Well, that didn't work too well. Try again.

[IMG]http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f336/JanT7/CLOSE.jpg[/IMG]

Why isn't this working with image upload?

Here are your photos Jant. I used the html code for images and plugged in your links. Not sure what link you're supposed to cut and paste from photobucket.

I love that old pump!

Aw geez, sorry about the double posting of images!

Don't be sorry Terrene....that was nice of you! I love that pump too....I'm afraid I can't drive by yardsales and that one filled the back of our pickup lol!

Insert "rolling eyes" icon with partner....snort.

Ooo, very nice! The stones and pump and plants all go very well together.

Oh that pump is gorgeous! I would love a pump like that in my garden. Heck, I'd be happy to have one as an ornament - I'd be in heaven if I had one that was part of a water feature!

Last year I bought a little fountain, the kind you put in a pot. It is a pretty little thing - copper waterlilies that cascade, but it is rather inexpensive and the darn thing keeps falling over, lol. I have it held up with a pile of rocks in the pot, but it's not working out so good.

You see, the pot I bought last year, an inexpensive but pretty resin pot, was okay last year, but this year I thought I noticed a crack in it - well, hey, what do I expect leaving it out and exposed all winter? So I fugure I'll buy a new one. But, in spring, it filled up from rain and the water stayed there. For months, lol.

In May, (okay, maybe June. I'll be honest) I finally go to set up my fountain, stack up the rocks, try to steady the fountain, etc. It falls over about ten times. Ten times I unplug the fountain (I'm terrified of electricity and will not stick my hands in the water with that thing running) and straighten it out. Finally it works, I run the fountain all day, it's all hunky-dory. I unplug the fountain at night.

The next day, the pot is empty! LOL! I guess the weight of the rocks must have opened the crack or made it worse so the water drained.

So, my copper lily fountain is out on the patio, sitting in this empty pot - well, empty of water. The pile of rocks is quite visible, and the fountain is still standing straight. And it's the focal point of the patio. Sigh.

I'm afraid to try a pond...

:)
Dee

Up here in MA, I have a resin 2 tiered fountain which cost way too much online. I chose it because it is cold proof. But DH always takes it in when the weather gets cold, he thinks it will crack. Like some of my pretty but apparently unhardy flower pots, which slivered off to nothing by springtime.

However, my problem is the stupid locust trees. None are in our yard, but they lurk just outside the perimeter, and their leaves or pollen or whatevers keep plugging up the fountain. And then there are the maples with their whirligigs in spring, and leaves in the fall.

Around the base of the fountain, I plant nasturtiums and ajuga (giant purple). The birds love the whole area. Last September, all the little fledglings who were sprouting their adult plumage took turns bathing in the top layer. Then they'd go fluff up on the edge of the roof while the next contingent bathed. DH had to clean all these tiny feathers from the fountain/pump well, it was so clogged up. I told him they were making their itchy feathers go away, so they could all fly home before it got cold. I bet some of them hung out at my house in Mobile!

What I really wanted was a cast iron huge fountain like something in a New Orleans courtyard. I will have to reserve that for the south I think.

Terrene, thanks for the pics! What a great idea and what a beautiful space! :)

Ida, would you mind sharing where you got the filial? I'd love to have some running water in my garden...:)

Dee...that was quite a story...lol! You won't get fried putting your hands in the water...I'm always fiddlin' with the flow adjustment knob underwater.

I must admit I have a sort of obsession with fountains and ponds. This is another one I built out of a faucet also from the now infamous Arthur's Yard Sale in Sebago Maine! Three of us went back 3x over 2 days lol.

This was a gift for a good friend (she was at the garage sale and had NO idea what I was gonna do with this stuff...hee.

The water just glistens in the sunlight as it hits the strainer....lol.

Here's some pix of my pond building in our shade garden 4 yrs ago. I always put rock over the edge but make sure plants cascade over the edge to hide most of the rocks and edging.

A year later:

This is the pond I'm going to move...closer to where we sit under a birch tree.

At the risk of hogging this thread I hope I can inspire some of you to getta pond/fountain building!

Here's Frog Heaven...my tiny pond next to our sunroom patio under a Kousa Dogwood.

Bought $20 worth of rubber liner, dug the hole, threw some rocks around and good to go! The rocks ARE way too large for the pond but they were sitting right there from the excavation so that's what got used. I'll be redoing this in the fall and enlarging it. Might do a little stream partway down the slope.

Frogs getting a little randy in the last two pix....snort.

ctreynard,
The filial was part of the fountain...the emitter is inside. It is a pretty common fountain design. We paid 125 for it, which is very reasonable for concrete fountain. I have some pictures friends took (my digital camera remains unused and today may be the day I try to use it.)
Where do you live? Schemen's in Lexington has a decent selection of nice fountains.
idabean

Jant, I was tickled to see the spigot fountain you made. The towel draped behind the handle to cover the pipe was a very nice touch to distract from the mechanics of the setup.

