I am in MI and I am adding 1/2" to 4" stone around my pond slowly. The edges of my pond are pure clay and I am not worried about the stone disappearing. I will have to spray Roundup on them to keep the weeds at bay.
I did not use a liner underneath. I got the stone free and did not want to add the expense and PIA of using a liner. If you use a liner, the weeds will be less (they grow everywhere eventually) but the stone will be much more likely to slide into the pond since you can't jam them in the clay like I have. This is the first year for the stone, so I will see how it turns out. For now it looks fantastic
