gardens

Your home is your castle, and your castle is where you go to unwind and escape from the everyday madness. Many people spend their free days watching TV or binging on YouTube to relax, and others love to cook, clean, sleep or play some good music. Now all there is no standard method to making good use of free time, so there is no right or wrong way to do it, but if you have a backyard where you live, there are some interesting activities to help convert the yard into a sanctuary.

No matter what religious affiliation you are, it’s always fun during the holidays is to ride around and look at all the nifty (sometimes gloriously tacky) holiday decorations. Once upon a time — when we had time — Doc and I were known to lead the pack in our neighborhood in a holiday display competition. It got pretty wild! We decorated a toilet with a candelabra — a long story — and constructed our own street sign which we proudly displayed on our corner lot that pointed the way to such places as “Bethlehem” and “Crapperville” — more of the long story.

There are two terrific times to give your pond a good, thorough cleaning. One is in Spring and the other is in Fall after the leaves have already fallen. It’s not a task to be taken lightly. It’s wet. It’s dirty. The muck stinks and the bottom of the pond is slippery. Performing a major pond cleaning requires courage to start the ball rolling and a little muscle to get it done.

It sounds as if we’re always pushing large ponds that cater to the health of fish. This may be true. We simply adore the little babies. Some folks, however, prefer a smaller or less complicated pond system or a simple water feature in the garden. They want a spot in the garden that hardly ever needs tending where they can sit and relax without having to worry about biological filtration that converts ammonia to nitrites, etc. for the sake of the fish in the pond. We know just the thing for these folks. A small waterfall, a pleasant pool filled with natural greenery or an elegant fountain hidden in the garden’s secret room are all ways to enhance the garden with water features without all the work. If an occasional frog inhabits the pond, well, that’s okay too.

Before ever starting on a pond there is one question you must ask yourself – "Do I want to ever have fish in my pond?". There is a big difference in the way a water garden and a fish pond are built. Fish need filtration (and an adequate amount of it!) while a garden pond, depending on how clear you want your water, can have nothing other than the plants themselves. Also, more maintenance is needed for a pond if you have goldfish or koi.

A garden retreat should be just that. It should offer a place of solace and relaxation — a place to escape after a long day at work. It should contain things that are meaningful to you — things that make you happy. Who better to design that place than the one it should please?