How can I build a water garden cheap? I’ve been asked this question on several occasions, usually when I’ve presented a price for what a customer had asked me to build. Clients are usually surprised how expensive it can be to construct a well built, long lasting water feature. Water gardens can be problematic and on a large scale I won’t cut any corners which can mean expensive. For the do-it yourselfer there are definitely some tricks to building one. I suggest one starts with a small, inexpensive water garden to test the water (pun intended, no boos please.). It can be a fun weekend project.
For beginners, and to keep it on the less expensive side, I suggest starting a water garden in a tub or pot rather than an in-ground pond. Half wine barrels make excellent containers and you can find them online pretty inexpensively. A collection of containers always makes a nice look too. If you are set on doing an in-ground water garden then my number one rule is do not skimp on the liner. NEVER try to get by using 3 ml black plastic from the hardware store. It will not work and your pond will leak, I promise. For free form shapes use flexible pond liner material over the bedding material it comes with and take your time to install it correctly.
The same material should be used to build container water gardens and is available at Home Depot or online.
You will also need a pump to circulate the water and increase the oxygen level in the water. The pumps you find at Home Depot, little giant or equal brand, work fine. My suggestion here is to read the pump literature to determine which pump fits your needs and then purchase the next size up. You can always dampen the water flow but you can not increase it and pumps get tired over time so I suggest you begin with a little larger one than you need.
You will need to create shelves or put stones or bricks in the planter so that your plants sit at the correct height for the particular plant. Plants vary on the level of submersion they require. I suggest you consult a good water gardening book for this information but don’t guess or your plants could suffer.
As for plants, there are several ways to start out. There are several online sources with good quality plants you can purchase. Most local garden centers won’t have a great selection that’s why I say to shop online. There are some garden centers that have a knowledgeable person with a good assortment of plants but it is they are the exception. Another good source for water plants is other water gardeners. In many cases they will be happy to offer you starter plants at no charge. Water plants are continually growing and need to be divided or they will over grow the garden so people are happy to give them away, especially to beginners. Try putting an ad on craigslist in your area and I bet you will be pleasantly surprised. I hope this helps.
Have fun with your project.
Rees Cowden
www.greensideupblog.com
2 Comments
I’m not usually one to fall for gimmicks or the newest and greatest thing so I’m not sure how to react to square watermelons. I think they are kinda cool and could be a fun thing to do, especially if you are looking for a way to get kids interested in gardening but part of me thinks they are just a bit weird. Maybe something that is as perfect as a ripe watermelon shouldn’t be messed with. Let me know what you think.
Is Mother Nature best left to her own plans in this case? If the response is more positive than negative I’ll provide details on how to grow one yourself.
Rees Cowden
11 Comments
April 27th, 2008 by Rees Cowden, Filed under - Plants
If April showers bring May flowers what do the May showers bring? Summer flowers of course. April May and June are the most well known months for prolific blooms but if you select the right plants the summer heat can bring lots of color too. Here are few summer bloomers that really prefer it hot. Plant them now for a great splash of brightness until the temperature begins to cool.
The colors of the Verbena species are almost neon. They grow great in zones 3-11. Colors range from pale lavender to burgundy lilac, coral to pink. They like it hot and dry, making them a good choice for pots.
Lantana is another one that likes it hot and dry and comes in a multitude of bright colors.
The whole sage family does great in the heat and provides lots of color, in bright red, pink, lavander and blue. The hotter it is the happier sage is.
If you have the summer heat and the high humidity there are several other options to try.
Firecracker flower is a prolific summer bloomer and is also a good one for attracting hummingbirds and is deer resistant! It’s fine texture makes it useful for developing contrast in the garden, something I believe is crucial to a beautiful garden.
Mexican Butterfly bush (Buddlea davidii) is heat resistant, drought tolerant and a prolific bloomer as well as a great butterfly attractant. This one comes in white, blue and lavander.
You can see that there are several good summer blooming plants for hot locations. Make sure you plant them so that you can see them from inside, where it’s airconditioned.
Rees Cowden
No Brown Thumbs
4 Comments
How do I keep weeds out of my garden?
Weed= any plant that is out of place in a garden. I once had a beautiful oak tree that grew naturally from an acorn that found its way to my garden. When it was still a young seedling, my helper wanted to pull it out. He considered it a weed. I knew that it would eventually grow into a nice oak tree, which it did. His weed was my future hammock support.
