Debra, you did an exceptional job! Congratulations - and now sit back and enjoy it!!
Christina
New pond project now under way - join us!
Thanks Janet and Christina! We have more planting to do and it will be a while before the plants fill in, but it's starting to take shape. We look forward to enjoying the area this summer.
Debra
Congratulations, Debra, the pond looks great ...and so does little Buddy, poor boy!Many hugs for him !
Adina
Hi Adina! Have you been busy lately? How's the house coming along?
Gosh this is turning into SUCH a lovely spot! Have you figured out yet what you want on the back wall?
Have been watching this thread with much interest. The pond turned out wonderfully! I think you and your wildlife guests will enjoy it very much.
No, Janet. There is very limited space back there and I haven't made a decision yet. The fence above the wall will be covered with wisteria. (believe it or not) I cut it way back to help direct the stronger vines. The fence should be partially covered by the end of this summer. The blooms were beautiful before we got a late freeze. I'm still considering a camellia, clematis or ivy.
Tetleytuna (I just love that name!), it's exciting to see butterflies and hummers already. I found recipe today for butterfly mash made of bananas, brown sugar and dark beer. They are supposed to love it. I had part of an apple left over from dinner and stuck it on a stick then put the stick in the ground. It may become all about the bf's and hummers!
Debra
NICE!~ Just thinking, if you let the wisteria hang down, you may not need anything else, though..... Having it at the top margins of the brick might soften the wall enough, maybe?
Let us know how the mix works! My hummers are turning up their beaks at my feeders, because the neighbor's euc is blooming. It's also still home to a pretty-good sized flock of cedar waxwings who apparently have decided it's not time to go home yet. Based on the weather I've seen in their migration path, I think they know what they're doing. This is the only time so far I've missed my big euc that I had cut down last fall. I knew I would miss the birds and bees when it bloomed......but it was just outa control, and the neighbors were bi*(&jing....sigh.
Hey, Debra ! Yes I've been so busy with the car...had to take it to the car service to be repaired, but first I had to go to the Inssurance company with the papers they asked to give me the money for repairs. UGH !
I'm so happy for you about the pond being ready ! I think wisteria it's a wonderful idea !BTW, I saw wisteria blooming in the park ! ...What ?Of course I'll take pictures !LOL
Adina
Debra,
wow! This really is wonderful. I've been checking in on your thread
and its just amazing. Just terrific!
I love bullfrogs. You'll enjoy their summer love songs.
Tam
The wisteria was killed back with our late freeze. I'm not seeing much new growth.....I hope it is going to recover. It has a lot of territory to cover! The frogs have moved on. That big one is probably better off in the big pond anyway. Not sure he could find enough to eat here. Besides, if he ever jumped out unexpectedly he would frighten the bajeebees out of me!
Hi Tammy, glad to see you here! Janet, what's up with your picky hummers? Adina, has your new car been repaired? Better get off this computer and go outside. There's so much to do!
Debra
Kill a wisteria? I doubt it! There's a reason it rhymes with "hysteria". I'm sure it will be BAAAaaack.
LOL! I'm sure you're right!
Debra, I hope the wisteria wasn't killed by the freeze. In the park they've just bloomed, as I've told you. Here is a picture of how the wisteria grows like a tunnel over the alley.
Adina
This message was edited Apr 19, 2007 2:32 PM
This is one from the back, with more blooms !
That's gorgeous, Adina! Our new water lilies and mini-cattails are starting to sprout down there on the bottom of the pond. Yipee!
Debra
Scratch thru the bark on the wisteria---I'll bet it's green underneath!
It is.....it was very warm and sunny today. There are some tiny buds getting ready to make new branches. Yeah! Now if the hydrangeas would perk up and the Japanese Maples would just drop those dead leaves and get on with growing new ones...LOL!
The JM may take a few weeks to recover, but I'm sure it will. Mine have been thru this sort of thing, both with cold and heat, and snapped out of it just fine.
Debra, I'm so glad your plants are starting out ! Sending hugs to Buddy !
Adina
Another thorough inspection...last night.
Frog Patrol?
LOL! Sugar, our dobi-lab mix is the the frog hunter. And snake killer. Buddy's not to interested in either one of them. Something about that African breeding - must have some super bad snakes and frogs over there! Buddy is our rat killer - 2 seconds and it's all over!
