After letting your pile of hard core settle down for a while you’ll be ready, if not itching, to start your beautiful, creative cascade (weather permitting of course). It can either be a continuous running, tumbling stream or a series of ever decreasing sized mini-pools (upwards) or better still, if you have the space a combination of the two. Whatever you choose it’s important to note at this planning stage, that it should look natural and there is something worth mentioning here.

This whole arrangement must be below the surrounding area if this makes sense. Of course it has to be above the pond but the stream should look as though it has cut a gulley or channel into the “hill-side” because that’s what it does naturally. If not, the whole thing ends up looking contrived and artificial.

This method not only looks more natural but gives the construction more integral strength as all is held in place by its surrounding material even without the addition of concrete or mortar.

So, having decided which course your stream is going to follow, cut or scoop this out of your pile of hardcore (best done before the settling stage if possible, as described in part 1). Try to envisage your stream or pools with the rocks or stones as the material that holds the water even though, in reality, it will be the Butyl liner behind, or rather under, the scenes that will actually do the job. Try even placing some of the stones, temporarily, around the course to give you some idea as to the widths and dimensions of the finished thing.

Things get a tad exciting at this point as you begin to see the bare bones of your design taking shape. Now you have to consider how it’s all going to hold water and this is best achieved with Butyl rubber sheeting. As with your main pond, the art is in the water levels and for this you’ll need the right tools. A spirit-level at the very least but what is very useful is a “dumpy Level” a basic surveyor’s theodolite which you may hire, buy or borrow (from a basic surveyor?).

Now, using mortar and rocks and stones to hide the Butyl, your cascade starts to take shape but at this stage there’s probably more thinking and planning than actual doing, if all is going to hold water. Always work from the bottom up-wards (as you would when building a flight of steps), overlapping each separate section of Butyl as you go by about 6 inches to prevent back-leaks by capillary action (no, you don’t necessarily need one piece for a cascade if you’re careful with your planning).

Without the space to go into great detail here and not being able to show diagrams I would suggest searching the Web or a visit to the local library; there’s tons of information available on this topic to suit your individual requirements. Bear in mind that what I’m suggesting in these articles is a few additional points that may not be mentioned to the researcher.

Having said all this, I suppose the really easy way to achieve a cascade is to buy those pre-formed plastic/glass-fibre units and by various or nefarious means they could be well disguised, but having never dreamt of using them, I wouldn’t know. What I do know is that I can always spot them!