My sore back has delayed The Puddles quite a bit, but on Tuesday it was Constitution Day here in Denmark so I had a day off and went up to the Garden Monday evening.
My back was in too bad shape to do much, so the only thing I really did was level the bottom of the holes a bit, stick in the plastic tubs and drag out the garden hose to fill them. (I had originally intended to fill them with rain water or water from the stream, but carrying buckets of water was not an option.)
You might notice a difference between the colours of the three puddles. I wanted to test what to do with the bottom of the tubs, so in the first one I did nothing – and you can quite clearly see the plastic bottom of the tub. It really just looks like a black plastic tub with water in it, which is clearly not the point.
The middle puddle has a thin layer of clay at the bottom. I figured that would be a way to create more of a natural look, but in the end it seems the clay particles won’t settle so it’s just muddy and yucky-looking. Not really the point, either.
The last one, though, is so far a winner. I basically just gave it a handful of normal garden soil, and it has settled nicely, covering the bottom of the tub and creating a pleasant graduation from the clear water at the top to the mud at the bottom. (This is also the tub where I’ve released the tiny frogbit plants.)
Obviously I need to fill in the holes around the tubs, put in something in each tub so insects and other small animals can get out if they fall in by accident and – importantly – plant the area around The Puddles so it becomes less of an eye-sore and more of a pretty, if quaint, addition to the Ambitious Border. That will be for next weekend when I am joined in the garden by the Flâneur Husband – who has now returned permanently to Denmark!
Meanwhile, the large rhododendron that was in the garden from the beginning seems to have decided to put on more of a show this year than the two previous years. It’s absolutely stunning!
And the kolkwitzia I got from my parents a year ago seems to be happy enough in its new home and is sending up shoots of new growth. It’s much needed, though, to prevent that people unwittingly step on my shrub…
And yes, in the picture above you can see the state of the lawn. Or should I call it the meadow?
-It’s growing rampant these days, but next weekend I will go up there with the Flâneur Husband and then there will be no excuse…
definitely a meadow!
The puddles are looking promising I’m still learning about water gardens, it is all so different, I can’t quite seem to get our pond right.
I hope your back improves soon
Oh, I’m sure I will make a great mess of The Puddles and not get the balance right for ages to come, but I will do my best to have fun as I go along…
And the back is much improved – and I shan’t be doing any digging any time soon…
I finally spotted some life in my pond the other day. Some little beetles and what looks like mosquito larvae (not sure I should be quite so chuffed by the latter). It still looks like a pea soup so really need to sort out the oxygenators. It must be good to have Flaneur husband back. Hope the back feels better soon. Loving the lawn, maybe you could just mow a path through it and leave the rest meadow like?
We already have beetles in the tubs, and I’m sure we will have much more life as and when the planting is in place and all sorts of animals will have lots of shelter around The Puddles.
The lawn will get mown, though; it needs to look a bit tidy to offset the less tidy aspects of some of the beds and borders…
love the meadow look of the lawn…rest that back. I know how these injuries can be when we do too much…that rhodie is stunning and I love the tubs…I look forward to seeing how you plant around them…wonderful!
The back is much improved, thanks to a chiropractor, lots of rest and – perhaps most importantly – the passing of some time.
The lawn looks great, but it has the disadvantage of making the rest of the garden look a big mess, so I think I need it as an “organising element” in the garden.
I have great hopes for the planting around The Puddles, but time will show what it will end up like. Still, a bit of water and lots of plants; how can that plan go wrong?
The rhododendron blooms are like an ocean wave, spectacular! But mostly I love the meadow. I have great confidence about the future of the puddles and am impressed with your experiments in setting them up. Trial and error works for me. I hope your back is improving– they can be pretty impossible sometimes.
That rhododendron has never been as spectacular as this year; it’s wonderful!
And trial and error is a great way to learn, and at least I’m doing it with 25-gallon tubs, rather than a full-on pond… Any mistakes will not have cost a fortune and – equally important – will not take a nightmare of hard work to put right.
I love the meadow taking over your lawn. So pretty. I get the puddles now, they are going to be a nice attraction. I guess you will be adding stone in them?
Stones, or perhaps branches; there will be some sort of device to allow critters to climb out if they fall in, but the edging will be all plants, hopefully overhanging the black edges.
The rhododendron is truly stunning! Wow! What a glorious display! Love the meadow flowers, and how smart of you to experiment with different types of bottoms on your tubs. I would have thought the clay would have settled before the regular garden dirt! Very interesting.
I was rather surprised the clay didn’t settle, but I guess the particles are so tiny it might just take longer than for the regular soil.
The third tub is certainly the way to go. It looks good with the reflections in it. Like others, I love your “meadow”, but I understand the need to tidy it to contrast with your garden beds. This is such an interesting project to follow. Looking forward to the next instalment.
The meadow-lawn looks amazing, but there’s no helping it; it’s just more practical with a mowed lawn, and it makes everything look more “intentional”.
The Puddles are still as they were in the picture above; a family emergency came in the way and meant that my last two weekends have been spent away from the garden – and spent well – but tomorrow I have the day off and will try to get at least SOME planting done. Even if the forecast is for rain throughout the day.