bagspond update for February

[bagsmom]

Hey gang! Just thought I'd pop in a picture of the latest progress. Still need to foam and do edge treatment with liner before putting in water. But I'm getting closer.

Trying to decide if we should also go ahead and finish the landscaping around the pond before putting in water. In the red clay area to the left of the pond, we will do landscape fabric and a gravel "patio." On the one hand, if I get water in and circulating, it will be ready that much sooner. On the other, doing the rock patio will probably be dirty work and could make the pond icky. (Believe it or not, I've been using the shop vac to keep the inside of the pond clean for now, while it's empty.)

Anyway, here is the latest photo.

 

[MoonShadows]

Superb looking pond! You have done a fine job. Tempting to put the water in, but probably better to finish the landscaping if red clay is going to get into the pond area.

 

[sissy]

love where you put your pond

 

[bagsmom]

Thanks, Moonshadows!

Here is another question for y'all. See on the neighbor's property, just to the right of the waterfall? There is a scraggly little nandina up there. She just had landscaping done, and the workers felt bad about discarding the nandina. They just plopped it wherever. She said I am welcome to move it.

I'm thinking that I will, since I want to put something in almost the same place, on my side -- on the waterfall hill. I have a young Japanese maple with a weeping habit. It's in a pot, ready to be planted somewhere. I was thinking it might be nice there. Thoughts?

 

[bagsmom]

love where you put your pond

Thanks, Sissy! I am hoping that when mosquito season gets crazy, I can still enjoy it from inside the screened in porch. (It's just outside the bounds of the photo, to the left.)

 

[sissy]

You need to put up birdhouses to attract birds that eat them .We have bats here that do a great job .But I added lots of birdhouse to attract more .This year I plan on adding more of them near the pond

 

[MoonShadows]

I would move the nandina wherever your neighbor wants to move it to and go with the Japanese Maple. I think it will help to soften the look of her grey foundation and add a nice backdrop when viewing the pond from this angle.

 

[bagsmom]

We have tons of birdfeeders and huge woods behind the house. Lots of eastern bluebirds, cardinals, finches, wrens, sparrows, flickers, creepers, woodpeckers, chikadees, robins -- it is Bird City around here. I am so excited to see if they enjoy the pond! Just the other day, a few were taking a bath in collected rainwater on one of the shelves. So cute!

But -- those may not be mosquito eaters. We do have some funny little flycatchers that catch bugs in midair. I forget the name of the birds that live in colonies and eat mosquitos. Begins with M? Oh! Martins? We also have bats. I love them!!!!!!!!!

I love nature! (Too bad I hate the heat!)

 

[bagsmom]

I would move the nandina wherever your neighbor wants to move it to and go with the Japanese Maple. I think it will help to soften the look of her grey foundation and add a nice backdrop when viewing the pond from this angle.

I have the maple ready and waiting. My Dad has an obsession with them and can't seem to stop buying them and giving them to me! (Nice!) But another option is some sort of weeping evergreen -- thinking for seasonal interest and also less debris.
This project involves so many decisions! It's so much fun, though!

 

[MoonShadows]

You are right about the debris. In any event, my thought would be a larger shrub up there than the nandina. You definitely would want to go with something that is a slow grower with a limited root system. Sounds like you are having a lot of fun and getting a lot of enjoyment, and isn't that what a pond should be?

 

[bagsmom]

I just ordered a First Lady lotus tuber! I'm ridiculously excited!

 

[sissy]

Pine needles shed also and some varieties have aggressive roots .Plus soil needs to be acidic and can hinder the growth of other plants .I had to amend the soil here because the property had pines on it and even grass would not grow .Took lots of lime .I put cold hardy banana plants but wish I had planted them farther from the pond and elephant ears are great ,the leaves on both give nice shade

 

[addy1]

I put in some gold cypress shrubs. They stay around 4 feet easy to trim. Minimal leaf drop. Look great.
Mine are right by my stream.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Go with the weeping maple next to the waterfall. The two will complement each other.

 

[MoonShadows]

I had 2 gold cypress on either side of my well pump to hide it. After a few years, they got so big, I cut them down. I first tried trimming them with hedge clippers, but it kind of defeated the purpose of the look of the shrub.