I'm happy to know that I'm not in any trouble, Jiffy. And I'm even happier to see that Brushwood had something that you needed.
Here is a pic of the garden as of this evening. The whole at the bottom of the pic is my pond. Or my pond-to-be. A couple of the plants are misplaced right now--they are waiting for the pond area to be planted and then they'll go in over there. Still having bought a hanging planter and a shepards hook for the sweet potato vine. I was thinking of putting the coleus in the top of the planter too. But I'm not sure on that. What do you ladies think? Ideas or suggestions?
I guess it's time to start this in a new thread, it really didn't seem that long though. Thanks for all the help so far, ladies.
I'll be leaving it in the back. I'm hoping it will give the impression of a door--or at least the continuing of space. I think I'll need to so some planting behind it to achieve that effect (the continuing of space). I've already planted the clematis's at the base of it, so now it's just a matter of time before they start going upwards. The soil isn't the best, but I've put on some organic fertilizer and will be adding a little mostly-composted compost to it shortly...
We've been working on the pond a lot this weekend. Dug it out on Saturday after a fishing derby and then leveled the dirt off yesterday, found some rocks to line the driveway with (in our own backyard, can't beat that), bought some snails, the main thing that is holding us up is DH--Mr. Thinker. He just has to wrap his mind around every single little detail and work it out until he's happy. Which is why we hardly ever finish anything. It's supposed to rain on Wed, so we need to have it done by then--otherwise all our sand will just wash in and we'll have a depression instead of a nicely shaped hole.
I hope it gets done before the rains come. It's horrible to have to do the same work twice.
If the vine and the coleus have the same requirements i.e. shade/water pH ... then it's ok to put them together. Looks wise I couldn't tell you because I've never seen the vine in bloom. Of course the other question is, is it a twinner. If so you may not want to give it any plants to twine around.
Well, it rained last night. Stinkin' weatherman doesn't know anything. However, this was not an issue. Last night, at 9:45, we got the pond filled. Wooohoo! I get to go get "a few" plants this morning and we'll get the fish this evening. The final size is about 5 feet at the widest and longest and 3 feet at the deepest. It is shaped like a christmas stocking that is leaning a little bit, if that makes since. IF not, think a deformed kidney bean. I'll share some pics once it is filled. The only prob is we still don't have rocks to anchor down the liner. I've called everyone on the planet and all they carry is small river rocks, which is not what I want/need. I think it may be time to rob the countryside, which seems a little wrong, but it does have large light-pink rocks, which would look lovely by the pond.
That is about it. DH wants to use some large stones, used for edging on the side of the house, to edge the driveway/garden to keep the mulch in. He'll be doing that this weekend and then we'll mulch around the pond and put in the few plants I've got that desperately need to be put in the ground. I may just have to do it and tell him to be careful around them. It's really starting to shape up. We just need some sort of seating near the pond... Don't know what to do about that, yet.
For those searching, here is the second thread. I'll have to post a new pic tomorrow, we've done some planting and mulching, and will be removing a large clump of my beloved phlox. Which reminds me, I need to get that posted on freecycle...
Thanks, Pinky. We got the area mulched this evening and also got some plants moved/planted. AND one big difference, we got that nasty pipe on the left painted. I'll get pics tomorrow, once I get the garden-phlox jungle cleared out. It's getting close to being done and I'm getting so excited. And my red bee balm is just starting to bloom, it looks so neat!
Sorry to keep you waiting, Tamara. I had forgotten all about pics and had been sitting in a collapsible chair watching my fish and planning out everything else.
The water garden area will have some of the same dark mulch as the other area has, spread on top of the stuff that is there now, just to keep everything uniform.
Thanks for the compliments, everyone. This is a lot more fun, having people to show it too and getting feedback. DH just gives me a look and says, "okay, whatever" on anything that isn't directly related to the pond, or him sitting in front of it.
That is soo nice!!! Way to go!! I really like the rocks.. what ARE those?? And the little 'balls' that match them?? It looks great. What kind of plant is that growing in your pond.. the big one? I like it.. You had a shelf though didn't you? See, I don't. :( Oh well.. I am off to shop tomorrow or Saturday for water plants.. hoping to get some floating stuff.. and maybe a lily.. ;)
Pinky, the tall plant is a tropicana canna lily. I think that is what it was called. It came in this tiny pot and the thing is continually falling over. It is driving me nuts. Yesterday I got a plant basket and it's HUGE, so maybe it won't fall over. I do have a shelf, but DH thought the fish would like it sloped. And they do, but now I can't keep plants on it, they slide towards the deep end. Hopefully the basket solves that problem.
