Finally starting to get a few blooms from the waterlilies. The garden around the pond is getting lush too. Since the pond and garden is located where there used to be a gravel driveway the soil needed a lot of work.
This message was edited Jun 24, 2005 8:13 PM
Hardy Waterlily-Mayla
All hogs to the trough!
looks great! cant wait for my new pond
It's beautiful shadowgirl! I would love to have a pond designed like yours.
Beautiful!! What a lovely area you have created. Girl you just have the touch in landscape design and with a camera.
Judy
Here are a few more shots. This is the "bog" area.
Close-up of the "bog"
I wanted the fire to reflect off the pond so we built it right at the edge. It's beautiful at night.
We are still working on the waterfall. Large rocks will make it look natural but getting them up the hill has proven to be a problem. The mirrors on the retaining walls softens the walls and reflect the fire when we are using the fireplace. It gives the illusion that the pond is surrounded by fire.
Another view.
Sunset reflecting on the pond. It was a long day and I am really tired. But it is starting to look like I envisioned. Maybe one day soon I can just sit by the pond and relax.
This message was edited Jun 26, 2005 12:54 AM
No wonder I feel tired. Here is the pond and garden site last August after the bulldozer moved some dirt around.
The pond right after we finished the installation in September last year. My husband and I did all the work ourselves on the pond and garden. I guess we have worked on the outside every weekend since last fall. No wonder I feel so cranky lately. lol
This message was edited Jun 25, 2005 11:24 PM
OK I am going to have to go rustle me up an audience to check out my pond.
Thanks pixydish that is so kind of you to say. Today I put up lights and a red lantern . It looked so awesome I got flustered just looking at it. lol I love situating lights and such to reflect off of the pond.
This message was edited Jun 27, 2005 6:46 AM
WOW Lady, Just incredible. I just love it so much. All of it. And it looks huge. Can everything, including the fishies, stay in there in the winter?? I really have got to say it is spectacular, Loretta.
That one green plate plant in the 5th picture is too fantastic. What is it called and can you PLEASE take a close up of it? THANKS
Wow Loretta, a lot of hard work and commitment! What a fabulous job you have done. I'd be most proud also. Enjoy!!!
Oh my goodness, that is an amazing transformation! I can't think of a single time of day or season that it isn't just beautiful! Love the lights reflecting in the water, love the waterfall, and the surrounding garden is so lush it looks like it's been there for ages.
It's especially amazing, considering your busy schedule. Fantastic job!!
Wowie!! That's totally an awesome pond. Great job! Can you come and do mine when we eventually retire to the farm....lol.
:) Donna
Shadow, the night shot.......well all I can say is WOW! This is inspiring me totally. I am planning how to have a sheltered viewing and sitting area next to my pond, but I have to change the garden around to do it. I don't have the space for a pavilion, so I'm thinking of a wide covered bench. WE get lots of rain here, and we want to be able to enjoy the pond even when raining. I use the little twinkly lights in my trees around the garden in the summer, especially if I have people over for the evening. I love the way look. LIke a fairyland. Please keep posting photos.
Kell, I think you are referring to her lotus, which looks incredibly healthy!
Awesome pond and bog. Love the pictures. What a treat.
Absolutely beautiful, shadowgirl. One of the nicest ponds I have ever seen. Such a gorgeous and serene setting. A+++
I felt at rest just looking at the pictures. A work of art!
(What is the approx size?)
Pixydish, is the lotus the huge green plates by her turtle? I just love that one. A friend of mine has a bog herselff and she is trying to get me to make a pot bog. If I could get a big enough pot for that plant, I would! LOL How big does it get?
Thank you all for the compliments. Guess I just have no shame when it comes to showing off my garden and fishing for compliments. lol
Kell and Pixi-I think that lotus is white, but it is hard to say the tag faded. My Momo Botan, it's pink, has a bloom on it that I can take a picture tomorrow. There are lotuses that are small enough to grow in a bowl on the table then up to 5' or 6' tall. You can grow lotus in one of the big plastic tubs with the rope handles.Also have a Mrs Perry D Slocum, which is a huge lotus and Grand Slam, a bowl lotus.