I have a small kidney-shaped pond in the ground in Alabama, with about 3 koi in it. To keep the raccoons from fishing out my tame little guys, DH built a hardware cloth screen to go over it when we are gone. It also keeps out the leaves and the pinecone debris that the squirrels drop. Around it I've planted aspedistra/cast iron plant, leriope, iris, papyrus, fishtail fern, native ginger. It is just outside our new sunroom where my parrots live and where we hve morning coffee. Ajuga from a nearby bed is fast moving into this area. I also have butterfly ginger, hidden ginger, elephant ear, colocasia/alocasia, and in the sunnier spots I have white vinca, and then some cannas.
I love the tropical flavor in this area, where I can have a very private hidden garden.

Trying for something like that in MA is not as impossible as it once seemed, after viewing your gorgeous photos.

Ida, I live in Chicopee...i guess that getting a fountain will be next year's project! lol I'll check out the place in Lexington next time I'm on a nursery hike. :)

Jant, is there any advice on where to put the fountain? (shadier spot, etc?) I love it! Looks very peaceful...are you charging those frogs for the atmosphere?!? LOL

Moccasin...thanks for the nice words and why not have a pond here?? Even one this small adds sooo much. Let's see some action up there!

C....since I want a fountain or pond near where I sit, that's where it goes...and I like the shade these days except in early spring when the sun is appreciated. I like morning sun on the pond and then shade in the afternoon. I have a little dappled sunlight then which is nice though. Great for the hostas, ferns and such and the frogs like to sunbathe on the ledge rock I gave them...free of charge. lol

Shade gardens are my fav though...just so elegant, cool and green with lots of texture. My colors seem to be disappearin' these days! Thanks.

there is also New England Garden Ornaments in Brookfield MA. I've seen their wares at the NE Garden Show. I'm sure you don'thave to come to lexington to see a variety of fountains. I stopped everywhere I went for two years before we happened on this one.

My HGTV Gardening Newsletter came in my email today. It is featuring water in the garden. Some nice ideas.

Ctreynard, those aren't my pics - they're Jant's, I was trying to help out and post them for her, not realizing she had also posted them minutes before. Oh well...:)

Jant, I love your little frog pond! A small pond like that would be perfect to encourage frogs and toads in the yard. Do you have a pump in that? I would love to have a small pond, but am not thrilled with the idea of running electricity to the pond.

Jant, great pond and fountain. I'm just chiming in to echo Terrene's question. We'd love to have a little frog pond exactly the size of yours - my kids have already been digging a hole for it in a good spot. It's far from the house, so no chance we could run electricity down to it. Would the water just sit there as a breeding spot for mosquitos if we didn't have any animal life in it? Would frogs come of their own accord? Would fish survive the winter? Would love your (and anyone's) advice on this.

Hi guys...yes. Build it and the frogs will come! Funny....talk about plants/shrubs on wheels. I have so many constantly relocating that I have 6 baby pools permanently sitting under our maple tree...they reside there until I decide to plant or give away to friends. I AM making strides at emptying them though this year...we're off to the UK for 3 weeks and this had better be done...darn rain! Frogs are in ALL the pools.

No pump needed. If you saw the pix of mine with the preformed pond? That hasn't had electricity for 2 yrs now...that orange cord running across the lawn just didn't work for us. Plus we'd already built the new patio and small pond...that outlet (GFI) is only 10'away so it's easy. The frogs are HUGE in there and yes...survive the winter under the ice. Fish wouldn't though but I don't have any.

OH....not only do I not attract mosquitos but I use the mosquito dunks in my ponds. We've hardly seen any all this year. Strange.

Keep those kids diggin'!

Thanks, Jant! If you build it, they will come. I like it. I'm sending the kids out there now with spades to keep digging! And great idea about the mosquito dunks - I guess the frogs don't mind them?

Next question, how do frogs feel about cats - and vice versa. I guess we'll find out!

Hi...the frogs will just dive in. Unless you have swimming cats, they'll be fine lol. Some of our frogs are quite friendly...the ones by the patio my DD actually massaged with a twig lol! Loved it. The others that are in the now ignored pond jump in the water as soon as they hear us coming.

when it is really hot and dry, how does the pool stay filled? No matter shady, doesn't the water evaporate? Do you fill it with water from a faucet?

Massaging the frog reminded me of when I toad-sat for a friend who went on vacation (I think it was a toad, it was a long time ago). The toad (and a few other amphibians) lived in a terrarium. My friend told me to hold the toad gently under slowly running water - The toad kind of shuddered and I could swear the toad grinned with delight!

A fountain and/or waterfall in the frog pond would probably be appreciated (by the frogs and the kids).

Claire

Here are some pictures of my pond. I love it, my garden wouldn't be the same without it, but it is a lot of work. This year we have had a leak somewhere, and it's been a devil trying to figure out where the water is going. I've had it for about 8 years now. My son actually dug it with pickaxe and shovel on his first year home from college. He knew I'd been wanting one for a while.

