Home décor with a purpose of repurposing.

“Coy” Pond

succulent container garden

I

have always dreamed of having a koi pond in my backyard. I was constantly reminded (discouraged) how impractical it would be with all the cranes and raccoons around. Still, I didn’t give up the dream. When I spotted an old locker room hand-washing station at the salvage yard, “compromise” came to mind. I got the brilliant idea of having a container pond with goldfish, lily pads, and other assorted water plants. Long story short, I purchased the washing station, then beautifully transformed it into a quaint little lily pond in our backyard. One warm night, a couple weeks later, the raccoons (4 of them) had a delightful time bathing in the water, and eating all the plants and most of the goldfish. I was heartbroken and about to give up my dream until I stumbled across a ceramic koi in the recycle pile (right fin missing). It was my inspiration to have a different kind of koi pond: one with a ceramic koi, succulents, and no water.
Dream realized.
hand washing stationinstallation of hand washing stationhand washing planterlily pond containerThis is what the process looked like: I negotiated a good price for the forgotten, and junk covered washing station. Then, I cleared a spot in our backyard, and arranged for delivery (very heavy). Thanks to electricians who “owed me one” and to friends, Colin and Scott, for helping with the installation. After minor adjustments, I clad the metal base with reclaimed wood from an old fence, and created a space around it with stepping stones and broken tumbled ceramics. (I tumbled the ceramics in my cement mixer for 2 -3 hours with sand and water). Next, I had fun creating a lily pond. Then, I had even more fun creating a “coy” pond.

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3 responses to ““Coy” Pond”

  1. Lynn Streit says:

    Ah, Nicks… turning an unfortunate event into another adventure. LOVE your beautiful blue Koi! You always see life on the bright side of the road. Thanks for the continued inspiration and reminder of how best to “chin up” when faced with a challenge.

  2. michelle says:

    Great Story and Beautiful Pond Nicky!

  3. Kathy Williams says:

    INSPIRING!! Beautiful work Nicky!

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