Horstmann's Silberlocke

 

Such a beautiful tree!  A bit late for planting evergreens, so I am making sure it gets watered every couple of days until the ground freezes.

Sunshine!

 

Planted birch trees on the west and north sides of the pond. Finished up planting a few perennials. Still have some bulbs to plant and general garden cleanup to do and it looks like the weather will cooperate this weekend so that I can get it done!

More planting around pond

Added a couple of dogwoods that I moved from the front garden, where they were blocking the sprinkler, to the area near the waterfall.

Planting

 

Hard to see here, but I've started planting around the pond. I have added some Siberian iris, a couple of dwarf blue willows, some Russian sage, goldenrod, marsh marigolds, daylilies. I hope the marsh marigolds make it through the winter. When I was a little girl, I spotted some yellow flowers blooming and asked my dad to go and pick them for me. What I didn't know is they were in a swamp and my dad would get all wet and come back to the truck without any flowers.

Top of the Waterfall

 

Found a cool mossy branch in the woods to add to the stream.

Finished pond

 

The pond is complete - now to start planting!

Making progress....

Pond plants added

 

Some sweet flag variegated iris and other pond plants have been added to the bog area.

Clear waters

 

The pond water is really clear this morning. Crew coming to finish things up today.

Skimmer

 

The design of these skimmers makes them more nature-friendly. They are two pieces that fit together, preventing frogs from getting sucked in. The water is clearing nicely. I had a big flock of robins around the pond this morning and one of them even decided to jump in and take a bath, even though it is a pretty chilly day.

Boulder edging

 

It is beginning to look like a pond - the edges are rimmed in rock. Jake at Aqua Eden used smaller boulders so that when I begin to plant, I can remove some of them and let the plants go right to the edge of the pond. That will help it look more natural.

Adding boulders

 

Some boulders and more pipes!

Adding Water

The pond is getting filled with water - and I couldn't help noticing early this morning that the water looked a bit turquoise - just like the abandoned mining pits that fill with water in northern Minnesota. So cool!

Boulders

I love rocks, so getting a semi-load of boulders delivered was pretty exciting!

Bog Area

The pipes are going in for the bog area. Bogs help filter the water - this area will be planted with water-loving plants.

Pond liner

The liner is in and the retaining wall block is being installed. Our soil is sand - the retaining wall block locks together and is easier to build with.

Pond digging

 

Step 1 - get rid of the sod. Step 2 - dig the hole.  Aqua Eden http://aquaeden.com/ is doing the installation.

Before....

 

So excited, as this big blank back yard is going to be dug up and a pond installed. The work is starting today. This is something I have been planning for years - just can't wait to see the change. There are seven birch trees waiting to be planted on the west and north sides of the pond, plans for woodland plantings underneath them, new paths to go around it, as well as a fence for safety.

White pines for screening

Added three white pines between the tree line and the road at the back of our property.  The grass is taller than they are now, but white pines grow pretty quickly, which is one of the reasons I chose them. Eventually, they will help to block the noise and the sight of cars on the road.

Front Border in spring

This border is so colorful, with the blues of the evergreens, the purple smoke bush and the gold mound spireas.  It looks good throughout the season.