Lockdown 2020 has led to a lot of things, unexpected garden renovation being amongst them! So that is exactly how our customer’s Petrina & Nigel found themselves with a stunning new garden pond.

In their own words, they talk us through how their fantastic garden, including brand new pond came to be!

The Back Story

On the 23rd March 2020 our plans to have a year of travelling were put on hold. Unfortunately lock-down happened less than a week before we were due to travel to Florida. This was to visit our son who has been posted there for the past two years. Instead of our 35 anniversary year travelling to our favourite places, we were embarking on the stay-cation we are now all so familiar with!

As it became clear that we were going to be home for a while, our thoughts turned to the garden. After a few beers the idea of a small pond moved on to replicating our favourite places to walk. Scotland, the Long Mynd in Shropshire, the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales all played a part in the garden redesign.

Once we had convinced ourselves that undertaking the project would be a good idea, we enlisted the help of all the detainees in the house! Two of our sons, Joe and George, had their lunchtime workout digging the pond under the supervision of Grandad Pete. We tried to convince them that a daily workout was recommended by Public Health England! 

The Pond Materials

As things developed we began to look at introducing features that reminded us of our travels. This resulted in us initially ordering two tons of stone from Stone Warehouse’s amazing Scottish Range (our favourite stones). These included their Scottish Cobbles 40-90mm and Scottish Cobbles/Boulders 100-200mm.

We used these cobbles to edge our pond as well as to decorate other areas of the garden. We wanted to create a natural look using the decorative aggregates. This is why we mixed the Scottish Cobbles & Boulders together and were delighted with the overall look.

We were also lucky to have a good supply of York Stone already in the garden. This is because our house is built in the grounds of the old vicarage in a small village in North Lincolnshire. Therefore we were able to add a bit of local history to the project alongside the stones provided by Stone Warehouse. We reclaimed the stones from our old outbuildings and incorporated them into the design.

One of the main challenges was the accessibility of resources. As with many suppliers, the lock-down resulted in delay after delay. Fortunately we had plenty of time on our hands! So between stages we were able to enjoy the great weather we were so fortunate to have for most of the summer. 

Final Touches

The final touches we made by introducing pond plants and Philips Hue Lighting to enable us to enjoy the garden in an evening.

Now with the pond finally finished (all bar the introduction of fish, this will be a learning curve in the spring…) we can enjoy the evenings looking out at the garden and remind ourselves of the places we never got to visit this year!

Looking back, we had no idea about garden ponds, pumps, filters and aerating, or how to go about putting it all together! Thank God for Google! 

It was purely by chance we came across Stone Warehouse while browsing the internet. To find such a wide range of aggregates made the planning so much easier. This is so evident when we look at the end product.

If we were asked for any key things to point out to someone looking to undertake a project like this, then the first thing we would say is that planning is important.

We spent days laying rope on the ground to see what it would look like. We moved this several times before agreeing the final position. Make sure you order materials early (although we received our stone within a few days, our pond liner took several weeks to arrive). Take your time and don’t worry if you change the design part way through. It is when you begin to construct things that you see visually how it will look. 

If you are looking to undertake a project like this, our advice is just do it!

We are delighted that Petrina and Nigel chose to ‘just do it’ and share the results with us. If you would like us to feature YOUR garden on our blog, please email laura@stonewarehouse.co.uk for details.