The rocks are something we got from a field. They are pretty much baked clay. I do have a little problem with them--they aren't "sealed". They easily dissolve in water and after a day or two of raining, I can now barely see a foot down in the water. The reason for the balls is, that is how the water eroded it. We actually found them like that out there. All the rocks have a round tendencies. They are really neat and a great color.
Tammy, Penny, Jessica, Rosepetal, I'm so glad you all like the garden. Thanks for the kind words!
Watch your Canna. They are normally full sun and I think you said your space is shady. But they are very hardy so it might fair very well there. Sometimes plants do the most amazing things.
My canna was in the only little corner that got sun all day in the pond. But since the wind is continually blowing it over I bought a big plastic pond pot for it and put in a ton of rocks, the canna, more rocks, a waterlily and some anarchis to hide the pot all together. We had some crazy wind, probably 40-50 mph (easily) gusts that were not braced by the house. And it didn't blow over. I was so happy! Unfortunately, it now only gets around 4-6 hours of direct sunlight a day.
Okay, I"m going to take a minute to vent, then post some pics for you all. I posted on freecycle about my plants and got around 20 replies in just a few hours. I even took the time to put the plants in plastic pots with plenty of dirt and watered thoroughly. I had 2 people come and pick up like they promised. I've got 2 'batches' of plants left and have been stood up by 8 people. They poor plants are dying and looking terrible. It makes me angry. I didn't save these to watch them die. Sheesh. Okay. Thanks!
I thought I'd do these side-by-side to show the difference.
We just removed all the plants on Friday night and then we've been digging out roots until we found one about 2 feet wide and thought we'd call that good enough. I've got a lot of seeds, stuff like ruby port columbine, pink impatiens, and bleeding hearts that I thought I'd try to grow in this area. We'll see how that does. We're trying to keep all the plants in this area more low-lying, so that way the view of the pond isn't obstructed. Would be nice to find a burgundy creepy phlox... I have a key lime heuchera, maybe I should take cuttings of it and put another one in the new area. Oh, and we'll be getting mulch for the new area also. We just finished laying the driveway-lining stones last night. Well, that's it for now!
I know what you mean about freecycle. It took several tries before we managed to connect so that the people who wanted my items could finally get them. Fortunately not plants so there was no problem with things dying just space limitations lol. You know my small apartment.
What had you dug up? Somehow I missed that post. Just like me isn't it?
I keep looking at that japanese forest grass and I'm really hooked on the one with pink in it. I just don't think I have enough shade to make it happy. It is a great looking plant to me. I really like it.
It was (all perennial's) yellow yarrow, hot pink garden phlox, blooming purple bee balm, obedient plant, and a lot of tiger lilies, that I freecycled. All were huge and thriving. The phlox looks like it's probably dead but even the stuff I transplanted into other gardens looks terrible.
There is a Japanese forest grass with PINK in it? Really? Google, here I come! I have to see that one. I was thinking of putting some pink or red hydrangeas in there, but I think my summers may be too hot and they get very big, from what I've read.
Adam thinks we need a bird bath in the area near the stump, the freshly cleaned out area. I'm not against the idea but I worry attracting birds will lead to my fish becoming birdie-snacks. Also most of the plants are under 3 ft tall, I'm trying to keep everything on a small scale, since it's a small area. We certainly can't have a full-sized bird feeder in there, and a concrete colored one may contrast too much with the pond; although it would match the stones lining the side by the driveway.
Here is the one I'd like to get--it even comes in a terra cotta color (which I'm not sure I'd like) and a weathered bronze (which I'd probably like). Only thing is, I'm not spending $80 on a darn birdbath! There was a rather plain, concrete one at the dreadful Home Depot that Adam fell in love with, ironically right after the associate said it cost 14.97. It's about 2-2.5 feet high, a small, shallow basin and made of concrete. The pedestal is cast poorly--with seams jutting out a good inch in places. The seams look sharp, so we'd have to knock those off first. What do you guys think? It is definitely more in our price range.
Wow.. it is so pretty!!! I love the fern in the bottom center of the picture.. and all your other plants have seemed to just flourish. I bet it feels so good driving in to your driveway and having the sight of your new garden and pond greet you!! *sigh*
As for the birdbath.. if it were ME, I would go with the one you really like.. even if it is a bit pricey.. you will only have to buy it once.. and if you go with something less.. you will probably always wish you had 'gotten the other one'.. but that is just my way of thinking.
Wonderful job!!
Last edited by Pinkhorseofcourse; Jun 22nd, 2007 at 11:11 PM.
