Pond Flora and Fauna

You probably saw this coming: MORE plants.

The pond’s ecosystem is a new experiment for me. Luckily there’s plenty of information online to make the learning curve a little less steep.

Infographic from https://www.pondexperts.ca/pond-plant-depth-zones/

My Aquatic Collection

As I started browsing catalogs of aquatic plants, I was surprised at how many from my existing garden could thrive with their roots submerged in water. The aquatic plant expert at my local shop says to rinse off the roots… because these plants need nutrients dissolved in water, not actual soil, there’s no sense in dirtying the pond water.

Volunteer Nature

I decided I didn’t want to (yet) deal with fish in my pond, which would add another level of maintenance and complexity. Fish require feeding, correct pH, and winter aeration. Instead, I let my pond be a habitat for the woodland creatures that show up to visit, feed themselves, and do whatever they do in the winter. It has made for some interesting nature watching.

Stream Finishing Part 2: Gravel Garden

After Michele helped me clear the giant weed mess (see Stream Finishing Part 1: Mulch Corner), I pinned down landscape fabric to prevent the weeds from sprouting right back up again while I waited for my trees to be installed.

I picked out two beautiful trees to be installed by my local garden center. Like everyone else, they’re crazy busy and booked out. Finally my beauties arrived.

Ruby Falls Redbud: Cercis canadensis 'Ruby Falls'

Japanese Maple: Acer palmatum dissectum 'Red Dragon'

Acer Crimson Queen, Japanese Laceleaf Maple

Cercis Ruby Falls, Weeping Redbud

Trees behind the stream

Now the rocks. Despite the stream being a completely artificial construct, I want to at least try to give it the variation you might find in nature.

1.5” rounded stone

2 cubic yards of the 1.5” and 1 cubic yard of the 2-3”

2-3” rounded stone

First few wheelbarrow loads

Stream Finishing Part 1: Mulch Corner

My concept for the area between the stream and the fence is that it contains year-round interest, and it never needs mowing. This means focusing on plants that keep their structure throughout the winter, as opposed to most of my garden plants which die back to the ground. I decided to install a mulched garden at the top, and a gravel garden below.

I’m also hoping to reduce the amount of weeding it needs… because holy hell look at this mess:

In one of my all-too-frequent moments of garden despair and frustration, Michele came over to help. For those of you who don’t know Michele, she’s my friend & neighbor, and she’s a powerhouse in the garden. She frequently shares her divided plants, and everything in her care seems to flourish. See for yourself:

It started as just a little. And a little more. And a little later I mentioned that my back had started to ache… and Michele said, ‘Yep - mine too!’ and didn't miss a beat slamming the shovel into the weed pile. She’s a machine. We got the entire thing done in one go.

We decided to use plastic tarps to smother the established grass at the top of the stream.

Then the waiting.

Grass at the top of the slope is adequately smothered, and I’m tired of looking at the ugly tarps. This is where the elbow grease takes over.

The silver tarp smothered the grass during our 90+ degree heat wave and drought.

The area looks bigger from above.

Pulling clumps of dead grass, spreading landscape fabric, and covering with mulch.

Plantings at the top of the stream are coming along nicely.

Pond Planting

Pond installation is complete, and Maddox wasted no time helping herself to the cool, fresh water.

The construction left behind lots of loose dirt, which easily combined with summer hurricane rains to make a giant muddy mess. Decaying organic material in the sediment mixed with air in the waterfall to cause foam, but that was short-lived as the ecosystem came into balance.

Plantings are starting to fill in, and the patio is taking shape.

Night falls and autumn leaves

Saving Wisteria

Aw, crud. Some little bugger stripped the bark off my wisteria tree… all the way around. GRRRR.

Being girdled will typically kill a tree, but I’m doing to try my best to save it. After some time on YouTube, I decided to insert several bridges with grafting paste, wrap the exposed area in moss, and then cover with loose-weave burlap for the winter. Now we wait.

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Yard Attack

When you spend as much time in the yard as I do, it’s frustrating when your efforts are foiled by invaders.

