How do I hide my pond liner?

How can I hide the liner of my pond? A garden pond is ideal for beautifying your outdoor space, teaching your children about gardening, and welcoming beautiful fish, frogs, ducks, and more. But to make the most of it, it is essential to make it as attractive as possible. And for that, there is nothing better than hiding the liner of your pond (which is often black). So, remember to conceal the liner of your pond before filling the basin with water!

How to lay the liner?

The dimensions of the liner are chosen based on the depth and surface area of the dug hole. It is advisable to use a very flexible and fairly resistant PVC liner. Before laying the liner, you must place geotextile felt over the entire surface of the hole. This provides additional protection for the membrane against roots and rocks. Ask a third person (your partner, a friend, or a neighbor) for help installing the liner without damaging it.

How to fit the liner to the pond?

Once the liner conforms to the uneven shapes of the hole, try to reduce the formation of folds.

Then, proceed as follows:

• Fill the basin with water;
• Leave the liner to take the shape of the future pond for 3 days;
• Check that the liner is well stretched;
• Mark the outline of the protruding membrane (by arranging rocks, for example);
• Cut the excess part of the liner with a pair of scissors;
• Leave a surplus of liner around the pond (about 40 cm).

How to hide the excess liner?

With stones

To camouflage the edge of the basin, you can use decorative objects. Generally, nature lovers choose natural rocks. Large stones also serve to beautify the edge of the pond and secure the liner. Take the time to wedge them firmly together. Once the membrane is hidden, check the stability of the small wall.

If necessary, reinforce unstable rocks with small flat pebbles.

With grass

Another solution for masking the liner consists of using grass. Specifically, you need to lay a layer of potting soil on the edges of the basin and grow grass. However, this operation requires a lot of maintenance because the potting soil falls into the water.

The best alternative consists of placing grass sods on the liner-covered edge. You can cut squares of wild grass from nature using a shovel. Thus, this simple technique allows you to hide and stabilize the liner. The grass roots prevent soil from falling into the basin.

What plants should I plant to camouflage the liner?

Perennial plants

To complement the elements used to hide the liner, you can plant vegetation.

To do this, follow these steps:

• Spread a layer of potting soil all around the pond;
• Cover the soil with geotextile felt (to reduce weeds
• Secure the gardening felt with the stones of the edge (to stabilize the good soil);
• Make holes in the felt to plant the vegetation (use a cutter)
• Cover the fabric with gravel to secure it and beautify the edge.

The vegetation that adapts best to this arrangement must withstand heat and sunlight. These are succulents and perennials that do not need watering.

In addition to enriching the biodiversity of the pond, their flowers offer varied colors throughout the seasons.

Aquatic plants

The part of the liner covered by water can be hidden by vegetation. Water lilies with white or yellow flowers cover the surface of the water and hide the black color of the liner. Remember to cover the first level of the pond with pumice stabilized by stones.

Pumice is a porous rock used to filter water naturally. In addition, it allows the development of bacteria that promote plant growth.

To plant hydrophytic plants, follow this method:

• Cover planting baskets with geotextile felt
• Place a layer of pumice
• Add a layer of pond potting soil
• Place your plant in the middle of the basket
• Add more pond potting soil
• Add a layer of pumice to secure the potting soil
• Submerge the plants in the pond.

The plant baskets that grow on the banks must be placed on the first tier of the basin.

They must remain well exposed to the sun. This is the case of the rush, which only needs 10 cm of water. Juncus is a perennial plant. Its stems reach a height of 80 cm.

On the other hand, water lily baskets should be placed at the bottom of the pond. When planting the water lily, you can add clay to the potting soil to properly weigh down the basket.

Hiding the liner of my pond: a final word!

And there you have it: your pond is now ready to welcome goldfish, ornamental carp, or any other marine species.

Transform it into a lively space full of biodiversity that is pleasant to observe. And to make it even more pleasing to the eye, check out our article on the landscaping of outdoor ponds.

Also read: our EPDM liners per m², with or without felt.