A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs New Garden Area - Ideas Part 2

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.

//www.agardenersforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/57013/page/0/fpart/1

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.

It's comming right along I'm very excited.

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.

For those who haven't seen it, here is a pic of my new pond (complete with fish, snails, and plants) and the garden as it is coming along.



My cat, enjoying the pond


Close up of nasturtium that will probably have to go 'cause it's in the garden area

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.

i love it!

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...

It looks really nice!! I really need to get some plants in mine.. I am having water issues. :( I will start a new thread regarding that.

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!

O.k. Sarah, where's the pics? I'm impatient.

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.




Beginning to blossom Red Bee balm This is a neato pic, but big, so if you have dialup, you might not want to bother with it.

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.

Fantastic Pond. And the garden is shaping up nicely. What a great little garden you are building there.

Looks wonderful Sarah!

Haven't been on the forum much lately so I haven't seen what you've been doing. Wow!!!! your little garden is looking great. Good job!

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.

6 hours should be fine. It sounds like you have a wonderful water garden inside your shade garden. Fantastic.

wow! sarah looks beauitful!!! ya did a great job

Thanks, sibyl.

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.

Okay, now I'm off to find some pink JFG pics.

here is the link it's the one on the bottom. I just think it is cool. Although I love the one you chose as well.

http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchall.pl

It's coming along nicely.

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.

A hand grinder would smooth up those concrete seams in a minute.

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!!

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!

It's not going to cover up anything father back is 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.

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.

Here ya go.

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.

what Tammy says is true:

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.

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?

yes,I like day lillies and I am partial to deep colors as well--good choice!!

Wow.. it is so nice.. you have come so far!!! Congrats!!

Sarah, what a nice and peaceful pond! Are you planning an actual seating area? You mentioned sitting and enjoying it, and believe me, it is soooo relaxing. Let DH have the remote, what you have is better by far!

I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but I use an overturned bucket. The one I mix my fish emulsion in and put all the weeds I pull in. We'd like to put something in there, just haven't found the right thing yet. We haven't done anything in the area either because of lots of rain and mud and now DH has got a little 4x4 patch of blistering (and oddly, still spreading after a week) of poison ivy, so we aren't getting much done. Will keep you all posted.

i'm so sorry to hear about the posion ivy. Ouchie.

I hate to say it but I like the colorful toadstool seats. I know it's hinky but there you are. That's what I would have.

Take care, I look forward to hearing more about this project.

sarah, i use an empty cat litter bucket myself it's cheap, constantly renewable (i have indoor cats) and light enough to move where i want it!

Tammy, we're looking for something small like that. I'd love to put one of those benches for little kids, just for effect. I know my weight would break it and I certainly don't want my kids in there, but it would be the right scale. I like your toadstool idea, too.

Penny, yeah, he's milking it for all it's worth. For some reason I keep seeing his sly smile and "oh, I don't want to get this hot" and he gestures to his wrist (where the poison ivy is) and watches me, too see if I'll buy it. He's ornery just like the kids!

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one using an improvised seat, Jiffy. I like the bucket because it is the perfect height to lean forward on and because it's short.

Well, this weekend the poison ivy cleared up and DH got something done. (I need that little woohoo gremlin, that runs back and forth, lol) Completely unasked, he finished the rock border around the garden and put mulch on it. We're going to get some store-bought pine bark mulch to spread over the entire thing, to help it all look uniform.
Pond Pic:


From the front:


Waterlily bloom:

i'm very impressed! you give me hope

I'm glad I could give you hope, Jiffy. We're hoping to get some mulch this weekend and DH is just dying to get a bird bath. He has to take the truck and since there aren't enough seats for all of us, I'm going to stay home while he gets the mulch and the bird bath and he had the audacity to tell me that if the small one we compromised on is gone, he's going to get the one he "really wants". Which was huge! But, I guess, since he just might actually finish this project (first time for everything, folks!!), that I'll concede and let him have his birdbath. I'll be sure to post pics once we've gotten it filled in.

