Friday Fotos and story

Stage one uniting current bush to pond

When I first moved to my land here I saw it as pasture for my llamas and horse. Improvements had to do with fencing and grass seeding to improve the pasture. Lawn was in my opinion unrealized pasture. When due to time constraints I got rid of the livestock I had more grass than I could handle and I had to get a riding mower to keep it trimmed. I look at that move as the beginning of the end. I went from that to raised gardens for growing lettuce and veggies and now my flower bed.

Up to now the flower beds had been things that came with the house and were merely added to her kept up and as I blogged earlier this year I lost control of a few. I am not sure why I decided to do this new free form flower and herb garden. It began as an idea to link several things together and minimize the problem of mowing around each. Now there is one large feature to mow around.

Adding more plants and beginning to enlarge around pond.


Weeding around the back of the pond

I added the little pond the year I started the studio. I figured while they built I would make a rock garden water feature in my yard. But the studio ended up being my project and the pond got abandoned. In spite of landscape cloth laid under the dirt I got weeds. I pulled them up and laid more cloth and then more dirt.

It is not done yet (who knows when a garden is ever done) but I am further than I thought I would be. I am surprised I have not given up on it. The garden will wrap around the little pond and end in a rock garden with or without fountain/waterfall. The pan figure is a butterfly bath. There are round rocks in the bottom of the dish and just enough water that the butterflies can land on the rocks and suck water. I added new plants this week including lemon balm, sweet herb, tarragon, straw flower, painted daisy, and a low spreading ivy edge as well as three different thyme.

I need quite a few more rocks to edge the bed and the pond with. The wagon in the picture is my rock transport. I have plenty of rocks up along the drive area. I am like this little ant making trip after trip. When I can afford to build my deck on to the studio it will overlook this garden. Maybe that is why I am doing this or maybe it is just that my mother's craze for gardening has finally entrapped me in my old age.