My husband will think I've really lost it now when he sees me making a big sloppy muddy mess and leaving it out under a dripping milk jug in the garden.....as a buffet for butterflies. ROTFL.
This should be in shade too right? Or will you put yours in the sun? I think mine would be always dry here in our hot summers if I left it in the sun.
Puddling area for Butterflies
Hadn't thought about that! Probably do both and see what happens. Kept last year's rotten fruit in the sun. Your summer isn't any hotter than Texas/Oklahoma is it?
nope...about the same. Fortunately we have less humidity in this part of Israel than you have there. I don't miss that humidity! ;-)
Julie, that is one thing I surely would not miss, the humidity! aaaahhhh!!! It can be miserable. Sometimes I don't know whether I'm sweating or the humidity is just making me sticky. blech!
And what about those lovely days when your AC in the car is shot, the interior of your car is black and you HAVE to go somewhere where you have to look nice. Ugh! Those are the summer days in Oklahoma that I don't miss LOL
But humidity aside, I set up the drip bottle over a terracotta saucer with gloopy compost/mud mixture (and rocks of course ;-). I'll get a better rope to hang it with and I'll hang it on the "teepee" of bamboo sticks sunk into the ground as soon as DH gets home with the car. But until I can get to the store to get some proper rope this afternoon or tomorrow, this bright orange shoe string works fine ;-). The kids decorated it with colorful smiley face stickers (which will likely fall off with the next rain ;-). I sure hope I get some customers so my DH doesn't think I'm a complete loony ;-)
-Julie
Thats neat, Julie. I wish you guys success!
If you are still interested, I found that tiny fountain pump, and a couple of others.
http://www.kineticfountains.com/mini-jet-404.asp
http://www.artisticdelights.com/micminfounpu.html
And I really liked some of the mini-pond sort of things here.
http://www.avianaquatics.com/index.html
I bet we could build things like this pretty easily and cheaply. I'm going to try one for sure if it ever warms up.
Great links. The answer to what I want to do is there. Just need to sort it out in my head. Thanks!
John
That last site was really fascinating.
My mind has been squirming and belching a little also.
I am looking for a narrow liner to fashion a creek through my garden. I have never used the word fashion in that manner in my life! Not having much success finding anything.
How about going to the county dump, Old plastic childrens slide might be good base. I am considering sand casting some cement shallow puddles with planting holes built in the for swamp milkweed, mexican sunflowers and others. My cottage bussiness may need hired help fore long.
I also can see you "fasioning" your creek with a trench going from the box height of your gardens to a determined area. Use chicken wire and texture the inside of creek with a wet rag mop.
Just one of those burps.;>)
Noted. Been considering gravel/pebbles on top of wet cement.
Your idea of pebbles in wet cement sounds great. I just read trois whole thread. He's amazing. I'll be looking for props myself.
I also like the lillies with no big pond. That would be very novel here.
Sidney
But won't the cement stand a chance of cracking in temp changes? I think a narrow pond liner would be better. I know I've seen rolls of pond liner used in those gardening shows, so it must exist. I even saw on Ground Force an episode where they did just want you're talking about John. In the upper part of the garden they made a waterfall with a little 3'x3' collecting pond surrounded by rock slabs stacked to look semi natural. They left a small opening in the slabs directly across from where the waterfall fell into the little pool and that was the opening to the 'stream'. They dug a trench from there all around the gazebo in the center of the garden and back again to the back of the rock slabs where a pump was located to pump water up to create the waterfall...and lined the entire trench (and collecting pool below the waterfall) with a roll of pond liner. So the 'stream' they created was relatively flat, but the pump helped create a running water effect and a waterfall. And the pump was only slightly bigger than those in the post above. It's definitely possible.
-Julie
That sounds wonderful. I have so many ideas for little (and big) ponds now!
Yes Julie, cracking cement is problematic. What to do, what to do? Holding the gravel/pebbles in place is appealing. Maybe both? The principles you described are what I want to employ for my creek (with pools too, e.g., buckets). Sylvi, all this great input does make the mind race! Its really appreciated ya'll!
John
I found another pump yesterday. This one claims it will run in 1/2 inch of water.
http://www.petsolutions.com/Micro-Jet+Water+Pumps-I-51307001-I-C-49-C-.aspx
Wow, that is cool!