Chuck Builds a Pond

by

Carroll Uithoven

    About eighteen years ago, Chuck and Mary Ann Hughes, natives of Columbus, MS, moved to Montgomery, AL.  Little did they know that this move would not only enrich their lives career-wise, but that they would also become the proud owners of a water garden/pool built by the sweat of their brows. After living in the same neighborhood for sixteen years, the Hughes family bought a home and two acres of land on which originally stood many majestic oaks. However, over the years forces of nature had destroyed the once giant trees leaving behind indentations or sinkholes. Chuck and his son Jim transformed one of these holes, an aberration of nature, into a beautiful pond complete with plants, fish, and frogs.
    Each spring and summer Chuck and his two children, Jim and Amy, dreamed of having a pool. With every seasonal rain, Jim would watch one of the lawn’s sinkholes fill with water and say to his dad, “I wish you would let me dig out that hole to play in.”
    Knowing how far a fourteen-year old and a shovel would go, Chuck continuously refused. Because Jim kept on and on about digging the hole, Chuck finally gave in last spring. “Jim,” Chuck said, “if you are going to do this, you must promise to finish, no matter how hard the job becomes.”
    Jim agreed, and Chuck went out with a bag of flour to outline the “exact” dimensions of the proposed hole—about eight feet across and two feet deep. Neither of them realized what this line of flour would mean to the entire neighborhood. Jim started in right away, working for several evenings, though each night he worked fewer and fewer hours. By this time the neighbors were dropping by to see if the Hughes were digging a pool…pond…a lake—the spot became the source of all their entertainment.
    As Jim’s enthusiasm began to wane, Chuck’s began to rise. One evening while Jim was spending the night out, Chuck drew a new flour outline even further out with a few crazy circles here and there. He removed the first layer of dirt, putting it in flowerbeds or low areas around the yard. The site started to look so great that Chuck drew another circle or two and dug even further. Jim came home the next day and announced, ”My gosh! What have I done to my dad? What have I done to myself!” By this time, Chuck was totally into completing the project, although Jim was quickly losing interest, as now it had become a real job.
    For the next two weeks, evenings and weekends, Chuck and Jim worked hard digging and dumping. People would stop by to see how things were progressing. Thinking the two were crazy, some offered the use of a backhoe. Chuck graciously thanked them for the offer, but he had already determined that the backhoe’s vibrations might cause the banks to loosen and collapse. However, Chuck never refused an offer of a neighbor to grab a shovel and dig in.
    Once the area was twelve inches deep, Chuck stepped in another twelve inches and dug down another twelve. By this time, the pond was shaping up, but Chuck had another vision, so he stepped in another twelve inches and dug down one more time. At one end Hughes dug a fourth time deciding that if he added fish to the pond, they could spend the winter there. After removing the dirt at the various levels, Hughes shot the different levels with a transit to make sure each was even. He marked the height that each level needed to be and filled in to the top of the stakes with the clay he had removed earlier.
Now that the steps were level, Chuck purchased a large roll of visqueen to spread over and down into the pond. To hold the visqueen in place, he placed large rocks in strategic places. Next came the big day—at last the Hughes’ pond was to be filled. As Chuck filled the pond, he occasionally spotted air pockets, which he immediately squashed. Once the pond was filled, he added a length of 2 1/2-inch pipe to allow for overflow.
    To finish the edges of the pond, Chuck searched for some large stones. Fortunately for him, his neighbor was in the process of having old, broken gravel and asphalt parking lot dumped into an area behind his house. Chuck and the kids chose many flat pieces, loaded them into the truck, took them home, and placed them around the pool. Then they cut and folded the plastic behind the stones adding some dirt ensuring that if water came up around the stones, nothing would be damaged. Outside the edge of the stones, Chuck added a layer of topsoil and bark and began looking for flowers and plants to add to the edge of the pond.
    Zinnias were the first flowers Chuck used as they can be cut daily and tossed into the pond. The blooms will float and stay pretty for four to five days. At that point they can be netted out and more can be added. Zinnias are much easier to deal with than lilies and provide much more color. Moss roses also provided much color for the pond area.  This year Chuck plans to add miniature crepe myrtle to provide a little height and even more color.
    In the pond itself, Chuck placed several different types of plants from cattails to water hyacinths. He also rounded up some umbrella plants and water lilies from other pond owners. The plants, placed in black buckets filled with the same clay he had removed from the area, were then arranged on the various levels depending on the height of the plant. The buckets filled with cattails were placed on the bottom of the pond. The other plants were distributed among the various levels based on their height. Because many of these plants multiplied rapidly, therefore, Hughes advised, ”Don’t buy any more than you need.” Also, Chuck noted, “Be sure to dispose of water plants properly as they can wreak havoc if placed in rivers or lakes.”
    One mistake Hughes made was to add aquashade to the pond. While this product made the water blue and prohibited algae growth, it also blocked the sunlight needed for desired plants to grow.  Therefore, Hughes now depends on plants to filter the water naturally and keep algae from forming. Chuck and Jim added bream and goldfish but removed both, as they tended to disturb the plants. Now, however, several bullfrogs have taken up residence.
    With over two hundred feet of shoreline, the pond is mainly a thing of beauty; however, the family occasionally enjoys a dip to cool off on hot summer days. Says Chuck, “There is nothing more relaxing than sunbathing in the pool and opening your eyes to find yourself surrounded by gorgeous blooms and all sorts of butterflies and dragonflies.”
    Son Jim adds, “I never would have dreamed we could do this. If you had told me it would be this big, I probably never would have started!”
    As Chuck pats Jim on the back he notes, ”You started this when you put that shovel in the ground the first time!
    “Yes,” smiles Jim, “I won’t make that mistake again!”

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