Kerole's Pond Project

11 Jun '08 1:11 am

You live in a picture postcard! So green. The cattle are a nice touch. I haven't tried them in my garden but they sure look good in yours ; ) Looking good!

11 Jun '08 12:36 pm

is never a good idea! Yes, they do look quaint when grazing peacefully on a hillside in the distance... but they are definately NOT cute when rampaging through newly planted shrubs!

Unfortunately this has happened (more than once). Last week I looked out the window to find all 6 of them yee-hahing around the pond, bucking, snorting, and playing tug-o-war with a couple of flaxes. They had a jolly nice time but left a wake of destruction and ankle-breaking pot holes and divots all over the place. I lost a few treelings, a flax, and several things were eaten off at ground level, but it really could have been a whole lot worse. I couldn't help but laugh - animals tend to do that to me, even when they're being bad.

11 Jun '08 4:18 pm

Cattle are a mystery to me but I glad for your sake that you were able to laugh. Do you have a dog about too? With training dogs, laughing at their bad behavior is a real no-no. I raised my (13.5 years) old dog Sophie from a puppy and she is a pretty obedient dog. She not only follows commands eagerly she has tried to enforce the law of the house on every other dog we have taken in. Her temperment however leaves a lot to be desired. She definitely isn't safe around children. There is something about the way kids squeel and hop about that sends her off the deep end. Fletcher on the other hand is steady as a rock. If another dog goes ballistic he always finds a way to difuse the situation. He is infinitely tolerant with kids and kind to strangers. His training on the other hand is a disaster. He was raised by my wife's aunt and uncle when they were in their 80's and unable to back up a command. Anything spoken to Fletcher with an aire of authority is interpreted by him as an invitation for oppositional play.

"Fletcher. Go to bed" is met with looks over each shoulder just in case there might be another dog named Fletcher in the room. If one goes to drag the whelp by the collar he times a deep bow and yawn to result in your missing it. He has gotten better but only by degrees. I think he now regards commands as issues deserving his prompt attention; however, his decision in the matter can still go with or against you.

I think you're right that having the cows or sheep grazing on the hillside just beyond the garden is the ideal.

12 Jun '08 7:59 pm

I tell you Mark, cattle are a mystery to me too! I deal with horses and have done so for most of my life, but there are still days when I wonder what the hell went wrong. Cattle on the other hand, are a law unto themselves... over here, anything that is not a cow or a bull is known as a 'cattle beast' - they are not called beasts for nothing!

We don't have a dog at the moment. I used to have a beige coloured English Bull Terrier named Doris. She certainly needed a firm hand when she was a pup but she was a gentle sweet dog. She was the dumbest animal I've ever had to train - but once she mastered a command it would stick. I know all about not laughing at bad behaviour (I have a 7 month old baby!) but some days Doris would do something so stupid I would have to walk away so she wouldn't see me laughing.

Anyway, back to gardens... here's some more pics of the pond plantings. I have a great nursery a couple of hundred meters down the road - way too tempting!! Today I popped in to see what's new and came home with several pineapple lilies (the new burgundy ones), some more spotted leopard ligularias (with lots and lots of spots), and the most wonderful fountain-shaped tall variegated carex. I will get some pics of them at some stage.

12 Jun '08 10:54 pm

care what little ol' us want them to do. I have a rough idea from reading "Guns, Germs and Steel" and a few books by Vicki Hearn(s?), but I really don't get it intuitively. I have friends and family who are horse people and they tell me horses have distinct personalities complete with a sense of humor. For me, "horse people" are those who 'get' horses, a group that doesn't include me though I'm fascinated by them.

I suspect you'll have to wait until your honeywort colors up blue/purple to decide whether the pairing with the Canna was a good match. You have my interest. That is an interesting fleshy orange colored leaf on the Canna. I suspect you'll get some strong contrast with the Honeywort and that it will be nice to look at, but there is risk that the contrast will be more clashing than pleasing. Good for you for gardening on the edge! If the pairing pleases, and I've never seen it done before, your satisfaction will be great. If not, editing the scene is half the work of gardening I suppose.

2 Jul '08 8:06 am

Hello Kerole. I have really enjoyed your lovely pictures of your pond project. Now I have a bad case of pond envy to go along with my travel envy prompted by Mark. I have two ponds on my property and neither comes close to looking as beautiful as yours. The larger of my two ponds is in the back pasture/paddock where my horses have full access. They love splashing and playing in the water on hot days, so I do enjoy watching them. However, they eat anything even remotely ornamental that I might try planting around the ponds edges, so I gave up on that idea rather early on. The smaller pond next to my entrance drive is lovely when it is at full pool, but it is fed strictly by runoff, so it begins to dry up by mid-summer (like right now) and will be completely dry by August and until the winter rains come early next year to re-fill it. It also has edges that slope precipitously into the water, so mowing the edges is very difficult. Coarse grasses and weeds take over the edges when the water begins to recede, making it rather ugly. I have thought that perhaps we should have it dug out when it is dry to make the edges higher and with a more verticle drop off into the water. I think that might help deter the grasses and weeds and make mowing along the edge easier. I don't think my ducks would mind as long as I left a gentle slope to the marsh area that adjoins it. How did you handle this when having your pond dug? You probably don't have problems with the water level receding, so this might be a moot point.

