This is an area where I am more in my element. Landscaping I understand. I’ve done it, and feel comfortable that I understand some basic principles. Shade, light, arid, moist...not so difficult to grasp. So I set out to surround the ponds with compatible plantings, not only to enhance the water borders, but also to create an atmosphere in which to enjoy the water without having to go crazy taking care of it.

Hostas, day lilies, dwarf juniper, and a hardy bamboo strain that will winter in our northern zone 6 climate. I also brought in a load of topsoil to help level things out and smooth out the extremes of the topology.

A couple of crepe myrtles are new additions...and we aren’t done yet! Click the link above for more landscaping progress.

(7/11/01)Having cleared away the old shed, I now have another shaded area that will become my fern bed. I’ve put in some specimen ornamental grasses which look a little lonely until they get up to speed next year. I’ve still got a few drainage issues to resolve down by the lower pond.

Now Linda is talking about a medium-sized aboveground swimming pool back on the lower yard.........and a short retaining wall and deck off the walkway around the lower pond. It should be an interesting spring.......

7/28/01: Spread some more mulch today. The capacity of a landscape to absorb mulch varies inversely with my desire to spread it. The mulch law of the universe. Also filled in that rhomboid space at the foot of the stairs with field bed gravel. If necessary to improve its stability I can always add some pea gravel to fill in the small spaces. I originally wanted to do those quikcrete concrete stepping stone walks but got over-ruled by Linda, who is of the KISS school of landscaping (she also wants the gravel off the driveway). I also added some stepping stones to demarcate the mulch walkways.

8/5/01: Everything is growing except for the fescue which is situated in a water runoff. It must be moved soon to a higher drainage area. Another lesson learned. My ground fern is happy too.

It’s so hard to resist the urge to overplant; to wait for things to grow, but to each its own season.......

11/22/01: Created an incredible amount of mulch using a leaf vacuum. Used that mulch to amend my river bed soil filled beds which have now been sown rather thickly with a variety of spring bulbs. Even if I only get a 50% survival, there will be a lot of color by the pond between the crape myrtles and next to the ferns and filter up above. Even though the upper bulb bed is under trees, it should work out that they bloom before the trees leaf over. That’s the plan anyway.

Now to work out a plan to redo the margins of the ponds to allow for more plantings around the edges to soften the perimeter........