A dear departed friend had given me his little garden seat/tool box. I got tired of it just sitting around doing nothing. I placed a couple of potted plants in it, but that didn't prove to smart because it would hold the drained water... not to mention it would flood when it rained. So, the old "light bulb" came on... why not turn it into a little pond? I bought some water plants from Home Depot and after 4 months of them doing absolutely nothing, I tossed them and started looking for other plants. In the meantime, I placed a sprout from a Ginger plant that I have that just loves water. Don't think it'll work too well... but worth a try! I also just took a cutting from an Ivy and tossed that in. I don't think it'll last too long because of the direct sunlight, but it's still hanging in there after a week. I was ordering plants for my other water container (see my other post about it) so I ordered something else for this. (I ordered from TexasWaterLilies.com and got excellent service.) I chose the Venezuelan Poppy because it reminded me of a water lily. And ended up with a couple extra Black Gamecock Louisiana Irises so I planted those in there too. Venezuelan Poppy , Black Gamecock, Ivy and Ginger ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) Here's how it looks from the top. The little ducks were from an old broken set of bookends that belonged to my dad. Black Gamecock, Ivy, ginger and Venezuelan Poppy ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden ) And here's what I call my Step2 Duck Pond! The Step2 Duck Pond ( photo / image / picture from cherylad's Garden )
Now that's a great idea, giving an item a new purpose in life is one of the fun parts of gardening. You just never know what can be a planter or piece of art until you 'think outside the box' If I ever see one of those seats at a thrift store I just may have to copy your idea.
I think my departed friend, Jim Clayton, would be happy that it's still getting used... even though it's not how he used it in his vegetable garden. I think I've been bitten by the water container bug! :-D
Your idea is great Cherylad.It is such a cute idea.I do hope your plants do great in thid little water garden.
I've got a silly question...how do you keep this water from growing stagnant and mucky? Running the hose thru it every day? C. Johnson moderator's note: removed website link, see point 1.1 of usage rules
With the old plants I had in there... I just took out the pots, emptied the water, cleaned the container and refilled. I also use algae drops. I just started this with new plants yesterday.. I'm assuming I should be able to keep it clean the same way.
You're really inventive. What a nice way to use your departed friend's gift to you. This way you'll think fondly of him whenever you pass your water garden.
Now that's what I call inventive!! I also like the fact that it can be moved around the garden if you wish. I love the way you've used the gift from your friend and I'm sure he'd be more than delighted to see what you've done with it. :-D
That's really clever and I like how you combined your friend Jim's bench and your dad's ducks. I tried a water plant this year too (weigela) and I'm thinking I'd like to go bigger next year too. I find that replacing the water that evaporates keeps it fresh -- does that make sense to the water gardeners here? Or have I just been lucky?
It makes perfect sense Daisy. If we don't get enough rain (not often though here in Scotland) to refill our pond then we top it up which helps to keep it fresh. Oxygenating plants also help to keep the water from stagnating.
Thanks everyone for the kind words. I've already been thinking about what my next water project will be! 8)
Wonderful idea, Cherylad. I've just started a tiny pond myself. Please let us know how your plants do as I would like to try different varieties. So far I have a long stem one that floats on the water with little bunches of leaves with tiny white flowers, water lettuce, an arrow leaf plant with a spear of purple flowers that I scavenged from the local river and a water lily. How did you pot yours?
