Yes, you read correctly. You can “tend” to your pond in the winter! When winter rolls around, many frustrated water gardeners can’t wait to begin working again on their water features, many of which have had little attention since November. Yet, instead of feeling restless, you can take advantage of winter to rest the pond, since aquatic (or even semi-aquatic) flora and fauna have expended much energy in the past year. During the cold weather, slowing biological processes provide protection against potential cold weather damage. Plus, the break from pond keeping will give you time to prepare for spring.
Since the pond is resting and should be left relatively undisturbed, now’s the perfect time to turn your thoughts to planning changes for the coming season. When the weather improves and water temperatures rise, how about building a new water feature and attaching it by a slow babbling stream to your current pond? Or, extending what you have at present?
With a little time, effort and attention to detail, nearly all ponds can be enhanced, extended or dramatically changed without too much trouble, and more important, without too much additional cost.
Ponds built with a flexible liner provide the most opportunities for change, since an area can be excavated to extend the pond; and, a new piece of liner may be attached to the old one without removing and rebuilding the whole pond. Rigid concrete-lined ponds offer more challenges when changes are being made; but, as long as new concrete is well-keyed, the ability to make alterations will remain. Both of these types of pond are perfect for extensions since there are few limits to their design in terms of shape and complexity, the lining material is as flexible as your imagination.
Slightly more trouble comes when extending the pre-formed fiberglass pond, but with the right knowledge (or the right contacts) and equipment, new fiberglass sections can be added to old, extending and dramatically improving the look of the water feature. Check with your local pond retailer.