This pix is the same area as the above picture (east view) but the shot was taken at the tree (west view). Bee balm daylilies, aster, gaillardia, Iris, shasta daisies and milkweed are all planted in this area.
I'm still planting winter sown seedlings. See the jugs by the oak tree?
This photo is an April shot showing the east view at the mouth of the pond gardens.
Here's a June 7th view of the mouth of the pond taken from the other side of the pond.
At the drainage pipe. June 4th
The other side contains weeds, on purpose. Naturalizing that area helps since the water hose won't reach!
This side of the pond is where my monarch cats were found on my milkweed plants. The white bowl is suppose to be a bf puddle.
I just realized that I've taken up a lot of space here on your thread Becky. I'm sorry, guess I'm bored since I'm the only one up in the USA right at this moment. I'll stop with a backyard view of two bf gardens taken June 5th. There's three other gardens in the backyard that contain host and nectar plants. Thanks all to this particular forum which I would not have had a clue where to begin.
You have really got a great space to make a wonderful butterfly haven Cdawg! Your efforts look like they are paying off in a big way. Thanks for sharing the pictures!
I love what you've done Deb!! you have so much space! It is SO BEAUTIFUL!
:-D
Deborah - Post as many photos as you like! Seriously! That's what this thread is for. All I can say is you have taken on one very large project and have done a wonderful job!!! Quite the undertaking!!! It all looks lovely! You will surely have lots of flying and crawling visitors!
I have a question......
What is your average rainfall? I see that you had a bit of a drought last year. What does your area get normally? Just curious because you have the gardens right at the mouth of the pond. I have a bog"less" garden area right now along my back fence. If we get too much rain from hurricanes or just lots of wet weather, I am concerned about a number of my plants that don't like wet feet. I raised the beds hoping to provide good drainage and not a standing water area (which was my original plan).
Looks like all you need out there in the pond is some water lilies and water Lotus! LOL! Very nice location and your yard is HUGE!!!! Love it! Lots of room to grow garden beds and plant bushes and trees! Very lovely!!!! :-) Post as many photos as you like! :-)
Thank you Sheila, Debnes, and Becky. I'm enjoying it. I can now say I've walked on every blade of grass in my yard for the first time in 28 years.
According the UGA weather Station, my county has a 9.78 in rainfall deficit over last year's drought year. Last year we had 86 days of rain with 38.65 in as compared to the year before (2005) with 47.68 in. From Jan 1 to Jun 11, 2007 we've had 13.06 in of rain as compared to the same time last year with 15.74 in in the same time frame. I'm sure y'all know exactly what a drought feels like living in Tx and Fl.
When I started the pond gardens last year in July, the pond was at what I thought was an all time low. It was hard for me to remember what the pond looked like when it had been full. So I started planting my H. fulva dls at the edge of where I thought the water stopped. Wrong! I purchased white wire flags to designate the dormant daylilies. When the pond finally filled up, I had planned three rows of dl too close. I was digging up dormant dls in Febuary and moving them upwards. I placed some timbers and bolders and rocks along the edge all the way around the pond so I could remember where the true water line was when it fills up.
have a few water plants, but not many. I threw out about four or five water lilies and can see at least three lily pad groups made it. Louisana Iris and cannas are there and can take a drowning ok, as can the pickerel weed (Pontederia ordata). There is an invasive creeping vine that covers the mouth of the pond and crawls up into my gardens. I hate it. It runs underground with white tubers. However, If it puts oxygen in the water though, I can live with it. Last year we lost about 30 large bass due to low water. I wonder if water lotus would crowd out this ugly vine that's in there?
The soil around the pond was (is) concrete Ga red clay. I amended with lots of cardboard, leaf litter and pine straw. It brought the earthworms and it's getting better. Each hole I dig for a new plant gets pine bark nuggets, worm castings, black top soil and watersorb crystals. There are over 500 dls out there, not to mention all of the seedlings of other plants. That's a lot of hole digging that my back can relate to.
I've still got to get more Ga native plants and small shrubs and trees that serve as host plants. I've got a little Christmas Senna that I'm planting today. I don't know anything about this particular plant as far as water needs goes. Can anyone give me some advice on the best place to plant it?
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While I'm very new to butterfly gardening I could not resist adding my "before" picture to this thread. I started the garden last weekend after a visit to the Butterfly, Herbs & Native Plant Fair at University of South Florida. We even had our first "visitor" today!
