Duluth - Georgia - USA - Zone 7b
 

Colibrí means hummingbird in Spanish.  I do not have hummingbird feeders but still have scores of the little guys visiting my garden due to the selection of nectar-filled flowers I grow in my backyard.  I also get yellow finches, indigo buntings, cowbirds, wrens, cardinals and several other feathered friends.  For them I have two feeders, one with a sunflower mix and the other with a millet mix.

The Pond Area

November 2002
From March to November 2002 I didn't do much to the yard but I did add a birdbath and one semicircle flowerbed by the patio.

September 2003
By September 2003 I had created a shade garden to the left of the photo and the start of my large, curved bed which incorporates four separate beds and the vegetable garden.  I planted a row of various hostas in the shade garden as well as corral bells, native geraniums, azaleas and others.

April 2004
In February 2004 we started moving dirt around in the area where the old compost pile was to incorporate a retaining wall and eventually a fishpond.  I got a new birdbath, which is actually not very suitable for birds as it is too deep.  Around it I planted shasta daisies, agapanthus and spring bulbs.

May 2004
Here you can see the completed retaining wall and pond.  I used a black plastic liner which I buried halfway and then used stone and mortar to build a wall around the rest of the liner.  The Shasta daisies looked pretty until they got so leggy that the fell over.  I later moved them as they were too tall and obscured the view of the pond from the patio.

August 2004
I planted 5 different kinds of "Stepable" groundcovers, Creeping Jenny, Mazus reptans 'Albus', purple Mazus reptans, Blue Star Creeper and Ajuga reptans 'Chocolate Chip'.   The Ajuga didn't make it thought the first winter but the other creepers quickly filled in.

April 2005
As the house next to us is on a hill all their rainwater runs down the hill and lands up in our backyard.  Because of this I made a depression running from the grassy area to the left, past the pond and along the back fence to the corner of the lot.  I had to put stones down and plant Mazus to keep the soil from being washed away every time it rained.
Later this year I will be removing all the bog Daylilies growing to the left of the patio as they look pretty only 3 weeks out of the year and the rest of the time they just look scraggly.

September 2005
I made a tropical corner around the pond by planting three elephant ears, cannas, Angel Trumpet Flowers and iris'.  I also planted a Musa basjoo banana tree which is supposed to be okay with temperatures as low as 20 degree F.  I will mulch it well this winter and see if it survives. (It did survive.)
I had to get a plastic blue heron to fool the real herons into thinking there already was a heron fishing at this pond because last year I lost several goldfish to a hungry heron who came by for a bit of sushi.

November 2005
I removed everything that was growing in the semicircle that goes off the back patio.  I then brought in 6 wheelbarrow loads of soil and 2 loads of compost to create a raised bed.  I shaped it and brought in several large rocks to form my Olympic Mountain garden.  The Japanese Maple is at the top of the mound and I planted several ferns, Coral Bells, Columbine and Blue Star Creeper around the rocks.

June 2008
During the past winter I tamed the hill and put in a new rock garden and flattened the area above the pond, where I planted a Kousa Dogwood tree.  In the new rock garden I planted balloon flowers, several different sedums, Stokes asters and Strawberries and Cream grass.  I also moved my yellow Angel's Trumpet flower up there as it was getting too big where I had it.  The Yarrow sure put on a pretty show this year.

June 2009
Another year has passed and I have come to a few conclusions.  Ivy, no matter how slow-growing, eventually becomes a problem.  I therefore removed all the ivy growing on the wall above the pond.  I also eradicated the trumpet vine and crossvine growing on the back fence. It looks very bare right now but I have several other less invasive vines started there which should make a nice green wall eventually.
Another plant on my new "Plants to Be Avoided" list is yarrow.  It is very pretty but spreads so fast by runners and seed that I am tired of trying to keep it where I want it.  I have decided to keep the red and hot pink but pull out all the rest.
I also had a weed explosion in the groundcovers this year.  I put Preen (pre-emergent) out in March but it must have been too late as I have so many weeks I am thinking of just killing everything in the wash area and starting over again.
Another plant which I suspect will be on my "list" next year is the Strawberries and Cream grass.  It is so pretty (top left of picture) but it spreads too readily.

Home

Copyright Reserved - Created September 2005 - e-mail Jane