It's lined with EPDM flexible liner, has a recirculating pump and a skimmer. There's a semicircular bed in front of it that is a bog bed, it used to be overloaded with ditch lilies and Siberian irises and weeds, but this spring my niece who has been helping me out in the garden because of back and shoulder problems, dug them all out. I am thinking of replacing them with hardy dinner-plate hibiscus.

It attracts all kinds of wildlife, frogs, snakes, cats from the neighborhood who drink from it, etc. It has two lilies in it, one flowers pale pink and the other hot pink.

It's three feet deep at its deepest point, so I keep goldfish in it year-round. They hibernate in the winter. I bought the goldfish at the local Petco, they started out as little feeder fish for about 15 or 25 cents apiece. We figured it was a cheap investment to see whether we could keep fish alive. Now the biggest is probably about four or five inches long. I don't have to feed them, they eat bug larvae, and algae from the liner. But they do like regular fish food as a treat. I'm not interested in koi, I've heard they are very disruptive.

Anyway, here are some pictures.

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Today's waterlily bloom.

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A recent visitor.

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One of the hot pink lilies.

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I don't have a good picture of my fishies, or I'd post one.

The only thing I would change about it is that I would change the orientation of it, if I could. We didn't realize when we built it that we wouldn't be able to see the waterfall from the house. I am planning maybe next year on putting in a pondless waterfall, and I am going to make sure that we can see that from the window.

Dawiff,
That is beautiful, really different looking now than the last time I saw it.

Did I hear you say hardy hibiscus? Come on down, girl. Got those seedlings out back for you, Hardy mauve/pink and hardy white waiting for you to take home. I think you took the disco belle at the swap, but there may be one of those still left too, but plenty of the other two are there.

Fran

I wondered if anyone else was going to pop in here with a pond...I felt so alone... lol. You're smart not to have Koi...they eat the vegetation. That's a deep pond! I do think the ponds have to be at least 18" or 2' deep for fish and frogs to hibernate over winter...my larger pond is about that deep and that's where they seem to hibernate. Look at your gargoyles in the rear...too cute!

Dawiff - nice pond! I would love one like that, but for this house, I've decided to make a small pond, nothing too elaborate.

Jant - please bear with me, I'm a bit confused - you have 6 baby pools under a tree? Are they filled with plants (for ease of watering I assume), frogs, or both?

So you have a little pre-formed pond and a little pond with liner - do you have electric to either one of those ponds? I can see a fountain bubbling in the preformed pond.

Apparently, there are solar pumps available and was thinking that one of those might work with my future smallish pond.

LOL Terrene... I've been known to confuse people a lot lol.

The baby pools...well, it started with one 4 yrs ago to put my pots in when we're away. THEN I thought...ah hah! I'll get another one and then when I'm happy feeting my shrubs and plants around I can throw them in there and not worry about finding a place to plant them asap.

And then? Well...it got kinda funny. It's a huge joke with my family and friends..plants even overwinter in the pools lol!! I had six at my peak...now emptying as we speak and down to 3 this morning.

The water has a lot of mud too from the rootballs in there...Happy Frogs!
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I don't have electric in the large one anymore. That pix was from 2 yrs ago. Just the patio one. I'm not sure solar would cut it in New England....ya need sun and that's something we haven't seen much of around here lately. The rains....OY!!! We're drowning. I tried a solar light by our front steps (a sunny summer!) and I think a birthday candle would have given off more light.

Thanks for the compliments! That's what I've heard about koi, they eat the plants and knock them over, AND make lots of poop, which is not good for the ecological balance of the pond. My fish come over to the edge of the dock to be fed as soon as anyone stands there. They are greedy buggers.

If you have an outdoor electrical outlet, you could maybe use something like the item pictured, which I bought for only a few dollars at the Christmas Tree Shop, to run electricity for the pump. IMHO, if you're going to have a pond rather than a fountain, you really should have moving water, with some kind of filtration. Otherwise, you end up with pea soup from the algae.

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Our pond has gone through several different stages of growth. We knew nothing about ponds when we first started. We added the waterfall the second year, then the skimmer a year or two later. Changed the edging, originally it was bricks all the way around, and that looked too fake, so we changed that over to rocks. There was definitely a learning curve involved!

Jant, that's quite an amazing before and after! Wow!

For koi to overwinter in NE latitudes, it would take at least a 4 foot deep pond. I seem to recall that depth from my research on the subject last year. So no pond for me up here, just a little one (so far) in Alabama.

But if we lose a tree in a hurricane and take out the stump, I'm using the hole to start a new deeper pond. I LOVE those koi! They love to eat plant roots and leaves, but they also like lettuce. And apple. I put my pond plants in a pot with shadecloth around it and fairly large gravel covering the pot. It helps keep the dirt out of the water.
Two years in a row, my two original fish had babies...I lucked out getting a true pair I guess...and I had to give fish away to a friend with a large koi pond.