|
|
Post by coolplanet on Jul 26, 2013 0:26:37 GMT -5
Back to the gardenNorthernexpat convinced me to share these latest photos of my yard. Her beautiful garden has been nominated for Best Yard of 2013 where she lives in the Northwest Territories. Here are the first shots I’ve developed of my yard since last May.  My first ‘root-on-rock’ bonsai of a 50 year old rosebud azalea I started 5 years ago. So it’s technically 50+5 years old. My second azalea ‘root-on-rock’ azalea, from a younger bush. The 1,000 gallon pond I built seven years ago, filled with pink and yellow water lilies, black moor goldfish, and countless dragonflies. Great Blue Heron as tall as me drop by to eat the fish every now and then. That's my coolest cat Sugar toying with me There is nothing more sweet smelling or gorgeous than a gardenia.Hope this inspires more people to post their gardens. I'm talking to you, Bailey..... 
|
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Jul 26, 2013 1:28:14 GMT -5
 My Sugar. Mom sent her to me when she died two years ago. Thanks mom! |
|
|
|
Post by lamudbug on Jul 26, 2013 11:25:48 GMT -5
accidentally posted in wrong topic
|
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Jul 26, 2013 23:05:34 GMT -5
accidentally posted in wrong topic I was wondering where that came from  You might enjoy this pic of my black cat Fang who showed up at my door in 1999 and I took him in. He's totally feral to this day, 14 years later. He has big orange eyes and the reason I named him Fang is because, when he looks up at you, one big white tooth hangs out. This is his favorite spot in the garden, under the ilex, scottish broom and sequoia.  |
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Jul 28, 2013 17:40:40 GMT -5
More shots of my big pond Calla lilies, iris, cattails, ferns, hosta, water lilies, horsetail, rush, poppies, roses, elderberry, indigo, blue star creeper, beardtongue, comfry, and lemon thyme under a canopy of sequoia, white pine, dogwood and hemlock.
|
|
|
|
Post by thedirtman on Jul 28, 2013 22:11:15 GMT -5
"Hope this inspires more people to post their gardens."
The photos have been great CP.
Having moved into this home last year I have no improvements outdoors. As it happens I've started making plans for my mountain garden. For the first time this weekend I began by moving soil around to improve drainage around where I plan to lay patio stones. Later, it rained. It's been raining a ton here. This may be our wettest July in history.
I don't think I'll be posting my mud puddles right away. I can keep you posted.
|
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Jul 29, 2013 1:15:26 GMT -5
"Hope this inspires more people to post their gardens." The photos have been great CP. Having moved into this home last year I have no improvements outdoors. As it happens I've started making plans for my mountain garden. For the first time this weekend I began by moving soil around to improve drainage around where I plan to lay patio stones. Later, it rained. It's been raining a ton here. This may be our wettest July in history. I don't think I'll be posting my mud puddles right away. I can keep you posted. You should consider a pond. They are so easy to install and take care of, and even create their own microclimate. The two I dug in 2006 have taught me so much about nature. You don't need chemicals or expensive pumps - just a few fish, water plants and a little pond salt. When the temp gets in the 90s I cover the smaller pond with white styrofoam to shade and cool the water. The water lilies accomplish the same thing in the bigger pond. The same black moor fantail goldfish have lived in it for 7 years now with very little maintenance or feeding in the spring and fall. It's amazing to watch how nature balances things out and I've learned that the less I do the healthier it becomes. It's tempting to add chemicals when the water looks green with algae but it takes care of itself in time. |
|
|
|
Post by thedirtman on Jul 29, 2013 20:52:52 GMT -5
Ponds are so very peaceful looking. It sounds like a great idea. Although I might have to move fish inside for the winter. Sometimes we get two feet of snow at a time here.
|
|
|
|
Post by freespiritmuse on Jul 29, 2013 22:54:21 GMT -5
Lovely!!
|
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Jul 30, 2013 10:56:31 GMT -5
Ponds are so very peaceful looking. It sounds like a great idea. Although I might have to move fish inside for the winter. Sometimes we get two feet of snow at a time here. As long as the pond is 3 feet deep and you keep a hole poked in the ice to let gasses out and oxygen in, fish can easily live outside all winter. I've kept my black moor goldfish outside every winter since 2006 and it gets down to 10 below here (black moor's are the most delicate of goldfish but they do very well). The biggest problem I've had is frogs and birds eating them in the summer. Also they get stressed when the water gets above 80 degrees F. During heat waves I shade the ponds and sometimes throw in bags of ice. One thing I've learned is that people who sell fish in pet stores are clueless about ponds. I can't tell you how many people have told me that black moors can't survive outside over the winter. Well I started with 5 and now I have 50 very healthy fish. Go for it! ;D |
|
|
|
Post by lamudbug on Jul 30, 2013 12:16:10 GMT -5
You can buy online
Northern Tools, Harbor Freight and other outlets
A floating solar powered pump that recirculates pond water to cool and aerate.
