Tammie Rogers
Inspired by Dogs & Nature
First Water Lily
Yesterday, the first water lily of the season bloomed. The day prior, the aquatic Japanese Iris presented two first flowers. I’ve planted a few herbs and hung a couple of Begonias. The Impatients that I planted last week are beginning to take hold. Soon, their blossoms will take over the planters in which I put the little plants.
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I’ve also set up a few small fountains; hoping to give the Hummingbirds a place to take a bath.
The Clematis has produced two flowers, already.
Just a few of my favorite herbs – Italian Oregano, Basil, Rosemary, Sage, English Thyme and Cilantro – are in the small raised planter along with a tiny fountain and a few flowers.
Then annuals; yellow Viola, red Petunia, pink and red Begonia and Impatients.
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This Hosta has massive leaves and brings a sort of tropical feeling to the area.
All in all – this early in the season, I feel very happy that the garden patio is so inviting and engaging, already. For me, it’s a tranquil spot to sit and watch the wild birds, listening to the wind chimes and bubbling water, and relaxing for a moment.
Nice I have the same clematis flower also in my trellis. Also did you make those water features out of misc items you have collected? Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated, thank you .
I love Clematis, too. Regarding the water features, I purchased the fountain pumps at Amazon. They are all solar powered, so I don’t need to get electricity to the location. The one in the fish pond is also solar and floats on the surface and you just plop it in and it starts spraying when the sun is shining. You can put that same model into a bird bath or other reservoir, and you’re done. There’s no other steps required.
The smallest fountain in the herb garden has a pump that was $8.99. I purchased the blue and white ceramic pot for under six bucks and used a small terra cotta pot I had. There are stones (left over from another project) in the ceramic pot that holds the pump in place, and I ran the vertical tube that exits the pump through the terra cotta pot’s drain hole and set the terra cotta pot on top of it. The pot’s hole was exactly the same size as the plastic tube, but it is was bigger, I would have had to seal it with waterproof silicone so that the pump can fill the smaller pot (and then the water overflows back into the ceramic pot to be recirculated back upwards.)
It’s also a very small solar pump that runs the fountain in the terra cotta saucer. Again, I used left over rocks. The large, square planter that holds the saucer was also lying around. The pumps come with a variety of spray heads, and I chose the one that doesn’t spray upwards, because the saucer holds so little water if the wind blows, the water can blow away and the water will dry up. That one really should be in a little deeper reservoir, but I can easily go out and top off the water every day or a couple of times a day. I also think that birds will be more likely to drink from it because it is so shallow and it’s not spraying water upwards.
The largest fountain, that sits alongside the patio pond, is also made of things that were lying around; the plastic saucer I have used over the years as a ground level bird bath. The terra cotta pot (8″) was under two dollars at Walmart on sale. That pump came with a solar panel fitted with a battery and it also came with more fittings that allowed the vertical tube to reach through the pot’s drain hole. I think, because of the battery, it was close to twenty dollars. I painted the pot with some acrylic markers.
So, yes, mostly stuff I already had, but you need to invest in the fountain pump and select the type that suits what you are trying to accomplish. The good thing is that there are dozens of options in that space and you can start small and build bigger fountains as your creativity blossoms.
I hope that helps.
Really lovely 😊
Thank you so much.
Most welcome, Tammie. 😄