poor John but lol @ you Kristy. If fixing the boat takes longer than he does all your yardwork. Send him over. Who needs Pedro if John is already in the same city roflmao

All I know about the peat moss Kristy is, that I put it in the front flowerbed I made new this summer along with dirt and manure and all the stuff in there does not do that great. If my memory serves me correctly, peatmoss is not that great in keeping the water in the dirt or? I am watching this threat°

Lucy

Uh, oh. I am anxious too now. I thought it held in moisture and helped acidify the soil? Waiting on someone that knows more than me while I upload the pics. I think I took like 50 of them in the last couple days so I will just post the link to the photobucket album.

Here is the pic of the pond. Will take a better one later. What sort of plants would do good here with colorful foliage or flowers that like acidic soil but won't make a mess in the pond?

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Anybody?

Kristy, is this sun or shade?

Peat isn't great for growing plants. I'd just sow a cover crop like rye and dig it under in the late winter to help enrich the soil. The seeds should germinate well in the peat and it will be better for planting next spring.
Karyn

The left side is full sun the right side part shade. I still have to fill in another foot. Thats why I was asking what to add on top, lol. I couldn't afford to fill the whole thing with potting soil, lol.

Definatly compost. Lots of compost. And I'm not sure what type of existing soil you have but you could add some play sand to help with drainage.

I prefer to plant in the fall. The plants are much better off getting their roots established not having to deal with the heat. So if it was my bed I'd ammend really well and do it now.

To the right...I see a laceleaf Japanese maple. You would get a few leaves in your pond but not many. You might need to devote that entire space to the right to the maple. To the immediate left twards the back a sky pencil holly would look great. A wonderful evergreen architectural shrub and won't take up much planting space. Possibly a dwarf gardenia to the left of the sky pencil (they aren't fussy like the others). Maybe a couple of dwarf conifers for winter interest.

Between every one of the rocks I'd stick sedum cuttings... Ogon (yellow foliage), blue spruce, and some of the variegated low-growing types. Chocolate Chip ajuga and even some black mondo grass would look great around the edges up next to the rocks. Oh, and Japanese red bloodgrass. And purple oxalis (blooms constantly thru the growing season).

Of course you need a daylily. Japanese iris would do great in this bed. You'd need one with varigated foliage too... I'd leave some spots open for annuals. Maybe pansies (I prefer violas) for the winter and coleus for the summer.

There's a zillion more things I could think of but I'm not sure how big this bed is! Your viewpoint of the pond also makes a differece.... You might want more low-growing things that what I've suggested directly in front of the pond if the pic you took was say from your back porch.

Also, some of this might not do well in your zone. You'd want to research it. And if any of these plants didn't want this much acidity, a little lime would solve it.

Those are great ideas Michelle and exactly what I was looking for. Some winter interest as well as flowering things and unusual foliage. I will have to check some of them and see if they will grow here. I really like the ideas for the grasses too. I will move one of the day lillies up there for sure. The view from the porch is the front of the rock wall. Its still way too uneven but we ran out of rocks and just kind of stuck the small ones on top to get them out of the way to mow but the wall will be pretty much even from front to back but a little lower in front so you can see the plants. Once I fill it will soil I will put some smaller rocks throughout. I have some sedums I think thats a great idea for the spaces in the rocks. Here a couple of more pics with the potted plants just stuck back in there until its finished. I have to plant it this fall. We don't have a spring goes from winter to summer here, lol. The bed is probably about 16 feet long and about 8 feet wide I think. The pond is off set because I didn't want to get under that tree too much so it takes up a lot of the bed. There is no natural soil in there. John did this remember, lol. The hater of shovels. The best I could do is scalp the grass down to the dirt with the weedeater and filled it in . I figure I can plant iris or soemthing that doesn't need to grow down too deep in the shallow spots. Nothing will be on the backside of the pond where the little bench is unless I plant a tree or something back there a little away from the pond. I have to be able to get to it to maintain it without climbing through plants, lol. Here are some more pics. I figure one more load of rock should be enough. Maybe two and about another foot of soil. Our soil is clay but I figured since its on a hillside and the rocks aren't mortared it will drain well no matter. You can click to enlarge. When you are looking downhill the patio in to the left behind the potted plant jungle, lol.

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Kristy when ever I feel the urge to have a pond. Can I just come over and sit by your pond for a while? I promise I am not going fishing!
rofl

Lucy
Absolutey great looking pond in such a short time!

That is one cool looking pond! I am going to have to borrow Johns truck and go get me some of them rocks. I have some sedum that blooms a white flower if you want it. I also have three different types of succulents that will do great in your rocks. Just come get them.

I am going with! Need rocks desperately.

Nice to see you Patty. Maybe one day I get to meet you in person. Maybe over some rocks. Others have coffee. We collect rocks and get to know each other. Like true gardeners lol

Lucy

Lol, thanks Patty. I will run over after work if you are home. You girls let me know when you want to go and we will all go this weekend. I just have to let the man know and we will have to all go at once so he doesn't have to go out there twice and unlock the gate. We can get a trailer and load more. The truck can't hold many at once. What I have is three trips worth in the picture.