Ponding

Good Morning, Everyone. We had a very busy week end, but so much was accomplished. I have a camera full of photos but if shared only the best of them,  we will be here all day. So, I am telling myself to "Focus, Focus."

Our water project started last spring by removing the lilacs that had grown tall, leggy, and not very attractive. We decided to put our water garden in their spot. The hole was dug, the pond roughed out and then the weather turned bad, and then other other things had to get done, and life moved on beyond the pond project, leaving eye sore in the middle of the yard.  Well, you know how things go.



Heather and the boys came up for the week end with the intent of getting the pond liner in. So come along and watch as a hole in the ground transforms the Garden Spot into Paradise.

First, the hole had to be cleaned and reshaped. The Head Gardener used his shovel to clean out the weeds and smooth out the edges. Heather used a broom to brush out the rough spots so that the walls were clean and smooth. Next the underlayment went in: the blue is left over carpet padding topped with underlining and the black is a woven fabric. I was off doing something and missed the placement of the PVC liner. We had expected the PVC placement to be very cumbersome because the PVC liner is very heavy and  hard to manage, so we called in the troops, hopping that we had enough help. Meet my hair dresser and nail lady, Barb, who offered help. Nephew Richard is always eager to help and boy did he work hard all day. It took probably an hour or more to fill the pond. The Head Gardener guesses the pond is about 1, 500 gallons.

The pond has been filled and excess liner trimmed off. No children got wet during the process.

 Next, placement of the large rocks to create the waterfall.

The big rock goes right here.

Moving these large rocks is not easy. 

Professional hand signals: Put it right here.

A little more 

Hold it. 

It needs to be turned just a smidge. (Professional lingo)

Obviously, we are short a few boulders. 

All the heavy work is done; the crew fed pizza and ibuprofen.

 Time to play with Boone.

Boone does not quite know what to think. He is used to a hole in the ground. At least he didn't jump in. We have yet to know if he will be a water dog. Hope not.

Last year we purchased concrete yard art of off Craig's List. The pagoda and the bench are in place. The horse tank still holds the water lilies. I need to separate and transplants them before the go in the pond.

A temporary pump was added to move and oxygenate the water.

Five fish were moved from the horse tank to the pond. These little fish came from our old house five years ago. They lived in the garage in an aquarium for a time, then we moved them to the next door neighbors' water garden, then here to the horse tank, now they are in what must seem like an ocean to them. They are just simple little feeder gold fish.

Wow. What a view. We are not done. More rock then plant material. In addition, a bigger pump and filter. All for another post. 

We are so lucky to have such great kids, friends, and family who enjoyed helping out. Heather, as you know, works everyday helping her clients solve their tree and landscape issues, and yet she is still willing to lend a hand here. The Head Gardener is an amazing man at 63 who can still, if not keep up with the youngsters, in some cases out work them. 

I loved your comments on Gardening by the Light of the Moon. Like many, we do not use the Almanac to determine when to plant, nor do we actually garden in the night light of the moon, but some swear by gardening by the moon's phases. For us, we garden by the what the weather is doing at any certain moment. And we seem to have good luck. My mother in law would disagree. 

I have more to share, but now back to reality: house work and laundry. 

Thanks for dropping by. Hope you have a lovely week and that you get your projects finished.

PS: at the end of the day after Heather had gone home, I began poking around the rocks that she had placed and I found this one:

I

Heather for all of her help.