Redesigned back garden. Would like your suggestions.
Goto page Previous 1, 2, 3 Next
|
| Author |
Message |
kindredspirit
Ash Tree
Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 203
Location: Mid-west.
|
 Posted: Sun May 31, 2009 8:04 am Post subject: |
 |
|
| Liparis wrote: | Keep us posted then, I love experiments, i'm partial to them myself.
Is your pond sealed concrete? I love it and am envious of it.
Bill. |
Hi Bill,
The pond is made of 4” concrete with fibre glass pieces mixed through it and a waterproofer added.
I’m praying it won’t crack because the upper and middle parts are higher than the land around it.
| hawthorn wrote: | That's some "Pond", KINDREDSPIRIT is it child and pet friendly? or is it possible to make something that large safe? The boat and canoe in the pictures will come in handy if you stock it with fish  |
The pond could not be classified as “child friendly” as it is 2’ deep at the upright edges (one third of the sides have a gradual slope up to the edge, for wildlife) and 3’ deep in the middle.
I sat our Labrador down at the edge of the pond and told him that it was NOT to be his personal playing water hole. I think he understood because he went off with his tail drooping and hasn’t attempted to go in yet.
As regards children, mine are grown up and when small children come to our house, their parents are told that they must keep an eye on them at all times. There are stainless steel steps under the water on two of the upright sides for the use of anyone who falls in and for me to go into the pond in my waders.
Fish are going further and further away from my plans now. I prefer my water lilies and other plants, and I don’t want fish tearing them up. The lilies have five flowers on them already and I was told that after cutting the rhizome I had got, into tiny pieces, they wouldn’t flower for two years! The guy I got it from, his haven’t started flowering yet. It must the difference in the water.
My wild bulrushes seem to be doing OK. The wild Iris are flowering as well. I’ve some white coloured reeds and another unidentified reed type plant with a bulb starting to unfurl. Cannas are going in to be “drowned” next. The target after that for “drowning” are Giant Chain Ferns. By the way, I was told Iris could only be planted 4” deep; mine are two feet deep and I have been expecting them to let go of the soil and float to the top or else rot but they haven’t done either, but then it’s early days yet. For the edge of the pond, I’m thinking of monkey flower but haven’t definitely decided so far.
No gardening this weekend. Am at the Volvo stopover in Galway. It’s one mega party here! |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
blank canvas
Hazel Tree
Joined: 18 Mar 2009
Posts: 14
Location: Munster
|
| Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2009 10:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Have no advice at all to offer, just wanted to express my admiration,
_________________
Learner Gardener Alert~apologies in advance! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
barremic
Rowan Tree
Joined: 30 Mar 2007
Posts: 120
Location: Dublin
|
| Posted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 8:10 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Wow great build.
Was it difficult to seal the concrete?
Will be fab when all the plants get established.
Love the road sign too  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kindredspirit
Ash Tree
Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 203
Location: Mid-west.
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 7:20 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| barremic wrote: |
Was it difficult to seal the concrete?
Love the road sign too |
"Her indoors" got rid of the sign. It was only tongue in cheek though!
The concrete was mixed up with fibreglass fibres and had waterproofer added into it. I was a bit doubtful about it not cracking but so far it seems to be holding.
Just recently started the front garden. I tried to do a "Red Sandstone Burren type pavement" idea but I couldn't get the right size of stone so I had to make do with the ones shown in the pics below. Not as good as the idea in my head but then, I suppose, when it's fully planted, it'll improve.
Looking for suggestions or ideas on what to plant in the area on the left in the third pic, the area under and near the Blue Cedar in the 9th pic and the area running all the way down alongside the wall in the 9th pic also.
I tried to scan a diagram of the design of the front garden but my computer wouldn't play ball so it'll be difficult to work out what I was trying to do. In the 4th pic you can see a "gouge" running down from the top pond to the bottom pond. I'm going to fill this with white round cobbles unless someone has a better idea. The intense white should set off the red in the sandstone, I hope.