At any rate, keep posting your fantastic pictures. We all really enjoy seeing them.

2 Jul '08 4:10 pm

Hi Faith. Thanks for the nice comments. It's always nice to get good feedback, especially from such an accomplished gardener as yourself - I love your gardens.

Believe me, our pond did not always look like this. When we moved here, it was little more than a hole in the ground - somewhere for the stock to get a drink. Previous owners had tried planting various bits and pieces, most of which were ill-equipped to cope with the changing soil conditions. We had a digger re-shape the edges (leaving a shallow shelf around the edges for waterlilies) and have planted tough stuff near the water such as flaxes. We have fenced the pond off from the horses - they seem to like munching on the most expensive treasures!

The pond is fed by a natural spring up the valley. When the water table drops each summer, the spring dries up and the stream does not flow. The result is a still-water pond. During the hottest months, evaporation makes the water level in the pond drop by a couple of feet. In the winter when the spring starts up again and the stream flows, it fills up, but massive down pours of rain can make the exit point flood for a day or two, and our sparkly splashy waterfall behaves like Niagra!

This makes planting the water's edge a bit tricky. It is no good for plants that require constant damp because in the hot months they are high and dry. And somedays they would be under water! Yes, it is hard to keep the weeds and grass from the edges but we have found that a deepening the pond has made a huge difference. We left sloping 'landing ramps' for our resident geese and their visiting duck friends (and any hedgehogs that may fall in), so they can get out easily, but I noticed they just clamber up the steeper bits too.

I know you can buy a product that you sprinkle in the water and it clogs up the porous gaps in the bottom, keeping the water from draining into the ground. Perhaps that is an option for your pond?

2 Jul '08 7:49 pm

First of all - hello to Faith; it's good to see you around again! What news of your community garden project? Or have I missed an update?

That is more than possible, because I was amazed to realise that I've not seen this thread since 10 June. Your lovely late light pic with the cattle, Kerole, is a master piece photographically, besides being one of the most evocative shots of your setting you have yet shared with us.

I have also owned English Bull Terriers, and found them bright but bloody-minded; good with people and not at all good with other animals. After spending 18 months bringing up the 2nd one, I swore never again (much as I loved her)... Then I moved to the farm sans animals and some months later a suspiciously bull terrierish puppy looked at me through a petshop window and we bonded instantly. Taubie is the dog I have most loved ever. (Sorry - the English teacher is on holiday.) However she is half something else - Labrador? Border Collie? - which makes her the most unbloodyminded dog imaginable. She is very intelligent and mortified if she displeases me.

As for Tropicana cannas: the flower is bright orange and clashes badly with anything pinkish, despite having pink in the leaf. If there is a clash - consider debudding the canna, although it might well lead to a rather clumsy silhouette; I've never done it myself. One of my favourite combinations with cannas is nasturtiums. I also have an indigenous poppy with silvery green lacy leaves and the softest of orange single crepe flowers that looks spectacular with Tropicana. I must scratch through my picture archives...

There - from an OLD post at forums.mooseyscountrygarden.com/garden978-0.html the only reference I find to it on Moosey, but I remember a stunning pic of a single bloom against the leaves of the cannas... must find it...

23 Jul '08 12:13 pm

Hello again Kerole. Thanks for sharing the details of your pond construction. It does sound as though digging out our pond and giving a new conformation to the edges might help. I have never heard of a substance that can be poured into a pond to seal the bottom. If you think of what it is called let us know please. I have thought of having a pond liner installed, but that could be an expensive process due to the size of the hole. I can completely identify with your problem of what to plant around the edges of a pond with varying water levels. A lot of the ornamental plants I would love just don't have that kind of variability built into their make-up. Most of them want fairly consistent soil moisture year round, either wet or dry, not both. I will have to pay close attention to other's replies to your request for suggestions. Maybe I can pick up a few tips for my own situation. Jack is certain to have good recommendations, as will Moosey.

Kerole's Pond Project

Cattle in the garden...

You're quite the good sport!

Training cattle.

Why in the world does an animal as big as a horse

Pond envy!

Water levels, etc.

Playing catch-up

Pond details