I've set up a plant diary on my web site (http://www.centralfloridagarden.com/house/Butterfly/butterfly.html) to track the development of the butterfly garden and with some luck and persistence I should have an abundance of "after" pictures in about a year and a half.
One mistake I'm almost sure I've made is planting too many flowers and herbs in the garden. I figured I could not go wrong if I planted too many, since I can always move a few of them as they outgrow their home. It's just that I have no sense of how large most of the plants will ultimately become or, for that matter, which ones will thrive. But that 's what excites me about butterfly gardening, the problems seem to pale in comparison to the potential for enjoying beautiful flowers and butterflies all in one place.
Cordeledawg -- WOW! Your flowerbeds are amazing. I, too, use stumps and stones in my flowerbeds. I think they give added character and texture to the beds. Thanks for sharing your photos.
Bsewall -- I don't think you *can* have too many flowers in a flowerbed! :-) Your bed is very nice, and is already a butterfly magnet. And you've got some very happy St Augustine grass there.
Carla
Thank you Carla. Don't you just love what bsewall is doing? I just can't for the life of me make a kidney shape bed. I have tried and tried. Bsewall, yours is fabulous! Too much? Naaw, too crowded? maybe, just yank out some in the fall and plant it somewhere else.
Deborah - You've done an amazing job and put in an admirable amount of time, effort, and probably money into your gardens around the pond! What a lovely view now! I honestly don't know how you did ALL that work. Did you have help?
bsewall - Love your kidney-shaped flower bed! I've never had too many plants. I've had to prune some back and pull some out to replant elsewhere ...... but too many .... NEVER!!!! lol
bsewall, your website rocks! Wonderful the way you can click on the different plant names and get a full description of the plant. Man oh man, am I ever behind the times.
I have my before and after butterfly and hummingbird photos on my photo gallery website: http://www.pbase.com/shearpamela/garden_transformation
You can view it as a slideshow if you prefer - in the upper right hand corner...
We began the project in 2003, and took out all the sod. We added expanded shale to help with the Texas clay soil, and tilled it 6 to 8 inches deep. Then began planting! I was so thrilled to see the project come alive, and don't regret one minute of the back breaking work - it was worth it. Now I have earthworms and wildlife of all kinds, from lizards, birds, and spiders to hummers and butterflies galore.
I have tons of plants, and my garden has evolved over time - I see something I want or something I have isn't working out, so it never stays the same.
Some of my most popular plants for the butterflies are:
Tall Verbena
Mexican Milkweed
Purple Coneflower
Zinnia
'Blue Princess' Verbena
Bronze Fennel
Dill
Parsley
The Hummingbirds absolutely LOVE my Coral Honeysuckle over anything else, but they also visit:
'Jacob Cline' Bee Balm
'David Verity' Cigar Plant
'Firefly' Heuchera
'Fiesta Turks' Cap
I've also seen them on the Tall Verbena...
shearpamela! My goodness what a view! Is that a lake! I must say, you have done a superb job. Love the iron fence, the path along the retaining walI and of course your house is wonderful. Looks like an Italian villa!
All of these plants you've listed will definiately keep loads of butterflies, hummers and other wildlfe at your home. I agree with you about gardens evolving over time. With perennials, you can also divide them to make more plants for other areas too.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful butterfly sancuary. You've certainly developed a useful and enjoyable wildlife habitat. Congratulations!
Thank you! It is a small lake, and since my husband loves to fish we jumped on it. We stumbled upon this lot just after we built our first new house together, and had only lived in it 9 months. We took a leap of faith - put it on the market and bought this lot, knowing we would stay put and it would be worth the headache of selling and building - again!
It was quite an ordeal, but we do love it, and nature at your back door can't be beat - whether its trees, water or just gobs of plants...
One drawback I must mention - the Water Moccasins! We have had unwelcome slithering guests in our back yard from time to time, and had a scary run in with a Copperhead last year.
It is fun to see everyones before and after photos, lots of great ideas and feedback on DG.
Dawg ! wow, it looks like you have alot of garden to work on. Becky, I always love seeing your pics ! Just found this post today, here I am sore as all get out. I ripped out grass and planted a new bed... can't tell from this but it was alot 25' x 12' near the back of our side yard. This took a couple days and today was clean up and mowing. aaah, I'm exhausted but glad it's all done. Didn't get exactly the plants I wanted, but will replace throughout the year .
Here;s Before
heres an after - these are not the best pics :( sorry I'm tired.
different angle, boy these are not the best pictures !!