View from road.
View from road.
View from drive.
View from house.
Bottom pond.
View from road.
View from road.
View from road.
View from garage.
By the way, the ponds are 250 litre cattle troughs with ballcocks. (Doing this on a budget.)
_________________
 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
barremic
Rowan Tree
Joined: 30 Mar 2007
Posts: 120
Location: Dublin
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:26 am Post subject: |
|
|
Wow you dont do things on a small scale!
The red is very impressive, what colour or style of planting scheme were you thinking to go with it.
I would be nervous going with the white cobbles, just because they will pick up dirt or age and loose the effect you were looking for.
Also will you be treating the ponds out the front as fully ornamental, and there for adding chemicals to keep them chear?
Sorry for all the questions, just curious |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Liparis
Sessile Oak Tree
Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts: 651
Location: Co. Meath
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:14 am Post subject: |
|
|
Very impressive, but did you get your budget from the Government?
Probably not, I forgot they were getting there money back from the poor
I'd hate to give you advice without standing there and get a feel for it, plus if it goes wrong then you can't blame me for messing the beautiful start you have made to it.
Bill.
_________________
Earth is the insane asylum of the Universe.
http://www.species-specific.com/orchid-forum/ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Sive
Sessile Oak Tree
Joined: 18 Apr 2008
Posts: 576
Location: Co.Wexford
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:24 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Will you be building a boundary wall or fence? Would the ponds be a hazard for children? The world has gone so crazy you wouldn't want to risk a lawsuit...... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kindredspirit
Ash Tree
Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 203
Location: Mid-west.
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:09 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| barremic wrote: |
The red is very impressive, what colour or style of planting scheme were you thinking to go with it.
I would be nervous going with the white cobbles, just because they will pick up dirt or age and loose the effect you were looking for.
Also will you be treating the ponds out the front as fully ornamental, and there for adding chemicals to keep them chear?
|
I'm hoping for suggestions for colour schemes and types of plants from the forum. Many heads are better than one.
Would the white cobbles pick up dirt? What I thought would happen would be, that they would possibly go green from the dampness.
I'm just going to leave the ponds as they are. I won't be putting any chemicals in. They've gone fluorescent green already!
| Liparis wrote: | Very impressive, but did you get your budget from the Government?
Probably not, I forgot they were getting there money back from the poor
I'd hate to give you advice without standing there and get a feel for it, plus if it goes wrong then you can't blame me for messing the beautiful start you have made to it.
Bill. |
Nope, didn't get a budget from the government! 
I got the flat stones from a small private quarry in Kerry. I got a mini-digger in for a few days at €120 per day. (Couldn't have done without him. Impossible to physically lift some of the stones on one's own.) And the ponds are two cattle troughs from the local co-op.
I'm open to all suggestions because someone will think of something that I hadn't thought of and I'll bang myself on the side of the head and say “Why didn't I think of that?”
| Sive wrote: | | Will you be building a boundary wall or fence? Would the ponds be a hazard for children? The world has gone so crazy you wouldn't want to risk a lawsuit...... |
The most expensive part will be iron railings, 1.5 metres high on the little plinth you can see at the front.
You certainly have a point about the ponds and I'm thinking about that. I may get circular underwater meshs made up that would just be under the water surface.
_________________
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kindredspirit
Ash Tree
Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 203
Location: Mid-west.
|
| Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 3:40 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Got an e-mail from a friend in Germany with very comprehensive suggestions on what to plant.
This is it below. Anyone like to comment?
Hi Kevin,
I like your design of the front garden very much! The more I'm looking at your pics I would only use white flowering plants and more work with the leaves color red, blue and fresh green and forms.
In the area on the left in the third pic I would plant an old olive tree like this 
Your house is red and also the stones. You have a blue Cedar and two trees with red leaves.
I would recommend to mirror and contrast this with the plants and to underline the beautiful stones.