To answer the question more directly, there are two basic approaches to keeping weeds out of your garden. The first is chemical based (ooo, bad) and the second approach is cultural (yea! good). The chemical approach is a two pronged attack. First you spray a weed killer on the foliage of unwanted plants. This may take a couple of applications but eventually the poison should kill existing weeds. The spray is then followed with a pre-emergent weed control. This is either a liquid or a granular chemical that is spread on the ground, covering any bare areas. This should kill any existing weed seeds just as they begin to sprout. This will give the plants that you want to keep, a chance to out compete the weeds, but it will undoubtedly take repeated applications of both the pre-emergent and the contact spraying.
The second basic approach is the use of several cultural practices, the goal being to get the plants you want to keep to be thriving and healthy so that they out compete the unwanted plants. This is a several pronged attack that requires some physical exertion or gardencise as I like to call it. First, remove all the existing weeds in your garden (or have the neighborhood kid who wants some extra cash do it) manually with a hoe a shovel or both. Secondly, fertilize and water all the ‘good’ plants. Then you can go a couple of ways. What you want to do is to create a barrier so that as weed seeds blow in, they are not able to reach the soil, where they will take root. Laying a carpet of thick black plastic is one way but it is by far my least preferred (old school) method. There are several weed fabrics on the market that accomplish the same barrier but allow for air and water to penetrate to the root-zone. Next a nice thick layer of some sort of mulch should be applied (3″) minimum, over the entire area. I have heard that a thick layer of newspaper can be used instead of the weed fabric but don’t have experience with that method.
In truth I usually don’t even use the weed fabric; mulch usually does a good job. There will undoubtedly be a random weed that pops-up from time to time but they can easily be yanked if you get them when they are young. The goal again, is to get your plants to grow so vigorously that the choke out any potential weeds and eventually cover all the bare ground. Hope this helps. If anyone can suggest additional earth friendly techniques please let me know.
Rees Cowden
No Brown Thumbs
3 Comments
April 9th, 2008 by Rees Cowden, Filed under - Plants
I was touring a local nursery yesterday and had decided to add about ten yellow daylilies to my garden but then was told by the sales lady that they had just been quarantined by the regional agriculture inspector. “Huh, what? But I want buy them” My pleading fell on understanding ears but she was serious. The problem that the inspector found was daylily rust.
I guess here in Florida, and the rest of the south, it is such a concern that they have put the clamps down on selling infected plants. I’m fine with trying to stop the spread of diseases it’s just that daylily rust is just a new one on me. (Won’t be the last time).
The sales gal was bummed because they had finally started to open their buds and she thought she would have had no problem selling 100 of them this weekend. I did a little research on daylily rust and I won’t bore you with all the technical junk but here it is in a nutshell.
Daylily rust is caused by the fungus Puccinia hemerocallidis. In nature, it is spread by wind spreading the spores around, but with all the movement of plants via trucks, and now even the mail, daylily rust has now become a problem in thirty states. The thinking is that the spores will not over winter where the ground freezes or where there is a prolonged layer of snow. (zone 7 or colder).
To control the fungus a typical lime-sulfer (Bordeaux mixture) will work but I think if I ever find it on mine I will first try my good old baking soda fungicide of one table spoon per gallon and a quarter spoonful of dish soap. That usually works.
Here is a link to a good explaination on the problem.
http://www.netpamj.com/daylily.htm
Rees Cowden
8 Comments
It looks like Plantdiva guessed correctly! Several weeks ago I posted a couple of photos of a corm I found on a job-site. I wanted to see what it was so Grace and I planted it. It very rapidly rooted and once the shoots started to grow they seemed to double in size each day. I had several people make guesses but I think Air Potato Vine (Dioscorea bulbifera) was the correct guess. The heart shaded leaf is unmistakable.
The unfortunate part is that Air Potato Vine is a very aggressive, invasive plant so I’m going to have to dump it before it takes over my yard. You can see what it has done in the photos below. It has grown so quickly that it reminds me of Jack and The Beanstalk. Good job Plantdiva….now I will have to think of a prize I can give you……
As you can see, this bugger rivals the kudzu vine in aggressiveness. It grows wild in Africa and Asia and is a relatively newcomer to Florida. Tests have shown that Garlon is successful in eradicating it if a good follow-up program is used. One Florida park has asked for help from the girl scouts who have now spent over 500 hours chopping it down from the tops of trees. This is a battle that needs to be fought now before it gets a strong foothold. Mine is headed for the dumpster.
Rees
4 Comments