Polly-The size is 36' x 28', including the bog. My philosophy is decide how big you want it then double it. lol Originally the bog was going to function as a biological filter but there were a few problems. So I removed the divider and the rocks and made it part of the pond. It works good for starting the tropical waterlilies. That area is 15" deep, and the main pond varies from 20" along the edges and slopes down to 4' with the deepest part just in front of the waterfall about 10' x 12'. I did not put in shelves around the edge, instead the sides go straight down to discourage the critters of the night. My best estimate is that it is around 12,000 gallons.
Pixi-You could do a small half circle deck area right at the edge, maybe even curved to fit along the edge of your pond. On the curved outside side attach lattice so it wraps around with an opening in the middle to enter, then wrap around benches on each side of the opening so that when you sit out with company you can face each other. and finish off with a little modified pergola-type roof. Make some cushions for the benches and some for along the back to lean on, maybe rolled ones for a little lumbar support. With twinkle lights covering it and a couple of mosquito nets draped over it for an ethereal look it would be beautiful, like a little secret grotto. Do you sew? It would not be hard to make a good looking cover, get inexpensive cloth and waterproof it. Make it so it slips over the top and attach the mosquito netting to it. Heck you could just get a big cloth and draped it like a table cloth over the netting. You could even make the the benches kind of low, sort of Moroccan style, with low half circle table in the middle to put your feet up or sit a beverage. It would not take much room and you could plant brugs or hedychium gingers and other fragrant plants around the outside and be surrounded by fragrance that would waft through the lattice. Girl I got a million ideas for this kind of stuff and could go on and on. Sorry I have babbled on enough. lol
And since ya'll insist....this is a couple of lotus and elephant ears. See my hippo floating around. lol
What a great job, I love it. And the way you just create in your mind (put some of this here etc) do you have a landscape design business?? If not you should think about it.
Love the lotus, the whole thing is just fabulous!! L
OH MY GOD, I am in love with lotus. I just love them!!
Your pond is incredible. Just incredible. The entire thing. I wish I had the space i would run out right now and start one after seeing yours. So do you over winter all those plants and fish in the pod?
While I was reading your oh so much fun plans to Pixie for a special place, I had to laugh. I have a secret chair and table in my garden that I was just thrilled about. Ignorance is bliss sometimes. LOL
Shadow I just love your idea! I thought I had my idea all set, I have plans for a victorian covered bench with gingerbread trim - but I'm going to have to reconsider! I love the idea of a curved deck along the edge with walls and a roof! More of a pavilion than a bench! I knew I would have to redesign part of my garden to accomodate a bench anyway, so now I need to get out there and look again!
If you haven't seen my pond, go to the thread on Watch the Progress in Washington State, Cont. The last photo is the pond as it is now, as I'm not finished with it.
I think my DH would love your idea! Plus we already have wood we could use! Now I just have to get my back to cooperate with me so I can get started again!
Keep posting on this thread. I love it! And please.... feel free to get 'carried away' anytime! LOL
What a beautiful creation ...... I would love to have a set up like yours ........ thanks for sharing .....
It was an incredible undertaking, and the result is too!
Thanks for the kudos!
Kell-I can hook you up on some lotus. They are real easy to grow as long as full sun is available and heavy feeders, like brugs. I need to ask my bud if lotus can grow in your zone. We can chat about it soon. Most of the plants and all of the fish overwinter in the pond. Of course the tropical waterlilies get corms saved. The papyrus, rostrada, and the elephant ears that are in pots go in the greenhouse. I just love little secret or hidden spots to hide out and daydream. We are lucky to have the land and this house. It was a dream come true for us. They are going to have to carry me out of here feet first.
