As said on Page 1, the ceramic planter will sit in a pond. To create the pond, insert a rigid pond liner into the ground. To do so, you'll need the following supplies:
- Shovel
- Carpenter's level
- Sand
- Liner
- Pump
- 6' of 1/2" rubber hose for the pump
I used a "Little Giant" 120 GPH pump (displaces 120 gallons of water/hr.). The liner I used was 2' across, 7" deep.
Installing the Rigid Pond Liner
- Install or have an electrician install a GFCI outlet near where the pond will be, if you don't already have one.
- Place the pond liner upside-down on the ground where you plan to dig and trace around it, so that your hole will be the right diameter.
- Now that you have a guide to go by, remove the liner and dig out the hole into which the liner will later be placed.
- Make the depth of your hole approximately the depth of the pond liner. Try to keep the sides of the hole straight. If, however, after you're done digging, you find that the sides came out uneven in places, either apply sand (to build out a depressed area) or remove a little more dirt (to shave off areas jutting out).
- 1 inch of sand will also be applied on the ground under your liner. Why? Because having a sand base gives you some wiggle room, in terms of achieving a good fit. Just scoop out a little or pour in a bit more to alter the height of the liner, as needed. Your goal is for the liner's rim to protrude approximately one above the soil surface (disguise it later with stones) so that soil doesn't keep dropping into the water.
- Install the liner. Check for levelness. Depending on the readings you get from the level, it is at this point that you'll have to remove the pond liner from the hole and adjust its sandy floor accordingly.
With the liner installed, we turn our attention to the creative parts of the project on Page 3....
