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Water features are expensive. Very expensive. Rubber liner goes for a buck a square foot. A pump will cost you about $200.00, at least. And rocks? Yikes. If you have to buy rocks, and here in New Orleans, we have to, they will run you up to 35 cents a pound and you will need at least one ton, or 2,000 pounds. And we have not even talked about plants, waterfalls, assorted tubing, underlayment and more. If you have seen my Web site at pondlady.com and clicked on virtual portfolio, you will not see one that cost less than $5,000.00.

So how can you have a water feature and not need a second mortgage on your house? Let’s talk about some pretty easy ways to have a great looking pond without spending lots of money.

Preformed ponds
You will see preformed ponds in the big box stores, often offered as a kit. Do not buy one of these. The material is poor quality and your preformed pond will crack in short order. You will find yourself starting over or quitting in disgust.

Here’s a secret: Go to a horse or large-animal equipment store. Horse troughs for horses to drink from are made by Rubbermaid, tough as nails, will last forever and are rarely more than $50.00, if that. You can have a round one, an oval one and most likely lots of other shapes. If you wish another look, you can make it look different with planting beds around the preformed pond. If you use a horse trough, here’s a hint.

Dig the hole, level it the best you can. And believe me, you can not get it completely level. If you do, it will not stay that way. Leave about 4” of the horse trough above the ground. You will camouflage it later.