- By no means plants which are blowing blue, yellow, pink, purple
- Only plants which are blowing white (or green or silver)
- No heather
- No bamboo or high grasses
- A mix of individual forms. This means form of the leaves, growth form, form how a row of same plants leads along your stones for example a row of ferns or a row of Pinus like this  (sorry found no better example)
- A mix of bright green (fresh), blue and red leaves/needles.
Contrast and harmony, for example red leaved plants near the blue Cedar and blue leaved near the red leaved tree ? at the street in "the area under and near the Blue Cedar in the 9th pic and the area running all the way down alongside the wall in the 9th pic also." Some white flowering plants can be highlights in it for example a Hydrangea macrophylla Doublestar ® 'Coco' 1m
At the entrance (pic 8 before the tree) I would recommend a white blowing Buddleia  and a Abeliophyllum distichum http://www.bakker.at/r_12151-008/Blattstr%C3%A4ucher/Wei%C3%9Fe-Forsythia.htm O.K. the last one could be a bit pink depending on the winter climate and I don't know how this will happen in your garden.
Some examples for plants which shall only show what I suggest:
fresh green (more in the middle part of frontgarden)
Pinus densiflora Low Glow
Picea g. Aberta Globe
fern (in the lined wetter holes)
blue
Festuca
Abies concolor Blue Sapphire
red
PHOTINIA fraseri ´Little Red Robin´ (evergreen, young shoots red, you can cut them spheroidally)
Cotinus coggygria royal purple (cutting with gloves)
 This photo also shows what I mean with the nice contrast, in this case red leaves with bright green.
Attached also a pic of a more mixed contrast of forms and leave colours in my garden (pond1): I recommend to work more detached in your front garden.
Attached also pics of miscanthus_sinensis_zebrinus.JPG, Juncus_ensifolius.JPG (water) Mimunculus_Hybride_Burnetti.JPG (water) maybe plants for your back garden?
Tell me what you think I have no prob, if you say, all nonsense I hate white flowers.
Best Regards
T.
_________________
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Liparis
Sessile Oak Tree
Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts: 651
Location: Co. Meath
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 10:10 am Post subject: |
|
|
Sounds OK to me. One of those Olive trees would be stunning in your set up, if it's within budget.
Bill.
_________________
Earth is the insane asylum of the Universe.
http://www.species-specific.com/orchid-forum/ |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kindredspirit
Ash Tree
Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 203
Location: Mid-west.
|
| Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 5:47 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Liparis wrote: | Sounds OK to me. One of those Olive trees would be stunning in your set up, if it's within budget.
Bill. |
Within budget? Look at the price of an old one here! http://www.bigplantnursery.co.uk/olives.html Aaaaargh! 
I could buy hundreds of plants if I had that money. Think I'll give it a skip. 
_________________
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Liparis
Sessile Oak Tree
Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts: 651
Location: Co. Meath
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kindredspirit
Ash Tree
Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 203
Location: Mid-west.
|
| Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 8:00 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Prep of area for inundation of ferns.
Area split equally between Giant Chain Ferns and Southern Shield Ferns.
Bamboo Alley.
Cannas in the water.
_________________
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kindredspirit
Ash Tree
Joined: 10 Nov 2008
Posts: 203
Location: Mid-west.
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2009 5:17 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Sive wrote: | | Will you be building a boundary wall or fence? Would the ponds be a hazard for children? The world has gone so crazy you wouldn't want to risk a lawsuit...... |
Finished the railings now so kids from the road can't get in to fall in.................but...............our dog fell in yesterday!
_________________
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Garlicbreath
Rowan Tree
Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 146
Location: Wexford
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:41 am Post subject: |
|
|
| at least dogs can swim... did it get out ok? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group
Privacy Policy | Copyright © 2006 - 2009 IrishGardeners.com (part of GardenPlansIreland.com)
|
FAQ
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