AND, before I forget, I bought some geraniums? I think. And they stink. They smell horrible and I didn't know that until my daughter goes, "mommy, smell them! They smell 'licious!" Ummm, no, they smell like skunk butt. She sure thought it was funny.

Sarah

We were not able to find pine bark mulch like in the first area, so we settled for pine mulch. It is a lot finer and seems to track onto everything and everywhere. It's a little darker than the other stuff but I'm sure it will bleach out to a similiar color. Next year, we'll put a layer on top of everything to make it all match. I planted a geranium next to the tree stump, and a pink foliage begonia on the left, between the sun-scorched bloodleaf and the shriveling larkspur. Boy, that makes my gardening skills sound great, sun-scorched and shriveling.

Oh, yes, and now for the birdbath story, I almost forgot! Have I ever mentioned that I hate Home Depot? Well, they had the smaller-sized birdbaths that we were after and when we were there last, the associate who price checked the birdbath swore that they were 14.97. "for the whole thing or just each piece?" we asked. "The whole thing," he assured us. So we went to get it on Saturday and Adam hemmed and hawed over which one to get (he was changing his mind, wanting a 39.99 one instead), after about 3 price checks on other ones, he decided he was, really and truly, a cheapo at heart and off he drags this huge, heavy, 14.97, piece of concrete to the cashier who couldn't possibly be further away. Only when we get there, does the cashier take the top off, scan a barcode on the pedestal, and then put the top back on and scan it's barcode. I was pretty annoyed and told the lady what the associate had told us earlier and her excellent customer service response was "guess he was wrong 'cause it ain't that." :mad: But Adam, who would rather die than make a scene (or argue with a stranger in public), paid for it and we left. I'm still halfway tempted to call a manager and let them know what exceptionally poor service their store perpetually provides.

Okay, got too distracted with the Hate HD that I forgot my pics, here they are:
This is the view from the driveway:


This is the view from the front:


And this is the fishpond and the back area:

I love your fish pond, it is very pretty. And I reeeeaaalllyy like that birdbath. I know how you feel about the customer service, but here we get the same treatment no matter whether it is HD or Lowe's. So we just go to both and see which is cheaper on the item we want and get it and leave, never asking questions. Saves a lot of headaches for us.

Uni

Sarah: WOW you have really been working--your space looks really nice.
I love your pond--that stone is so unique--I have never seen it before.
and about the bird bath--Very nice choice--it is a quality BB.--it will last you a long time--I would know because my MIL had one in front of her Apt. for many years--it always looked great.

Very nice Sarah, those are the exact same birdbaths they have here at Zellers. They are heavy... and sharp at the seams.

Uni, that is sad to hear. The Lowe's here has some of the best CS I think I've ever had.

I'm so pleased to hear that this is a good BB. I was so annoyed with the HD lady that I kinda refrained from forming an opinion on how it looks.

Junie, I'm glad you like the rock, everyone really seems to like it. We dug it out of a pasture. I kinda wish we could chemically color the BB some sort of terra cotta color, so it would match everything.

You can get concrete coloured powder for steps and then use a special sealer to top it off, wonder if it would work?

I picked up some plants on clearance at lowes. I'd guess around 3/4 of the entire plant selection was on clearance, everything at least half off. I got a proteus clematis (to help shade the other clematis that is slowly burning up) for $5, a pot of 3 tiny todd Asiatic lilies for $2 (max height 15 inches), another geranium that almost matches the other one I've already got for 80 cents, and another clematis, HF Young, for somewhere else, for only $2.50. I was pretty pleased. My only problem is after googling the proteus clematis, it looks like it is a light purple one. THe pic on the plant is quite pink. I find that annoying. We'll plant it and hope it's pink. And I found a big bushy burgundy mum at walmart. I think the garden is pretty much fully planted. Woohoo! Will get pics on Monday.

Great to hear. I am a bargain plant shopper as well. Sometimes by the end of the season the tag has been mixed up and you didn't even get the plant you thought it was. Maybe it will be pink after all

The birdbath does look great there, Sarah. It was worth it. Check around for concrete stains. HGTV site might have some suggestions for DIY stains. They had one for giving concrete an aged look.

