Pic 1 -BIOFILTER: Below is the back corner of my backyard. my 5-year-old calls this "the jungle." It is planted with Hardy Banana, Elephant Ear, Solo Papaya, Cordyline and Cannas.
The barrel is where the pond begins. Water is pumped from the pond underground and then up over the top in the white pipe. It spills water into a bigger pipe that takes the water to the bottom of the barrel. Water percolates up from the bottom of the barrel, through filter material before spilling out near the top into the large black corrugated pipe you see in the picture. For additional filtration, I added two plants without soil in the top, Papyrus and Horsetail Rush:
Pic 2 UPPER POND & WATERFALL: The black corrugated drain pipe is buried underground and feeds this pre-fabricated, plastic pond from the bottom (I got it from the swap meet for $15). It spills into a mini-stream. You can see that I still need many more rocks to get maximum effect. The mound around the pond is planted with Dwarf Canna, Dwarf Umbrella Reed, Asparagus Fern, Moses In A Boat and Mexican Papaya. The free waterproof liner is a used freeway billboard. Can you say cheap.
Pic 3 MINI STREAM: The mini-stream carries the water down the side of my yard (Yikes, needs rocks!). Ignore the square block in the center. I use it to step over the stream to landscape other side. The rock in the water just beyond it is another small cascade that empties into a small pool above the main waterfall. In this shot, you can see Plumeria, Queen Palm and young Elephant Ears.
Pic 4 ICE CREAM BANANA , APPLE BANANA & TOP BANANA (ME): Along the stream, I planted banana for height and shade. Once established, I will plant Ti and Ginger. That's my greenhouse in the back where my orchids, ferns and bromeliad are staged for later deployment.
Pic 5 FEATURE WATERFALL: This waterfall is not complete as it is simply spilling over the liner. I need to build up the rock face and add a rock spillway. That's Sweet Flag in the foreground. Oh, I painted the wall black to simulate lava rock. Tropical colors really pop against it.
The barrel is where the pond begins. Water is pumped from the pond underground and then up over the top in the white pipe. It spills water into a bigger pipe that takes the water to the bottom of the barrel. Water percolates up from the bottom of the barrel, through filter material before spilling out near the top into the large black corrugated pipe you see in the picture. For additional filtration, I added two plants without soil in the top, Papyrus and Horsetail Rush:
Pic 2 UPPER POND & WATERFALL: The black corrugated drain pipe is buried underground and feeds this pre-fabricated, plastic pond from the bottom (I got it from the swap meet for $15). It spills into a mini-stream. You can see that I still need many more rocks to get maximum effect. The mound around the pond is planted with Dwarf Canna, Dwarf Umbrella Reed, Asparagus Fern, Moses In A Boat and Mexican Papaya. The free waterproof liner is a used freeway billboard. Can you say cheap.
Pic 3 MINI STREAM: The mini-stream carries the water down the side of my yard (Yikes, needs rocks!). Ignore the square block in the center. I use it to step over the stream to landscape other side. The rock in the water just beyond it is another small cascade that empties into a small pool above the main waterfall. In this shot, you can see Plumeria, Queen Palm and young Elephant Ears.
Pic 4 ICE CREAM BANANA , APPLE BANANA & TOP BANANA (ME): Along the stream, I planted banana for height and shade. Once established, I will plant Ti and Ginger. That's my greenhouse in the back where my orchids, ferns and bromeliad are staged for later deployment.
Pic 5 FEATURE WATERFALL: This waterfall is not complete as it is simply spilling over the liner. I need to build up the rock face and add a rock spillway. That's Sweet Flag in the foreground. Oh, I painted the wall black to simulate lava rock. Tropical colors really pop against it.
