. It had to be wooden, sturdy (in other words not too rustic) and cheap.
Pond Plantings... Sun 25th Jul 2010: Originally the plants, trees, and shrubs at the water's edge planted themselves. I left them alone for the first gardening years. In 2007 my Great Pond Beautification Plan was finally launched - it's now the winter of 2010 and I'm still going strong.
White Garden Seat... Sat 23rd Jan 2010: My new white garden seat was a late 2009 Christmas present, from me to me. Oh - what a lovely gift - just what I've always wanted! But seriously, this seat is a cut above my usual wobbly, crumbling sitting structures. I've found the perfect spot, too - hidden behind the Moosey pond.
Gnomes Fishing... Fri 25th Sep 2009: There are fish in the Moosey pond, and you might spy some little chaps with red hats by the far pond edge doing a spot of fishing. The Moosey garden gnomes have taken up residence for the summer.
The Pond in Autumn... Sat 25th Apr 2009: The pond in autumn is a quiet, reflective place to visit. Fallen leaves with rich, autumn colouring float on the top of the water. And, magically, there's usually not a puff of wind.
Pond Maintenance... Tue 21st Apr 2009: Each week more and more leaves blow into the pond, become waterlogged, and sink slowly down. Imagine how much sludge there was, then, at the bottom of the Moosey Pond after fifteen years! Some Pond maintenance was well overdue.
The New Pump House... Wed 15th Apr 2009: Finally in the summer of 2008 the old rustic pump house at the back of the pond just got a little too rickety. Non-Gardening Partner spent his summer holidays dismantling it and rebuilding a new one. He was, however, under strict orders to make it look rustic.
Garden Pond Path... Wed 1st Oct 2008: I've had a Pond Beautification programme running for a number of years. It's been a bit of a stop-start gardening process, but finally I've learnt how to get tough. One of the results - a brand new pond path!
Pond Garden Benches... Tue 30th Sep 2008: I always seem to be moving my garden benches around. They stay in one place for a few years, and then they just get moved. That's certainly the case with benches I've placed around the Moosey pond.
Wilderness Behind the Pond... Wed 23rd Jul 2008: I'm slowly clearing the area behind the pond, which I've romantically called The Wilderness. My plan is to have a natural place, with few organised paths - just trees and shrubs.
The Pond Paddock... Fri 23rd May 2008: As you step further back from the pond into the Ram Paddock you'll get a great view of the whole of the Pond Paddock. The Jelly Bean Border is on the right. I'd love to be able to call this the Pond Lawn...
Wood Pond Garden Decking... Sat 26th Jan 2008: The L-shaped wooden decking by the pond is a pleasant place to sit with your feet in the water. Decking definitely makes a pond more user friendly.
Swimming Pond Dog... Sat 7th Jul 2007: When I was a younger, tougher gardener I used to go for many summer swims in the Pond. I'd circle round and round, not daring to put my feet on the muddy, slushy bottom. The water was usually breathtakingly cold.
Frog Fishing... Fri 26th May 2006: The Moosey cats spend quite a lot of time on the pond decking - fishing for frogs. Green frogs often live in the pond from summer on, and they hide in the vegetation on the edges.
Pond Flax Reflections... Sat 12th Jun 2004: Many New Zealand flaxes have grown from seed around the edge of the pond. They are the species Phormium Tenax, growing tall with stiff dingy green leaves.
Pond Decking and Dog... Fri 21st May 2004: Taj-dog is on one of his exploratory morning circuits around the garden. He is seen here nose down passing the pond decking.
Pink Ballerina Rose... Wed 3rd Dec 2003: The planting on the corner of the Pond Garden is one of my favourites in the whole garden. I've planted two Ballerina roses next to a large bronze flax. Together with the green Gunnera, this is a trio of contrasts.
Gunnera Plant... Wed 26th Feb 2003: The back of the Pond Border is dominated in summer by the large leaves of the Gunnera. It is impossible to believe that this giant perennial started life fitting into a nine-litre bucket.
Pond Garden Dappled Sun... Sat 16th Feb 2002: Standing by the pond the views over the water are always magical. Here are some early photographs of the pond, taken from the Pump House side, looking towards the decking and the house. First, a beautifully framed pond view, with the irrigation pipe hidden in the lower left corner.
Pond Dragon Fly... Fri 31st Mar 2000: Here is yet another of my son the photographer's close-ups of insects series. Zzzzz... The Pond has a lot of dragonflies during summer.
Pond Decking Tree Seedling... Wed 29th Mar 2000: This bright green tree seedling starting poking up thru the decking cracks a few years ago and was immediately warned for bad behaviour. I'm not sure just how long it will be allowed to grow here.
Lazy Fat Sun Cat... Tue 28th Mar 2000: The decking by the pond is a warm sunny place for Sifter to stretch out and take it easy.
Pond Gunnera... Sun 26th Mar 2000: This is a very dangerous place to take a photo from. The underside of the Gunnera's leaves and stems are all studded with sharp thorns. The leaves are very stiff.
Eucalyptus Tree... Tue 8th Feb 2000: There are Eucalyptus trees planted all along the fence-line and they surround the pump house. Their bark gets stripped off in the winds - consequently the ground beneath is difficult to keep clear.
Agapanthus... Tue 1st Feb 2000: This is a view from the back of the pond, looking through some flowering blue agapanthus. The main Pond Paddock is in the background.