Our HD and Lowes seem to vie for customer service since Lowes opened a new store RIGHT ACROSS FROM HD! And then sometimes you can't find anyone for nothing. I hate it when the plants aren't tagged correctly or not at all. Especially when I don't know the plant. Grrrrrr!

Lowes seems to be the one to go to for 50% off plants,though. I am so wanting to go plant shopping! I must exercise control. I must exercise control. We just bought 16 crepe myrtle trees at a community sale for $3.50 each and still have a dozen to plant...and it's raining!

Julianne, I understand your mantra. My problem was DH gave me the Debit card and said "don't go over seventy dollars." And THEN he volunteered to stay home with BOTH kids. I think he must've been sick. I only spent $20 all together so he was pleased. I still haven't planted them yet. It poured yesterday and it's raining again today. More thunder and lightning than rain, though.

I'm going over to HGTV today to check out what they have about staining concrete. Thanks for the tipoff!

Here are some overdue pics of the garden. And I have baby snails. 3 of them are the "trapdoor" snails that only eat algae and then I have this weirdo, maybe a baby mystery snail? I have no idea. Last night, I showed Dh the garden and the sky above our house was covered in dragonflies. I bet there was 30-40 of them up there. Then this morning a gorgeous blue metallic one kept buzzing me while I was taking pics of the pond. I know they lay eggs in water, so I'm hoping that's what they're doing.

That looks so cool. I hope you are getting dragonfly babies! I don't know what kind of snail that is..I just one kind eats my plants, and the pointy ones eat other snails!!

I am hoping to avoid cannibalistic snails. Especially since I paid for 2 of these snails!

I went back to the water store today. I got some fertilizer tabs for my waterlilies and a bucket/soil to put them in. While talking with the lady, I mentioned that I keep getting these long, firm, clear, slimey lines (about 1/4 inch wide) on the bottoms of my waterlily leaves. She said that they are fish eggs. I was surprised, because just about every leaf has one of these lines on them. I'm not sure that I want a ton of baby fish but she said that they probably won't last the winter, since they would still be so young. I don't know if that makes me happy or sad.

if you ever mess around in the bottom of your pond and come across some horrible, scary, thick, fat worms.....kind of grub like......don't do what i did and smash them, later i found out they were probably dragonfly nymphs! i thought it was something horrible in the bottom that my fish would eat and then die! some much for any future dragonflies that summer! :mad:

Hopefully I don't have to mess with the bottom of the pond, it's 3 feet deep. I'd have to stick my whole head and shoulders in there to reach the bottom. I'm sure my family would find it entertaining though. But it's been mentally noted: fat, ugly, scary water worms are dragonflies.

Just wanted to share my current stepping stone project.

I came across a how-to on HGTV on making stepping stones that suggested using large dog food bowls for forms. Couldn't find one cheap enough.

Then, at HD I saw plastic plant trays whose indentations were in the form of two fern fronds! I could afford to get several. I picked up some concrete and concrete dye and ta-da! I did double-up some trusy duct tape around the top edge to allow for a thicker stone. But the one I didn't put tape around looks like it will do well enough.

My girlfriends spent the afternoon making stepping stones and enjoying ice cold watermelon and drinks! I have shells, those flat marble-y stones in different shapes, tiles all manner of adornment for our next batch.

Very nice Julianne.

I've made them as well for my grandmother using rhubarb leaves in the bottom on a pan. Should of made a few for myself as well.

Those are neat! It's so cool to see how crafty and inventive everyone is. Good work, Julianne!

Great pond and great shot I really like it alot so
pretty thank you for sharing with us

A few more recent pics of the water garden with everything a little more established.

Just beautiful, what a great outcome for your hard work.

Thanks. We're rather proud of it. I just love sitting on my overturned compost bucket and watching the snails and fish swim around. Believe it or not but my snails are very active. And I think snails are related to bunnies genetically because the snails are giving live births, very frequently! I went from 2 snails (on severely injured, the other not) to having somewhere around 13 that I can easily count at any given moment. If anyone wants snails just let me know, I've got them coming out my ears and I think it's only gonna get worse!