It looks great! I love the dry rock bed in it too :-) You will probably be sore tomorrow!
Pamela - Your new lake front garden beds look so peaceful and relaxing, A garden really does make a yard, doesn't it?! You and your dh really did a nice job. Is that a little pond you have there among all the flagstone? Your home is lovely!
Redtootsiepop - Your new garden bed looks awesome!!!! Tell us what you planted in it? When the plants get bigger and fill in the area you will be amazed at how it looks like it was always there! :-)
I used to dig out my beds too, but I just can't anymore. Physically, it's just too much for me. Though I am still a mule when it comes to hard work in the yard. I do the lasagna beds now. So much easier. You should try one sometime when you want to do another bed. Fall is the best time to do lasagna beds, that way you can let them sit over the winter months to kill the grass underneath so that it will be ready for Spring planting.
Your new garden really looks lovely, Red!
You all are an inspiration with your unique and beautiful garden beds! Thanks for sharing your little piece of Heaven with us! :-)
beckygardener,
I ended up removing the water feature and replaced it with a herb garden. Much more practical since I love cooking, and after all - there already is a bigger water feature ;-)
I have the Lasagna Gardening book, but have never tried it first hand. I want to improve my curb appeal this fall, so maybe that would be a good place to start.
Pamela - I can understand your reason for removing your water garden. I have water container gardens, not a pond. But I am not near any lakes or ponds, so I love it.
I highly recommend the lasagna beds. Here is a DG link about layered beds (and I am sure there are other threads on DG about it as well):
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/630385/
And some internet links:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf582744.tip.html
http://ourgardengang.tripod.com/lasagna_gardening.htm
Here is a link where I did the entire length along my backyard fence as lasagna beds:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/732433/
I am now at a standstill because I don't know where I should create my next bed for my backyard. I am good at following along a straight line (such as a fence or my house), but now I need to come up with some free-form beds and at a loss as to where to put them and how to arrange them. :-/
CordeleD....love the naturalized part with the wildflowers, very pretty.
ShearP, your yard and home are lovely!
Tracy, that new addition looks great......so much easier and prettier than grass!
Becky, just lay out a hose in a loose curvy shape and start digging, you can't go wrong. And even if you do it wrong, you can always fix it. You can do it!
Hey, Rox! Thanks for the vote of confidence!
My problem isn't doing the actual bed, but how to lay out the rest of my backyard so that it compliments all the other beds within the vicinity of those beds. I can't decide whether I want walkways around additional beds or make more large beds or more smaller beds or to make them square, retangular, free-form, or circular ..... or what? I just can't put it together on paper or in my head. All I know is that I want garden "rooms". Which would probably mean paths or walkways from one area to another. I am just at a loss as how to separate and layout the rooms from each other. I am thinking one area for butterflies, one for hummers, one for bird and squirrel watching, one area as a sitting area to play checkers/chess, one for a wooden swing or hammock, one area for relaxing and sitting on a bench by the water/fountain containers, etc. Shaded areas and sunny areas. Like walking down an unknown path to find different discoveries behind each corner or around each bend. I want to use arbors, fencing, trellises, etc. to separate areas from each other like living walls and doorways.
Does that make sense? My main problem is the slope in the yard. That is what has me really stumped. Ideas? I'd love to hear any suggestions!!! My yard isn't that big, but I've known people with smaller yards do something similar and it is so amazing!!! It is like a "Secret Garden". My absolute favorite garden book is "Gardening in Small Spaces" by Taunton Press. It's all about garden "rooms". But most yards in the book don't have a sloped yard to work with. :-/
I think you have some great ideas, I like the 'garden rooms' look.
You could hire a landscape architect for a consultation, just for ideas.....plus, they might have some solutions or strategies for the slope.
That's a good Idea, Fly! And, how about referencing this thread on the garden design forum? There are some pros that read and post there too.
I'm still sending your my rentention of your future backyard using all my coloring crayons.
I didn't know we had some pro garden designers here on DG! Where have I been???? So there is a Garden Design Forum on DG? Holy Moley! Should I post this thread to ask for help?????? They'd probably think I was nuts!!! LOL! I had no idea we had pros here! Oh boy ...... somehow I missed the boat .....
Deborah - I want to see your design .... coloring crayons and all! LOL!