Well, I think we'll get the cheap bird bath from lowe's. The price is right and it ain't that ugly. I've got the foremost part of the bed cleared out and it just needs to be dug out for roots and then I can plant it. Since I've been paying attention, I've noticed that the entire area from the pond forward gets at least 6 hours of direct sun a day, with the areas closest to the house maybe just shy of that. So I can even put full sun plants out there. Woohoo! I've had my eye on this dahlia at the nursery, it's flowers are about 3 inches wide and look like burgundy velvet. So pretty and now I know exactly where to put it!
We're going to put the birdbath towards the front of the empty bed on the far left. That way, it won't block the view of the pond. DH wants to line it up with the loosestrife that is in the center of the arbor, but I think that is a bad idea and will impede on the view of the pond. We will see where it eventually winds up being put.
I'm also looking for a dwarf hydrangea, or at least a smaller variety, that I can put in the corner, near the porch/house. I don't think I've even posted a pic of this area, it is the very, very front-most part of the garden. Let me see if I can dig one up, if not, I'll just go take one. That way you all can tell me if I'm crazy or not, for wanting to put a hydrangea there.
Last edited by LandOfOz; Jun 26th, 2007 at 03:16 PM. Reason: forgot somethin'
They are part shade right? didn't you say the front part of your garden was full sun? Anyway Wayside Gardens just sent me their new catalog and it has some fantasic hydrangeas in it. I don't know if any of them are dwarfs. But it does sound like you are thinking of putting taller plants in front. Of course this makes a great outdoor garden room or secret garden but it seems like this wasn't what you wanted in the beginning.
And I think you are right that putting the birdbath in the center would be bad to many focal points fighting for dominance.
I recently received the same catalog, Tammy! That is what got me thinking about hydrangeas. Some of them are dwarves and I've got this odd corner that I've got a delphinium in but it is just a weird corner. Something fancy like a small hydrangea would probably work good there. Let me go get a pic. DH is working on removing the roots right now, so forgive me for the messed up dirt/roots. It'll all be flat when he's done this evening.
if you put the birdbath in, how about in that corner right next to the porch? then it wouldn't detract from the pond - and you could add a few plants that have different (and lower as you go along) heights to get the eye moving in a line from the bird bath to the pond. i think it would be visually pleasing - from either the driveway or from the spot where you took the pic from.
hydrangea really need some decent shade in the afternoons...altho, if you do put it in a sunnier spot, it won't be likely to get too big. plus, you can always prune it back to keep it on the smaller side.
That's right next to the foundation so make sure the roots won't do damage. That has to always be a consideration when planting bushes close to the house. The other question is the roofline at that point. Will you have a dripline coming down from the roof in that area? If all that is good then if it is shady enough I would say go for it. They certainly are pretty plants.
The dahlias get 4 to 5 feet tall from what I understand so they would definitely block the street from seeing the anything behind them in the garden when they are in bloom. Although they are pretty enough in their own right that it shouldn't matter.
It's just a matter of choice really. My concern was that you were doing this for curb appeal so when you sell the house it will draw people in to look at the house. If you put tall things in front of what you already have they won't see them from the curb.
It's way early in the morning so I may not be making very good sense.
Keep in mind the big picture. You should visualize what these plants you want to use will look like at maturity--not right now, when you are doing the work. So many people, when they do their "lanscaping" & "flower gardens", work so hard and have them looking really nice when they are done---BUT after all the plants mature, the area in question is all overgrown & is not nice at all.
So I say have the area look sparce now, so when the plants grow to full size, you will still be happy with your choices.
and from what I can see your original area looks real nice, Sarah.
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Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!! .....
So many people, when they do their "lanscaping" & "flower gardens", work so hard and have them looking really nice when they are done---BUT after all the plants mature, the area in question is all overgrown & is not nice at all.
So I say have the area look sparce now, so when the plants grow to full size, you will still be happy with your choices.
and from what I can see your original area looks real nice, Sarah.
I am going for a sparse look, I actually was planning for the size of the mature plants, which is an unusual amount of thinking and forethought for me. For this garden I don't want any plants touching. I prefer cottage gardens but just not right here. I did some research into the hydrangeas and although I love them, they just are not going to work. The "scheme" I'm going with is all tall plants are skinny and all short plants are bushy. Hydrangea is tall and bushy and therefore wouldn't work. I think it would throw the visual weight of the area off too.
Dahlias get to 4-5 feet tall? Oh, that is much too big for my garden. Since it is a small space, I'm using a small scale, and I don't think anything over 3 ft would work. Well, shucks, there goes that plant!!
Thanks for the compliments and advise! I really like my garden thus far. And we are almost done. Adam got all the roots out last night, so all that is left is lining the drive and sidewalk with rocks and then pulling over some mulch, topping off with the good-looking, store bought mulch, and some plants! I wonder if my local nurseries have a burgundy daylily, that would be about perfect for the area, wouldn't it?
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