A bubbler can keep a pond clear of ice in one spot for winter help.
Same, buy online advice.
I recommend a 120 volt submersible sump pump to aerate a large pond and provide flow for a small waterfall.
It can be piped to the waterfall via buried waterhose and shut off/turned on with an above ground switch.
Keep it simple and cheap so the parts are easily and cheaply replaced every few years.
BtW, nice pond and garden.
My feral cats have to make do with the river.
|
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Jul 30, 2013 23:39:38 GMT -5
 Thanks guys! You make me want to post another one. Here's a shot of black bamboo in the background with a white azalea underneath. The groundcover is pachysandra and blue star creeper. The plant in front is a native to this region called Blue Star. |
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Aug 1, 2013 0:03:50 GMT -5
 My rare Blue Sequoia sequoiadendron giganteum glaucumI ordered the 10 inch sapling from Wayside Gardens in 2007 and planted it beside my pond. This year it should reach 30 feet tall (it’s already grown 3 feet since I took this photo a few months ago)! This is definitely the best tree to counter global warming. Millions of years ago the sequoia was the predominant tree in the northern hemisphere. It's the biggest carbon suckers among other things. |
|
|
|
Post by csmonut on Aug 1, 2013 11:06:04 GMT -5
All the pictures posted here are wonderful! I live in the barren southern Nevada desert and have been slowly working on getting a small place in my yard that will look like one of the pictures posted here.
A friend of mine has a wild unkempt, but labor intensive backyard. It is great to sit and have coffee in the early morning at her place.
I couldn't help myself, so did a short video of it.
|
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Aug 4, 2013 18:58:30 GMT -5
All the pictures posted here are wonderful! I live in the barren southern Nevada desert and have been slowly working on getting a small place in my yard that will look like one of the pictures posted here. A friend of mine has a wild unkempt, but labor intensive backyard. It is great to sit and have coffee in the early morning at her place. I couldn't help myself, so did a short video of it. Love Sharon's pond (and dog)! Thanks. Always looking for new ideas..... Here's a shot I took last June out my front door. A 60 yo. espalier apple grows on the wall and produces hundreds of big sweet/tart apples most years. This year is the best I've ever seen. I had to prop two limbs up with steel bars and cut off dozens of apples or I would have lost them from the weight. In the background from left to right is: rainbow dogwood, hemlocks, yews, golden cedar, Alberta spruce and crab apple.  |
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Aug 6, 2013 21:11:21 GMT -5
Deer by the pond the other night
|
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Aug 9, 2013 0:34:41 GMT -5
 My elderly black cat Fang at the window |
|
|
|
Post by freespiritmuse on Aug 9, 2013 13:27:04 GMT -5
I can't believe that's your garden. Yours puts the parks and gardens here in Beantown to shame. You could charge admission!!
|
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Aug 10, 2013 0:05:33 GMT -5
I can't believe that's your garden. Yours puts the parks and gardens here in Beantown to shame. You could charge admission!! That is so sweet of you to say, Free! It brings to mind the line "They charged all the people a dollar-and-a-half just to see 'em'..... I've believed ever since I was a flower child in the '60s that we are here to build paradise. I still believe it even though we face hell on earth. We just all need to stop and smell the roses. |
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Aug 14, 2013 0:00:48 GMT -5
 Shot of My Favorite SpotThis is a wall of lavender I planted from seed at lake Erie 15 years ago. 100 bushes are still thriving. They must like the wind off the Great Lakes because nothing else besides grass and clover and weeds will grow along the sea wall. I built the white deck/bench from left-over wood at the same time. It’s my little slice of paradise….. Sorry for hogging up the posts. Just trying to keep this site alive.
|
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Aug 18, 2013 19:05:02 GMT -5
More of my garden Dahlia & Bee Balm  Old Tuberous Begonia by the front door  Tuberous Begonia and old buoys from Lake Erie
|
|
|
|
Post by lamudbug on Aug 18, 2013 21:59:38 GMT -5
Trees here on the gulf coast have overgrown and taken over my yard
What was once nice is become an overgrown hell.
Hope you can afford to cut therm back...
|
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Aug 19, 2013 2:19:36 GMT -5
Trees here on the gulf coast have overgrown and taken over my yard What was once nice is become an overgrown hell. Hope you can afford to cut therm back... I have 60 trees in my half acre yard and trim them myself annually. It's not that hard - a lot less work than mowing and watering and fertilizing and weeding stupid grass. Lawns are up there with the most environmentally unfriendly things we humans do. People are afraid of trees. They represent nature in control. O how pathetic we humans have become. |
|
|
|
Post by coolplanet on Sept 17, 2013 22:57:31 GMT -5
From about my favorite movie On A Clear Day You Can See Forever.
I relate to Daisy Gamble.
|
|
