By Danielle Peterson

Having a backyard pond has many perks—which is exactly what Mary Ann Varey found out once her deck pond was complete. The project started as a way to fill a bit of empty space on Mary Ann’s deck. Now it’s one of her favorite places in the house. “Having the pond on the deck helps to drown out noise from local traffic and gives us a nice backdrop for entertaining.  It’s also a great conversation piece,” Mary Ann says. To create a backyard getaway similar to Mary Ann’s, just follow these easy instructions.

Start by framing the inside of the deck to protect the structure. In the area where the pond would be located, Mary Ann used barn board and pressure-treated wood to line the inside. She suggests using cedar or pressure treated wood because it is especially rot-resistant. To help protect the pond and preserve the wood even more, tack plastic to the barn board. Drive stakes against the deck wall so it won’t be pushed out by frost.

Next, find a container to hold the pond. Inspired by a design that used a plastic laundry tub to hold the water, Mary Ann found one like it at her local Habitat for Humanity store. Once you have the perfect bin, cut a hole for a pump in the bottom and then fill the pond site with rocks and logs until the tub sits slightly above the deck. To hide her tub, Mary Ann used stones and natural debris and then deposited a layer of topsoil to fill in any extra holes. By overlapping rocks on the edges of the tub, she made it appear to be less square.

Finally, place the pump in the tub and fill the tub with water. Plastic tubing propels water over the back wall and runs water down the rocks into the pond. To make her project more visually appealing, Mary Ann dug up daisies and other wild flowers from a nearby field and placed them in planters around the pond. She also placed water lettuce in the pond, which multiplied during the summer to cover the entire surface.

To see more photos of Mary Ann's pond, click here.

Click here for our step-by-step project plan for a no-dig pond.

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