We call our lower pond the Ponyo pond because it is home to two or more enormous and quite ancient carp. They have lived here longer than any other known resident of the Chateau and we respect their seniority and revel in their rare appearances. Very occasionally they actually jump clear out of the water for all to see. Other times they sunbath on the lowest submerged stone steps of the pond, and you can even pet them for a moment.
The pond is stone lined and situated on a fairly steep slope below a medieval (12th C) stone armagnac barn.
At its upper end the water surface is three or more meters below grade. And is reached by a lovely set of stone steps mentioned above.
At its lower end a stone ‘beach’ submerged at high water, would have provided access to cattle. This end is the dam, and is about 1.5m above the terrain immediately below it.
The pond is about 50m in length and 22m wide, and 4+m deep at its deep center. It is home to many uncounted hundreds of carp and small bass. (The Carp eat the bass before they get very big).
Historically it was used for a source of food, a source of high nitrogen irregation waters for plants, and a cattle trough.
It is fed by an underground spring, and a number of inbound pipes, some in very ancient stone, and others in modern plastics.
Some time ago, a former owner of the property, planted a beautiful swamp cypress on the dam. Of course in doing so they compromised the dam, and have produced a muddy mess below the pond. The pond itself remains full, but overflows to the west and seeps through the dam where the trees roots have perforated it.
We have chosen not to remove the cypress but instead to work with the results of its presence.
We have dug some swales and planted a willow garden in these marshy grounds. Creating a long elegant willow walk comprising 150 slender willows. Currently about 2m tall, we will wait another year or so, until they are tall enough to braid and for the two sides to be joined to form a pointed arched – creating a shady escape from the summer heat.
We have also planted, and continue to plant other willows for coppicing. The idea is to generate branches for basketry, land art, living sculptures and woven fences.
Of course willows are also nitrogen fixers, as are poplars.. which also abound in this area of the grounds.
Taking advantage of that, and the nitrogen rich waters of the pond, we are planning future raised growing beds in this area also.
To further manage, collect, and direct the water towards the beds, we have designed a series of ponds and false streams for this area also. This will replace the long since abandoned stone ‘lock pipe overflow system’ with a new little sluice gate and run off ramp.
A modern trend in aquaponics has inspired us to create a number of floating islands on the pond. Some with water cleaning plants, and others with edible crops. This ads visual interest to the pond, cleans the water, feeds us, and provides the fish with another food source. For more information for how we have built these, see a separate post – soon to be published.
This would not be a complete picture of this beautiful little system, if I neglected to mention a very important output of this pond, we love this area and get a tremendous amount of joy from it. We have a little row boat for splashing about, relaxing (and performing necessary weeding on the interior walls). We have a delightful wooden bench for enjoying a quiet sit, and are planning to build a small deck on the remains of an old stone well at its south edge, for lazy lunches.