Upper garden and watercourse transformation

[FountainMan]

Most of these photos I posted under the "What Does Your Pond Look Like Today?" thread and I felt like I was hijacking the conversation with updates on this project so I decided to create a new thread and post updates on this project here.

This project began with a situation where a plastic shelving unit underneath the raised bed was beginning to fail under the weight of the soil and water feature. I had to fix this but while I was at it I decided to make the upper flower bed bigger as well as make the irrigation reservoir below bigger. I replaced the plastic shelving with commercial grade steel wire shelving that’s rated at 1000lbs (not sure how accurate this is). I then replaced the cheap black plastic I was using as a stream liner with a MacCourt preformed unit.

The wooden bridge is hand made using wooden pieces found in a nearby dumpster.

I currently have some additional pieces on order right now to complete the upper flower bed, once I get those, I can start filling in the bed with more potting soil. After that I’ll build the decorative retaining wall around the bed and then I can find plants to plant around the watercourse. Will also be looking for plants to go in the stream as well.

 

[addy1]

Looking good!

 

[FountainMan]

Got the parts I needed yesterday and got to work on the upper flower bed today. Pretty much finished. Aside from buying more plants, I also need to buy more retaining wall stones and pavers to conceal the metal retention ledges.

Added soil once I got the metal ledges installed.

Mini-sprinklers installed. The white object in the upper left hand corner is a soil/light sensor that works with the irrigation system to shut off the sprinklers automatically when the soil is too wet.

Oxalis, ornamental garlic, and ivy are some of the plants I saved from the old setup.

 

[j.w]

Wow what a difference a day makes! Looking very nice

 

[Tula]

Looks so peaceful !

 

[FountainMan]

Found a local nursery that sells pond plants although not a huge offering. Bought what I could. Also buying plants for the surrounding bed as I can afford it. Still have a few items on my wish list.

I also work at a grocery store with a decent garden center. They’re actually where I bought the umbrella plants. That’s where I’m getting most of my surrounding plants.

Water is cloudy from planting the aquatic plants.

 

[FountainMan]

All lit up at night.

 

[FountainMan]

Added more plants around the water. Sunday I’m getting a few pond plants for the header as well as the last stream pool.

 

[FountainMan]

Not directly pond related but today I added more plants around the watercourse. Saturday I’m getting some of the last of the pond plants for this and the main pond. Next week I begin rebuilding the stonework.

 

[addy1]

That is looking great!

 

[j.w]

You're doing a great job decorating and all looks so nice. Rabbits are a sign of fertility ya know. I see babies in your future..............fishy ones, unless you want the human kind also

 

[FountainMan]

You're doing a great job decorating and all looks so nice. Rabbits are a sign of fertility ya know. I see babies in your future..............fishy ones, unless you want the human kind also

Baby bunnies maybe? I love bunnies. Used to raise some as pets at our old house.

This was Rascal. Sadly and coincidentally today is the 6 year anniversary of his passing away. I miss him.

 

[FountainMan]

A daytime picture since adding new surrounding plants. Tomorrow I'm heading to a water garden supplier to buy some more pond plants for both the stream and main pond. There are still a few pockets in the surrounding bed for smaller filler and spiller type foliage. Those will eventually be occupied.

 

[FountainMan]

New plants. Papyrus, mosaic plant, floating heart, four leaf clover, and a Sioux water lily. Going to take some time for these plants to get reorganized. Plants with floating leaves always look like a mess when they’re just planted.

 

[j.w]

New plants. Papyrus, mosaic plant, floating heart, four leaf clover, and a Sioux water lily. Going to take some time for these plants to get reorganized. Plants with floating leaves always look like a mess when they’re just planted.
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Wow so many plants you won't be able to see the water soon! Nice plants and they will suck up all the excess nutrients so your water should stay clear.