The guru of earth ponds explains how to site, design, shape, and plant these beloved fixtures of rural landscapesoand make them fit your property and your life. In the decades since he wrote his acclaimed Earth Ponds, Tim Matson has designed scores of ponds, each unique to its site and its owners. In Landscaping Earth Ponds, he shares what he has learned to make these captivating ponds fit into their landscapes and into the lives and lifestyles of their owners. Earth ponds are increasingly recognized for the full range of gardening, landscaping, and ecological promise they hold. As pond-building methods have been perfected, more homeowners are restoring existing ponds or digging new ones. With dozens of colour photographs, Matson shows you how to site a pond in right relation to your house, offering surprisingly simple ways to visually link the two. His proven methods and designs reflect the many moods water evokes. Screen your pond for privacy, create a sandy beach and natural diving platform, encourage wetland gardens, line the shores with moisture-loving perennials, or design your gardens and paths to create a sense of mystery and adventure.

About the Author

Tim Matson, a writer and aquaculture consultant, has been advising, designing, restoring, and building ponds and wetlands for more than twenty-five years. He is also the author of Earth Ponds, Earth Ponds Sourcebook, and Earth Ponds A to Z. He lives in Strafford, Vermont.

Table of Contents

Introduction PART ONE Site and Landscape Design Fundamentals Chapter One: New Ponds Excavated versus Embankment Ponds i Siting the New Pond i Siting the House Chapter Two: Existing Ponds Water i Pond Structure i Edges i Inflows and Outflows i The Dam i History PART TWO Excavated Ponds Chapter Three: The Pond at Strawberry Hill Siting i Construction Chapter Four: Techniques Shaping the Basin i Planting PART THREE Embankment Ponds Chapter Five: The Lornell Pond Siting i The Dam and Basin Structure Chapter Six: General Techniques Siting i Landscaping the Embankment i Grasses and Plants i Inflows and Outflows i Inflow Streams i Outflow Streams PART FOUR Plants, Shrubs, and Trees Chapter Seven: Save That Tree Native Trees i Saving, Thinning, or Removing Chapter Eight: Planting Considerations and Techniques Soil, Sun, and Climate i First Plantings around a New Pond i Selecting and Siting Trees i Tree Species i Aquatic and Shoreland Plants i Plant Checklist i Planter Beware i Planting Strategies Chapter Nine: Recommended Pond Plants Moist-Soil Plants and Shrubs i Sedges and Grasses i Aquatic Plants i Deer-Resistant Plants Resources Index

Reviews

This is Tim Matson's fourth book on ponds and perhaps the most beautiful yet. Showcasing a range of natural features that might enhance the aesthetic of a country pond, he nonetheless manages to include a lot of useful information for pond builders. Handsome color photos throughout illustrate stone embankments, edge vegetation, specimen trees, benches, and mountain backdrops, while including a few buildings, docks, and other bits of built infrastructure. A handful of nicely executed line drawings show design features, plans, bridge variations, underground connections, and other elements not easily photographed.The style is understated but very informative. The author has made so many ponds he knows the full range of vagaries, opportunities, and problems you may encounter in the process, and shares much of that insight. He explains excavated versus embankment ponds, and how to site the pond. There is a review of pond structure so that the reader understands safe and functional construct