Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Fountain Garden

In April 2011, my husband and I installed a new disappearing fountain in a space directly behind our house.  The space used to contain a lawn, but a couple of years ago, we cut the lawn space back by half, opening up a good-sized piece of real estate for an ornamental garden.  

The fountain garden was never landscaped, because shortly after it was installed, we entered a terrible drought.  I struggled to keep my existing plants alive.  The idea of planting anything new was not an option.

During winter 2011-2012 something strange happened.  It rained, and it rained and it rained some more.  Finally, on January 25th, we received almost 7 inches of rain in the early morning hours.  This drought breaking rainfall resulted in area wide flash flooding closing roads and the local school district.  Some of my gardens went completely under water.

When the ground dried out, I decided to move forward with landscaping the fountain garden.  I've been steadily adding plants all spring, and the garden is really starting to take shape.  My husband came up with a great idea to use some extra stone we had to edge the beds and the walkway.  

Less than four months has passed since the flood.  That day was definitely a low point for me, but look at it now.  Us gardeners and our gardens sure are a resilient lot.
January 2012
May 2012




Posted by at
Labels: ,

20 comments:

  1. Your transformation is lovely. The fountain jar is perfect with those ribbed sides. Yes, I think 'resilient' is the word. Just can't keep us gardeners down for long ... and I think Nature secretly wants us to keep at it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. I agree Nature wants us to keep at it. I seem to get the right amount of encouragement at the right time, and the dry times help us appreciate the wet.

      Delete

  2. Your fountain garden looks great! It is amazing how different things look in the garden this year compared to last.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Things look so much better this year. I hope we get a more rain to keep everything going.

      Delete

  3. Seems like many of us Austin gardeners have been busy this spring?! Your new beds look fantastic. I sure wish we'd get some more rain...it's awfully dry up here in NW Austin.

    ReplyDelete

  4. We've completely dried out now even with all the earlier rainfall. It's definitely time for more rain. I hope some comes your way soon.

    ReplyDelete

  5. Oh! I love it! I really like the way you repeated the blue ceramic color. I also like the way you created focal points for the eye with clearly defined pathways. Just beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Thanks Lucy. I love accent colors on pottery and furniture in the garden. Even when it's winter the pops of color persist, which I think is nice.

      Delete

  6. Hey Ally - yes - clearly defined pathways. Very nice. And the repeating blue - now that's an idea I'm going to copy!!

    ReplyDelete

  7. Can't keep gardeners down and can't keep the garden down! One way or another we all have to keep at it through drought and flood. Glad your garden came out on top. The fountain is a wonderful focal point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Absolutely! Whether drought or flood, nature works it out in the end.

      Delete

  8. Absolutley lovely.

    Cindy S.

    ReplyDelete

  9. That looks really good. I like all of it...the blue, the stone, the paths, and especially the fountain.
    It is interesting how just when we're ready to throw in the towel, Nature pulls us back in. We just keep on keeping on.
    I do hope we get more rain soon. It's getting really dry out there.
    Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete

  10. I'm watching the weather as I type. Looks like some pretty good chances for rain. I'll cross my fingers.

    ReplyDelete

  11. I found your blog via a link from Rock Rose. I looked back through several months of entries. What an inspirational garden you have!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Thank you so much. Rock Rose is a great blog. I read it often. I'm glad you stopped by.

      Delete

  12. Yes it's amazing just how resilient gardens and gardeners are when Mother Nature has a temper tantrum! Your project is coming along so very well. Job well done so far. I'll be looking forward to seeing how it keeps on progressing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. Made some excellent progress this weekend. The stone was added to the other side of the walkway and more plants were added. As a bonus, we got some rain. Life is good!

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)