We put in a Pond!

Our neighbors have a large and awesome pond. They called me over the other day to ask if we wanted a pond liner she didn't plan on using. She had picked it up off the curb when our now landlord lived here-it used to be where I now I have hostas planted. My son Ben has been asking for a pond for a really long time- he always loves the water feature aspects of any garden place we visit. So we jumped for joy when this pond liner fell in our laps.

We figured out where we wanted it, called the dig line, acquired a filter, and while I rounded up rocks from various parts of the yard, my husband dug a hole and put it in. Ta Da!

 I "attached" it to an existing bed.

 My aunt gave us this quirky alligator years ago and I knew right away I wanted him close to the water. I planted steppables (thyme, sedge, and moss) around him so the kids can stepp all over here and get close to the water without any obstacles. The flat rock in the foreground of this photo is immovable, so the boys can lay right on top of it.

I had a hole in the rock garden area behind the pond I filled with this gorgeous sedum "October Daphne;" love the water hues here, and think it looks great spilling towards the the pond.

Since then we've added a floating blue ceramic frog and some fish... but 5 of the 6 fish already perished. Oh well. More coming soon! I also saw about 15 tiny birds splashing in the fountain on a very hot 94 degree day! So neat! The dragonflies seem to love it, also. But more than anything, my kids love it. They are by it all the time, reading, looking at the fish, putting their hands in the water. So great!

Flora of Disney, Part 2

I'm not an expert on southwestern plants. I don't know all the different agaves, and I certainly can't tell you the names of most of these succulents. I just know I love them. I have brought some home to Minnesota with me, and I grow them in containers, and try to make sure they don't get too cold or too wet, and I do pretty well. But, given my lack of knowledge, for this second and final part of the Flora of Disney posts, I'll just let the pictures do the talking! If you are visiting there soon, all of these planters are near or in the Mexican restaurant. Enjoy!

 No plants in this picture, just a super cute bird on a super pretty birdbath.

 We were some of the last people having dinner at the Mexican restaurant, so it was pretty empty. My mom and I love all these lanterns!

Legoland Plants

Remember the Cecille Bruner roses (from my mom and grandma's garden) I brought in for the Easter table? Here they are. So perfect.

 So, while in California we brought my lego-loving boys to Legoland for the first time. None of us had ever been there, so it was a very fun trip for us. While in line for rides we enjoyed the succulent landscaping and lizards (unable to get a good picture). My son loves cacti and succulents and when he grows up he wants to live somewhere he can plant cacti in the ground. He loved this!

 I thought the way legoland incorporated legos into the landscape was super cool. There are trout made entirely of legos swimming through this water!

And a beaver:

 In the huge area dedicated to full reconstruction of towns I found the use of mini plants simply awesome. Look at these mini trees by the eiffel tower. Cool!

 Look at all these trees in "San Francisco!"

Las Vegas:

 Southern California:

 This farm land was awesome!

In the Star Wars area they used these conifers to create a woodland area. My kids loved this part!

What's more magical than a bunch of aeoniums?

 Or a tunnel of vines?

 Hansel and Gretel's story...

 Or my favorite? A castle topped with so many Cecille Bruner roses the scent just knocked my socks off.

Anyone would have to admit, without the plants, all the lego scenes wouldn't have been nearly as realistic, or cool. So very cool! I hope you enjoyed it!

Last summer a good friend I ventured onto a local garden tour run by our local public gardens. Several gardens around Janesville, WI were featured. I was impressed with the diversity, some elaborate and mature gardens, and some newer; some with focus on plants and color, and other with elaborate water features; some in new homes, and some in very, very old ones; some close together in one neighborhood--in fact with connecting back yards, and others practically out of town. I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon!

I thought exploring these garden pictures on this dark, blustery, winter day would get me excited for spring!

This unique house was along the way on the walk, but the garden was not featured. I liked their landscaping quite a bit as it reminded me of what my home's landscaping looked like when I moved in. :) I have got to trim hedges to get this nice manicured look back!

A beautiful water feature.

A sunny and wonderfully colorful front yard garden. You can click on the photo to enlarge it. I love this!!

Another enviable manicured area.


The homeowner told us this was a bowling ball with grout, pennies, and marbles. She got it free from a bowling alley when they were getting rid of balls. Neat idea!

A massive water feature, in an extremely scenic side yard.

An out of bloom clematis grows low on this unique fence trellis.

A distant look at the huge water feauture.

Beyond the water feature this shed, and whimsical glass balls. I loved this scene, and stared at for a long time.


Grape vines and grapes clung to the stone walls of the old home.


A rock garden nestled in one of the sunnier spots beside the water feature. Love how the gold ball ornament is just stuck down in between the sedum.

More views of the water feature from different angles.

This is another home, in a shaded woodland area.

This sun was suspended from fishing line in both directions, and just dangling above a garden bed.

In yet another garden these gorgeous roses were growing beside this bird bath.

Love these bird baths made from elephant ears, but have never seen one in real life. So cool!

I love this idea: to keep track of her roses, this gardener painted their names on rocks, in an obviously weather-proof paint.

This very tall yellow orienpet lily was gorgeous, and smelled incredible!

I did a lot of chatting, and exporing, so I didn't take as many pictures as I may have liked. I hope you enjoyed my snapshots of the 2009 Garden Walk.