Debra, they are all so cute altogether ! And the pond looks great ! Does Buddy like water ?
Adina
Noooooo! Basenjis hate water. That's another one of their cat-like features. He doesn't even want to go outside when there's dew on the grass! LOL!
Debra
fleursdefouquet, Have a black pug who thinks she should eat more fish food than the fish....I finally had to put her on a diet. She's not a swimmer, so has done fairly well at her attempts to not fall in.
Been ordering fish from Koiboy on ebay, both small and large, so far so good....haven't had any that were sick or not looking like what was listed.
Anybody else had good luck with Ebay vendors? It's very hard to find larger fish locally.
:)
ps- actually I think they go by FLKoiFarm.... anybody recieved bad fish from someone?
I'll have to check him out! We did buy 3 goldfish and 3 small koi from PetsMart today. I dont' want to invest in big fish until we test out the pond with smaller ones. Buddy actually tried to eat the floating fish food, too! Couldn't believe he was willing to lean that far over the water to try to get to it.
We got a lot accomplished today - and I forgot to take photos! We built a two rock high retaining wall around the bed the pond is in. This allowed for back filling with more soil and better planting. Didn't think I would like the bed lined in stone, but it actually looks good! Will try to get some photos soon. Tomorrow will be a long, busy day and it's supposed to rain the next few days, so may be mid week before I can get pics.
Debra, the pond is beautiful. I can only imagine how spectacular it will be when the plants take hold. Seeing Buddy so full of life in the photos is bittersweet. Your heart must be breaking. You are a wonderful Mom to let him enjoy his time in the sun.
Big hugs to both of you.
Bonnie
Hi Bonnie. Bet you're glad to be back with your boys.
Got a shot of the new retaining wall. Still have a lot of planting to do and the azaleas/Japanese Maple look awful from the freeze, but give it a few weeks and I bet it will be looking good. The silly fish aren't eating their fish food. They just hide under a flap of pond liner under the waterfall. DH is afraid they will starve to death. I told him they will eat when they get hungry. They just need to get used to their new surroundings. Besides, they eat the algae on the sides of the pond.
Another....
This is REALLY looking GREAT! That nice retaining wall really finishes it off. It's going to be so pretty when everything leafs out and fills in!
As for feeding the fish, you're right---they do eat the algae, and uneaten fish food just mucks up your filter. Some pond-gurus say to time them, and only give them food that they eat in (I think?) 2 minutes.
If Buddy is anything like my cats, they seem to think that feeding the fish is just a silly game I've come up with to make treat-time more interesting......they don't seem interested in the fish (at least not when I'm watching), but definitely are interested in the floating crunchies!
Your going to need some koi!!
flkoifarm, we have three very small koi and three goldfish. Didn't want to invest in expensive fish to start. I checked your DG page thinking you might have a website where you sell koi but didn't see one.
Debra, I love the pond ! You worked hard, but it was worth it! That would have been a picture to see with Buddy trying to eat the fish food !ROTFLOL My fish were acting just like yours when we moved in, although they were in their fishtank...they just stood there and didn't even came when I approached !The next day they were already accustomedand begun eating !
Adina
Hi Debra! I was just wandering through the "water gardens" thread, because we're building a pond too... and there you are! (For everyone else, Debra came to visit lovely Scottsdale, AZ a couple of months ago, and because of the friendships formed across the country on Dave's Garden, she and I got to have lunch together when she was here!). Anywhooooo, your pond looks absolutely beautiful, as do your surroundings! Ahhhh, wysteria... you all say it like it's un-killable.... here we're desperate to find a way to keep it alive (if we're brave enough to try to grow it!). I love your Japanese Maples, and I think your design is gorgeous. We're going through the 'asking a million questions' phase as well. I guess I'll have to put our pond progress on this forum, although it's been running for a while on Southwest Gardening. I hope all is well with you (don't you love Spring!)... and I hope Buddy is feeling well and loving every minute he has with you. He sure is a pretty boy!
Brenda
No web yet...
fleursdefoquet......
I have purchased many times from FLKoiFarm off Ebay. Always healthy attractive fish.
MerryM
Hi Brenda! How have you been? If you start a thread for your pond project, please post an announcement or post a link here. I wouldn't want to miss it!
Merry, thanks for the reference. I'll keep that in mind if we decide to upgrade!
Hi Debra, isn't it time for some new photos? Bet your plants are starting to fill in!