Invader #1: Slugs. These guys target the hostas in my flower garden, and the basil in my herb garden. I’d heard the cup-of-beer trick, but since I didn’t have any skunky beer hanging around, I opted for my own brew with a recipe from The Art of Doing Stuff. I now keep a bottle of Slug Chug in the greenhouse and refresh the cups a couple times a week.

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Invader #2: Lawn Fungus. Several lawns in the neighborhood have been affected. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but it turns the lawn a fairly vibrant shade of yellow. Just a few days after applying Scott’s DiseaseEx Lawn Fungicide at the curative rate, my strip of side yard seems to be going back to normal. At least it’s not bright yellow. Or spreading.

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Invader #3: Rodents. I’m not sure which variety… moles or voles or chipmunks… but someone has been eating the bark off my wisteria tree. It has been completely girdled, which means certain death unless I can perform some surgical miracles. I’m attempting to learn how to graft a bridge that will allow nutrients to cross over the barkless area. I guess we’ll find out next spring if I’ve been successful.

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Rain Chains

If the Pacific Northwest is known for rain, then it should also be known for rain chains. The flare for arts and metal sculpture makes Seattle the perfect place to turn drizzle into music. I’ve always loved the lotus-cup rain chains (below) on my aunt & uncle’s post-and-beam cabin in Sequim, Washington.

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Sadie relaxes in the shade by the Sequim house.

Rain chain water collects in an anchor bowl.

Rain chain water collects in an anchor bowl.

My house has three downspouts across the front that I’ll replace with rain chains. I purchased four 8’ Ring Rain Chains, three gutter adapters, and three anchoring basins.

Overview of the house, with downspouts on each end and at the center.

Overview of the house, with downspouts on each end and at the center.

I decided to start with the short end of the house. I had always thought the bank of forsythia made the garden look somewhat lopsided, so it was easy to part with the one on the end. (Plus, it looks great at Rosemary’s house! #WillWorkForPlants)

For drainage, I filled the hole first with large rocks, then with pea gravel that I had leftover from the greenhouse installation. Finally, I topped the hole with round decorative beach rocks and an anchor bowl. (Note: I later decided to drill holes in the bottom of the bowl to avoid the mosquito breeding ground.)

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Digging out the forsythia.

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Big rocks.

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Pea gravel for drainage.

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Decorative rocks and anchor bowl.

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First rain chain done!

Inside the gutter.

Inside the gutter.

Rain chain #2

Rain chain #2

Water pours easily down the chain in a deluge. (Sorry for the crappy through-the-screen pic… as you can see, it was raining outside!)

I expected a little splashing, and since my deep eaves put the gutters about two feet away from my house, I don’t have to worry too much about damage.

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Heavy rain.

Roses & rock river.

Roses & rock river.

Garden Tags

I like labeling my plants… mostly so I remember what I already planted when spring rolls around and I want to stick a shovel in the ground. Some of my perennials are late to pop to the surface, and others never pop up at all. Such is life in Zone 5.

The trouble with plant tags is that they’re generally white. Or yellow. They look like litter against the thawed-but-not-yet-sprouted garden dirt.

Enter SPRAY PAINT, my new favorite medium. Combined with a white acrylic marker pen, these tags look neat and camouflaged.

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Front Walk Garden

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The arborvitae hedges smelled nice, but had grown beyond an attractive shape. I initially tried to prune them back, hoping the woody lower half would fill in. It didn't. So out they went.

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Finally I decided that I didn’t really want a row of matching, unappealing hedges. I picked new plantings that will hopefully give the area more interest all year long.

  • Dwarf Alberta spruce
  • Oenothera 'Siskiyou Pink'
  • Salvia
  • Missouri Primrose
  • Spirea
  • Butterfly bush
  • Hydrangea
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Update December 2016: My little spruce is adorable dressed up for Christmas.

Update December 2016: My little spruce is adorable dressed up for Christmas.

Update Summer 2017: a few plants didn’t survive the winter, but for the most part, my plants are thriving. I love the variety of heights and textures and colors and flowers. The scent of flowers and a flutter of butterflies greets me every time I walk out the door.

Rain Barrel

My hand-me-down rain barrel now collects rain from two segments of gutters, and sends overflow through tubes buried in the garden. At least... that's how it works when it's not overflowing from summer deluges.

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