Just in front of the new herb garden along the fence, there will be a walking path and under the grapevines (clothesline) we will be adding in a small wildlife pond. Currently, there is a dry river bed that handles the overflow from the roof after the rain barrels are full. The green flexible pipe drains into it and it flows through and out into the yard to water the trees.

I would like to get a hard pond liner that has several different levels so small wildlife can easily have access in and out of the pond. It will probably be three feet deep with several aquatic plants, like watercress, that will filter the water as well as feed a few goldfish. The fish will keep any mosquito problems under control. Around the pond, I would also like to make a more defined river bed and line it so less of the water stays under the clothesline and more is moved into the garden. The water naturally flows in that direction.

If you look closely, you can see where water is currently flowing from the tar and under the green pipe and down onto our patio. I would like to trench this space, put the green pipe into the ground and surround it with river rock to redirect the water into the riverbed area. With these changes, the water will be slowed down when it drains in that direction.

As the pond is dug out, a more defined place to plant will be built up around where Buddha is and the grape vines and kiwi vines will be built up with more soil and mulch.

When all is finished, I would like to add a small solar fountain to the pond to add a finished look to it as well as helping to block the noise of the neighborhood. There will probably be a small patio water feature of some kind to help with the noise level also.

I am anxious to get started on these plans but with another winter storm happening this weekend, I probably won’t have a chance to get out there to do any measuring to even get started. However, spring will eventually be here and I will be writing about all of these projects and hopefully will also have some video to share.

Here’s to a quick melting after the snow!

~Michele