Ooops, Becky, don't misunderstand me now. They are not employed as designers for Dave's. It just seems to me from what I've read, a lot of these DG'ers posting on the Garden Design forum are pros in that field as a trade. http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/landscaping/all/
Good suggestion, I like the idea of rooms as well.... Becky I agree with lasagna gardening and I usually do that... but this spot slops (slopes !) down onto the sidewalk and was so full of clay I just wanted to muck some of it out.... and well I'll be honest, I was anxious to put plants in ! Cannot wait for them to grow.
I'm definitely going to check out the garden design forum, I need some ideas for front area - I'm going to pull out some rhodies that are not in a good spot.
Here are some links I have found about creating outdoor garden rooms:
http://www.betterbudgeting.com/articles/decorating/gardenroom.htm
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_design_porch_sunroom/article/0,1793,HGTV_3380_3896965,00.html
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_structures_other/article/0,1785,HGTV_3639_1399138,00.html
http://www.betterbudgeting.com/articles/decorating/outdoordecorate.htm
http://www.gardeners.com/Creating-Outdoor-Rooms/default/5704.page
http://www.homeenvy.com/db/8/178.html
These weblinks and my favorite book is what has given me the idea, but actually using those ideas in my own yard with the slope is proving to be a bit more challenging than I expected. And to really add to the challenge .... all of this has to be done on a cheap budget. It's "Becky" labor, store sale/yard sale/homemade items, and discount/clearance/free seeds and plants. I have little money to invest in this endeavor. So it's gotta be created very cheap! I actually prefer the word "thrifty"! LOL!
This message was edited Jul 4, 2007 11:55 AM
One thing that I have been told is .... to do it one "section/area/room" at a time. Less overwhelming that way. But I am still at a loss for a "complete" backyard plan to begin with. Which I can then break it down and do it in sections/phases. That is the problem I am running into. I need a COMPLETE/ENTIRE BACKYARD design plan to work from. If I just do sections without an overall design, I am afraid it won't all go together and will look more like a jumbled mess rather than a lovely garden retreat. Does that make sense? If it wasn't for the dang slope, I don't think I would be so "stuck" with what or how to do such a backyard retreat. All I know right now is that I want about 6-7 different small garden rooms: Butterfly room, Hummer room, Bird & Squirrel watching room near the bird feeder, sitting/swing room with some shade, checker/chess room under shade, water garden room, patio room with a grill and patio furniture and some partial shade, etc. all connected by a winding path of some sort. :-) And that would also include another room for my existing herb garden. So there you have it! A tall order, I know. But I think that it CAN be done. I just need a plan and then create it off of that.
This message was edited Jul 4, 2007 12:11 PM
Here's my small bush bed with a lot of host bushes and a crepe myrtle for the flowers to add color.
I like the way you keep host bushes in one bed, Becky. That's a great idea!
Becky, I think your yard would be perfect for long sweeping curves. You could build up and level a little seating terrace area, and integrate the rooms by repeating certain plants or colors. It looks like you have a good sized yard.
Plus, curving lines are easier to mow around :)
I took y'alls advice and posted my dilemma in the Garden Design forum:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/743878/
Rox - You might be on to something with the wider and longer sweeping curves and paths going lengthwise instead of what I was originally thinking of up and down the slope of the yard. Longer paths that wind in and out of each garden room. Now where could I put an arbor or two, 2-3' high fencing, and some trellis to make a vining living wall to separate a room or two? Or maybe taller bushes or trees to separate rooms? I don't know. There are probably all kinds of ways to do this and I can't come up with a single one. Maybe I should try taking sections of the yard to make different rooms and then tying them together somehow with paths, etc. I keep trying to figure out a way to simplify a way to do the "floor plan". You know .... living room goes here, bedroom goes here, rec room goes there, bathroom goes here ..... Can ya see a bathroom garden with an old toliet with flowers growing around it and in the bowl? Or making a small water garden in the bowl of the toliet? LOL! I don't know. Crazy huh? I think I need to determine what areas for what rooms. Butterfly and hummer garden probably needs to be in full sun. Maybe near or part of an already existing garden bed. Seating area or checkers/game area in shade ... maybe near the Oak tree or under an arbor? I'm grasping at straws here! Argh!!! I'm NOT a landscaper or designer!!! Now ...... I am overwhelmed. (sigh)
Hopefully you'll get some good ideas at the new thread. It is a bit overwhelming when you have a blank slate. I think some low shrubs or an arbor would be great 'walls' to transition to the next bed or room.
Are you thinking of taking out all the grass?
Maybe you're thinking of a theme garden with winding paths, the rooms would be more subtle.
