New to the board- my slice of paradise..

[Lynne22]

Hello all, I really enjoy going through this board and looking at all the beautiful ponds. My pond is very small, because that's all I have room for on my villa patio. I've had a pond for about 7 years, and it's been redone about 6 times.  This time, it's much smaller, but nicer than it ever was. I could have done a larger one, if I would have wanted it above ground, which I am not sure I would do, because I would have to give up patio space to do it. I have an 18X40' patio, with a 3.5' planting area on the perimeter. I have had fish before, and will never do again. Way more of a commitment than I am/was prepared for, but I do love them.

This time, I am only doing plants, so it's mostly a watergarden/water feature. The waterfall is not a vigorous one, by choice, because it's all about the lily, LOL. It makes enough noise for me, and for now, it's all good. Of course I now long for a bigger pond, but until I move from my current house, it's not an option. I am however, considering another....smaller pond for more lilies....maybe just a huge planter or something, not sure yet.

At any rate, I have spent a great deal of time on this board, and others looking at the beautiful pix, and thought that even though mine does not compare to some I've seen, thought I would put it out there anyway, for some feedback.  The first set of pix was from a couple of weeks ago, and the bottom ones are from today.

Enjoy!

[ponderer]

Looks very nice to me. Well thought out and nicely planted. We recently relined a pond , and for about a week it had no fishies. I thought it seemed kind od "dead" without them . Just my opinion.
No need to think it does not measure up to other ponds on this site. IT DOES!

[Rad Michelle]

i love where its at! and i love the caladiums. and i love the bamboo back drop... id give it a jealous two thumbs up!

[Lynne22]

Looks very nice to me. Well thought out and nicely planted. We recently relined a pond , and for about a week it had no fishies. I thought it seemed kind od "dead" without them . Just my opinion.
No need to think it does not measure up to other ponds on this site. IT DOES!

Thanks ponderer. Great name by the way. 

[Lynne22]

i love where its at! and i love the caladiums. and i love the bamboo back drop... id give it a jealous two thumbs up!

Thanks Rad Michelle. Actually, the caladiums were here when I bought the house, but they did not appear until several years after bought it. I never even knew they were down there until one morning I got up, went out for my morning cup of joe, sitting there, looked over, and there was a red thing coming up.....I was like huh? Why they had not come up before, I don't know, but I love them, and now pay a lot of attention to them.

[jw]

What a beauty of a setup. You have everything well laid out. It's perfect 

[Vickie]

Very nice. Everything looks great.

[miguynmkoi]

Welcome!  Your slice of paradise is so perfect!  The stone on the pond and waterfall are very nice and even.

[ThornyGardener]

It's perfect! Looks like it could be a designer display at a home & flower show. (How do you keep it so CLEAN? Not a dead leaf or clump of mud or wayward garden hose in sight.)

[Lynne22]

I posted this reply in the wrong forum, So I will put it here as well;

Thanks for all the nice comments all.

jw; Love your pond! nice plants as well.

Ester,  LOL, yes, I have made all of the mistakes, hopefully, the will be few and far between going forward. 

Hi pondmaninFl; I'll have to look up your area, not sure where that is....thanks for the welcome.

Julles, there are many forums here I have not even gotten around to reading. I'm looking forward to it though.

I thought maybe I should post a couple of pix of the whole patio, so you all can see where I have my coffee each morning. Although, it has been raining so much here as of late, that I haven't been able to spend much time out there. I miss it!!

Here is a pic looking out my front door(just noticed my coffee cup is on the table, LOL);



And looking from the gate towards the house;


I actually bought this house for the patio. I have read so many threads about heron's and other animals attacking fish/ponds/plants and I totally feel for the people. I am very lucky I don't have those problems.

As far as the stone around the pond goes, I had plenty of practice placing/matching up various shapes, as I laid, and grouted, all of that cracked tile you see on the patio floor. 600 sq. ft to be exact.  It took me a year to finish it, but it was well worth it. I wanted something no one else would have. I took a 'summer break' because it was just too hot to be out there last summer. Couldn't get back to it during the holidays. But in Jan this year, I started back in, and finished it a year later to the day I started it. It was literally, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. Cut up hands, fingers, back pain for the entire time, etc., and at times I cried because I was in so much pain.

Overall; note to self; anal people should never take on projects that are meant to NOT be perfect.  But I really am happy with it, and it was all worth it.  It's a really relaxing patio, and as you can see, I also love plants!!

Oh, and the clear hoses running across the patio, by the pots, are drain hoses from the pots/saucers, so that the iron/rust doesn't get on the tile/grout. Like I said; anal. It took me a long time to come up with that solution.....I don't love it, but it works, and I hardly notice them anymore, but people always ask what they are. 

[vibraphonusrex]

Looks great!!  All of a sudden, several selections from the musical, "South Pacific," came to mind!  Nice job.

Bob Blomberg

[Lynne22]

It's perfect! Looks like it could be a designer display at a home & flower show. (How do you keep it so CLEAN? Not a dead leaf or clump of mud or wayward garden hose in sight.)

LOL, see my reply; hint; anal.

Thanks for the compliments.

[Lynne22]

Looks great!!  All of a sudden, several selections from the musical, "South Pacific," came to mind!  Nice job.

Bob Blomberg

It's a nice place to hang out. Except when it's really hot and humid, or raining. When it's hot though, I bought a small fan that sits on the table next to my chair. It's just enough of a breeze to keep me from bursting into flames.  Thanks Bob!

[vibraphonusrex]

And you even have a calm, tropical breeze whenever you want; now I'm really jealous!

Bob Blomberg

[sooks]

Where did you get those bird statues? I need some!

[Lynne22]

Where did you get those bird statues? I need some!

Hi sooks, I got them at Home Depot. Last year. They were $100.00 for the pair. They are resin with heavy bottoms, but they break easily. The resin is very thin, (3X thicker than an egg shell...) and when I first tried to take them out of the box, they were packed so tightly in there that I broke the neck off of one, so I took it right back. Then I had the garden center employee help me take both of them out of the boxes so I didn't break it again. I'm not sure if they still have them, but once you get them out of the box, and place them, they should be fine. But be gentle moving them. I did poke my finger through a part of the back a few weeks ago, but managed to glue it back in place.

 Most of the others I have seen are metal, and do not hold up well here in FL.

[marla]

Lynn, wow just looking at your slice of paradise is so calming.  It is set up so artisticly looks so zen....I love it

[Lynne22]

Lynn, wow just looking at your slice of paradise is so calming.  It is set up so artisticly looks so zen....I love it

Thanks Marla!

[lorraine1960]

WOW everyones is very relaxing looking... very very nice  lorraine

[Gloria]

I love it. I thought my hubby was crazy to take a fan outside, I guess he's not.