pond in progress started 4/21/10

[cas]

What are those blue flowers called?

 

[BKHpondcritters]

What are those blue flowers called?

If you are asking about the purply-blue ones in addy1's post, it looks like a variety of Monarda (Bee Balm) to me.

 

[cas]

I thought it looked like Bee Balm, but I didn't know it came in blue. Thanks.

 

[addy1]

I thought it looked like Bee Balm, but I didn't know it came in blue. Thanks.

All the bees/ native bees/ bugs/ moths/ butterflies love it.
The flowers are purple / lilac I put out seed about 4 years ago and they come back every year. I now harvest seed and toss it other places.
Wild bergamot They came in a wildflower seed mix I bought for the bees.

Wild Bergamot, Bee Balm, Monarda fistulosa | American Meadows

The tubular nectar-rich flowers of Wild Bergamot Bee Balm are magnets for bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. It blooms from midsummer into fall with fragrant pale purple flowers that seem to burst from the buds like fireworks. This easy-care native perennial is deer resistant, adaptable to...

www.americanmeadows.com

 

[cas]

I have a very sunny part of a side yard that I am thinking about turning into a 'wild' flower garden for the bees and butterflies. I really like how yours look.

 

[addy1]

I have used american meadows and also applewood seed company (they are mainly set up for wholesale but I talked them into sending a consumer price list to me)
I buy the honey bee friendly seed mix and bug friendly seed mix and toss it out. We have horrible weeds here, poison ivy, vines that grow on steroids. My first planting I killed the area with round up. Then seeded. We can't seed in the fall, if we have a warm then cold winter the seeds sprout then die. So I seed in the spring. The second seeding I tilled, if you till you need to seed like right away so they have a chance to beat out the weed seeds.
The purple flower garden is doing great by itself. I did round up a bunch of honeysuckle vine that threatened to take over the garden.

My other wild garden is for fall flowers, some things bloom all summer. But mainly fall flowering for the bees.

I do bush hog it down either fall or spring, usually spring, after searching and saving any praying mantis eggs cases.

 

[addy1]

I do a big chop down now and then, some control!

The west yard sort of west , this is the deck pond that waterfalls down a 85 foot stream to the big pond.

The "back" yard, facing south full sun, 25 degree slope down to the pond. You can see the big pond there are 5 other ponds that are hard to see. The lotus pond is just behind the bird feeder pole.

The bees and east wild garden. way over on the slope a circle of flowers, wild, for the critters.

 

[addy1]

I should mention our yard was nothing but grass when we moved in.

 

[addy1]

The lotus and lilies are loving this heat that I totally dislike.

 

[MitchW]

@addy1 I definitely want Lotuses in the pond. I am not sure if they would over-winter in Ontario, Canada.

 

[addy1]

@addy1 I definitely want Lotuses in the pond. I am not sure if they would over-winter in Ontario, Canada.

As long as the tuber does not freeze they sill survive winter. You pond would need to not freeze to the bottom.

 

[ricksplace]

Pondmaster, thanks for your interest in this project.............I am having a lot of fun working on it, I figured it would take all summer to get it running.

Tested the stream today from top to bottom. We had to adjust two of the little ponds, liner goofs.........lol. But other than that water flowed just as we hoped.

a little hard to see the last picture shows water flowing
(from garden hose) into multiple ponds heading towards the big guy.

Very nice pond

 

[addy1]

Very nice pond

Thank you

 

[Pondfun]

After my husband passed, I left my pond in Arizona to move to Maryland to marry one wonderful guy.

We have a great wooded / grass lot, but very sloped, hard to mow. A ton of shale just inches below what little dirt we have, which is also maryland clay. It is hard to even dig a hole for a plant. My honey watched and helped me dig holes to attempt to put in plants. He decided this ex workaholic / early retired new wife needed something to keep busy with and out of trouble.

So! For our first anniversary pressie he bought me a kubota. Needless to say I have been digging every since.

The utility trench was dug on 4/21, two months later slowly getting there.

Here are some of the beginning shots. The yard before being attacked by the tractor, and of course the planning drawing. The dotted line is the utility trench.

More progress to come and of course photos.

Keep up the great work.

 

[Whawcutt]

After my husband passed, I left my pond in Arizona to move to Maryland to marry one wonderful guy.

We have a great wooded / grass lot, but very sloped, hard to mow. A ton of shale just inches below what little dirt we have, which is also maryland clay. It is hard to even dig a hole for a plant. My honey watched and helped me dig holes to attempt to put in plants. He decided this ex workaholic / early retired new wife needed something to keep busy with and out of trouble.

So! For our first anniversary pressie he bought me a kubota. Needless to say I have been digging every since.

The utility trench was dug on 4/21, two months later slowly getting there.

Here are some of the beginning shots. The yard before being attacked by the tractor, and of course the planning drawing. The dotted line is the utility trench.

More progress to come and of course photos.

Yes, need some pics of your progress! I shared the pic of your digger, now I want one.Lol