THE POND
In the spring on 1996 I had already begun wondering how I could enlarge the garden and find a spot to place a pond. The beds were planted as usual but my thoughts were upon digging out yet more lawn for my plans. By late summer a plan had been drawn up, and the long and arduous task of digging up lawn began. Not only the lawn, but also a depth of 3 feet to accommodate a pond, a dream I had had for a very long time.
By late October the pond was a reality, but the edging did not get completed and I had to stare out the window all winter at the unfinished pond area. By spring of 1997 I could hardly wait to finish off the pond, which was done with speed. The planting of the pond was something I had not looked forward to, but it all worked out quite well. By 1998 I had my first water lily in bloom. The pond was an integral part of a large island bed which was slightly raised and contained a layer of cow manure under a four inch depth of topsoil. This was held back firmly with boulders recovered from workings on the estate to build new houses, and so was sandstone.