Pixi-Your pond is beautiful. I saw several good spots to locate a little decking. Victorian would be lovely I like a little more eclectic and funky with an Asian/Moroccan/secret garden/woodsy kind of look. That way you can have anything you like in there from a hillbilly bottle tree to an ornate enameled lotus pot and everything in between. .....at the same time. lol Another idea iif space is an issue is sink three 6" x 6" posts in a triangle formation and hang a couple of nice hammocks so they are in a V. At the post that forms the point of the V hang two hammocks with the foot ends attached to it's own post. Build a little pergola style cover that you could hang skeeter netting. You and your husband could lay out in them while admiring the pond. At the top of your waterfall is a perfect spot. I have a little triangle shaped deck at the end of a berm that takes a sharp slope down at the end overlooking the woods and the holler. We hung a hammock so it goes over the point and when you are laying in it is like hanging high up in the trees. The decking helps you get in safely or if you drink to many glasses of wine you can roll out of it without hurting yourself. lol Two people can easily sit in the hammock at opposite ends relaxing with your legs romantically intertwined or playing footsie. Sorry there I go again.
Linda-I have a specialty design business called Nature's Tapestries. My tag line is "Unique Landscape and Outdoor Space Designs" My webpage is not uploaded right now but should be back up within the month. I will not be taking many new clients so it had to be changed around and updated with new pictures. We don' t do major excavating or pour concrete. Most of our clients already have their hardscapes in place although we will sub-contract and supervise building decks and flagstone walk, patios etc. And of course install ponds. Our main service is design and the thing that is unique is that the people do most of the work themselves. I design the space with solutions to address problem areas such as a floodlight from the neighbors shining in your face as you relax in the hot tub, street noises, drainage problems, etc. Also suggestions for creating assessible outdoor spaces for people with disabilities which is very important for maintaining good quality of life. For a flat fee they first get a questionaire to fill out to help me know what they want in advance of the on-site consultation. They get a design drawn professionally, a materials list with suggestions for sources, problem areas addressed, and I will go to the nursery with them to pick out plants for a flat fee. The project is generally designed so it can be an ongoing process that can be done in stages for the homeowner to control costs. At the completion of each stage the landscape and outdoor spaces will be functional and it won't look like they stopped in the middle of the job. For an hourly rate I will go out and provide expertise when they are building the pond. This way they can get a twenty thousand dollar landscape, which most cannot afford, for the costs of materials and some sweat equity. I design and install memorial plantings to honor loved ones, the birth a child, a marraige, or a pet that has died, too. If you want to see the questionaire let me know and I can send it to you.
My next project is a real Tarzan jungle style treehouse back in the woods for adults. I already have someone that is making the iron fittings so the trees can move independently from the decking in the wind. You can buy them from this guy in Oregon but they are a little expensive. Now I have to figure out how to get Mark, my DH on board. Usually I just start working on a project and he has to take over. But ssshhhh don't tell! lol
http://www.treehouses.com/treehouse/construction/home.html
I had no clue Loretta that you were so smart. Well that didn't quite sound right. LOL I didn't mean it quite like that!
Anyone tha can figure out how to get paid going to nurseries is a genius in my book. LOL!! I bet your are so good at what you do. And the premise of your business is so clever. I bet lots of people would love to have what you have built but just can't afford the big bucks.
I wish you every success!!
And thanks for the lotus hook up but first you have to hook me up with a new yard. Sad but so true. Maybe you can give me picture custody with rights to monthly shots of them.
If I ever hit the Lottery you will have a full time job working in my yard. I mean yards. That is so nice. You are a talented lady for sure.
Jim
Kell-You got it!!!(big grin) About the other, I know, it surprises me some times. lol
Thanks, Jim!
Pixi-Here is a picture of the little deck and hammock.
What a fabulous job... you are one creative person.
Thanks for sharing!
Mallie
Bravo, Loretta!!! What a wonderful pond! Not only are you a good gardener, your artsy side is showing!!
