| Garden by Judd | posted 69 days ago | 182 reads | 0 times favorited | 22 comments |  |
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If you really want to see how this was constructed please go to http://www.stoneyhedge.com !
Picture 1 The Stream: This is looking south, between the house and the garage/shop. The stream is about 70 feet long and empties into the upper pond via a three-foot water fall. THe varigate cattail was started three years ago and has taken over the bend in the stream. When we removed some of the cattail to place into the ponds, it had grown in and around the river rocks on the stream bed, and came out in a continuous mat of roots and small rocks. Fun!
Picture 2 The East Side: This looks south along the easst side of the house to the pool. Lotsa flagstone makes an easy foot path down to the pool. All the steps are rough Chilton limestone – the hardest and heaviest limestone available. And it sure is pretty. Some of the hostas came from my wife’s family farm over aone hundred thirty miles north of us.
Picture 3 The main pond: This looks east toward the house, across the main pond. Here you can see the foot bridge and the pool equipment gazabo. The pond is about 5 feet deep at this end and loops up between the house and garage for a length of about seventy feet. THere are about 10 large Koi, seventy-five goldfish, and thousands of flathead minnows (frog food). Oh, and four fresh water clams! A friend and I went SCUBA diving up by the Minnesota/Iowa border and brought back five. I noticed that one had died over the winter.
Picture 4 The lower Falls: Looking north-north east, between the house and the garage/shop. All the water falls were constructed of very large, flat, pieces of lava from Wyoming. Very heavy and very difficult to install! Big machines and three big guys to get them in place and it took about three days on each water fall.
Picture 5 The Front Yard: If you go to www.stoneyhedge.com, you will see a “before” and “after” picture of this area. Before planting anything, we dug down over four feet, removed the clay and rocks, and replaced the clay with good, rich, Iowa top soil. Four feet deep. I guess that is why everything took off and grew like crazy. Or maybe it was the fertilizer…
Picture 6 The Upper Water Fall: I thought I would throw this in. this picture is just to the right of Picture 5. This water fall dumps into a twenty-five feet wide upper pond – loaded with lilies and gold fish, and bull frogs.
So there you go. The basic landscape. Next, I will go over the on-going planting projects. WE started with over 295 different plants, and have added many more of the last three years.
Prologue: I really want to take the Master Gardener’s program – I just can’t seem to find the time!
Judd & Cathie
-- Judd, Adel, Iowa, http://www.stoneyhedge.com, Zone 5
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22 comments so far
XploreOrganics
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855 posts in 388 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 69 days ago
Welcome to GT…What an amazing garden. I’ll check out your link tomorrow…Can’t wait to see the whole process.
-- Xploreorganics, 5b Canada, LFD 06-20
GrandmaT
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3222 posts in 387 days
hardiness zone 5
posted 69 days ago
What an amazing amount of work! It is really something to see it come together step by step through your pictures. I found my jaw dropping as I looked through your site and all the photos.
I love the stream area … and the falls are spectacular … beautiful, just beautiful!! Thank you for sharing this with us … WOW!!!!
-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b
Bon
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1741 posts in 289 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 69 days ago
GramT said it all.I love it.
-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more
Iris43
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182 posts in 138 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 69 days ago
What a wonderful job you are doing! Just beautiful. It must be nice to relax and listen to the water and what a draw to the birds and frogs, etc. Thank you for sharing such beauty.
-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'
Judd
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10 posts in 71 days
hardiness zone 5
posted 69 days ago
Thanks Guys! There are some days we wonder if its worth the effort. Then a new flower blooms and jogs your memory…
As this fall continues, we will talk about some on-going and new projects. That is the plan, anyway.
Since a grand daughter is visiting today, I think the garden will go on hold, and maybe we will put a fire in the fire pit and roast marshmellows this evening! I think this is why we built everything – to stop and hang out for awhile. you know – smell the roses ( and marshmellows).
-- Judd, Adel, Iowa, http://www.stoneyhedge.com, Zone 5
Iris43
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182 posts in 138 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 69 days ago
That’s a great picture———-don’t you love the wings of the dragonfly. I had my twin g-daughters with me visiting Point Pelee Nt Pk last weekend. (hoping to catch the monarchs in migration) We missed the monarchs but saw ‘clouds’ of dragonflies as they prepared to fly over Lk Erie on their migration route.
You’re right, sharing these natural events with our loved ones, especially the young ones, makes it all worthwhile.
-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'
dini
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759 posts in 226 days
hardiness zone 5
posted 69 days ago
Wow! Beautiful results for so very much hard work!
-- the day you quit learning is the day you quit living.
GrandmaT
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3222 posts in 387 days
hardiness zone 5
posted 69 days ago
Grandchildren … blessings indeed!!! I bet your granddaughter just loves all the water, sounds, fish and plants!! I know mine all would (me too – LOL!!!). Sounds like you have a lovely day ahead of you … enjoy!!!
-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b
jroot
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1026 posts in 139 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 67 days ago
Beautiful, Judd. Well done.
-- jroot
MsDebbieP
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3811 posts in 509 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 66 days ago
magnificent. What a lovely retreat space.
-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)
Judd
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10 posts in 71 days
hardiness zone 5
posted 66 days ago
Thanks for looking in, Guys! I just came in from the pond and my daughter and granddaughter were feeding the Koi by hand. And where was my camera? In the house. So it is just a memory now!
Man, fall is on the way. Its 63 degrees here!
-- Judd, Adel, Iowa, http://www.stoneyhedge.com, Zone 5
MsDebbieP
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3811 posts in 509 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 66 days ago
good thing we have lots of room in the old noggin for those pictures we take without the camera!
-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)
Judd
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10 posts in 71 days
hardiness zone 5
posted 65 days ago
Now, Miss Debbie!
I just had to get the camera!
And then her Mom got into the action!
As the sunset fades and Geneva and Mom have gone home after a nice weekend, Cathie and I are sitting out by the pond remembering the squeels of delight coming from Geneva as the Koi nibbled her fingers. We are laughing and having a good evening.
Debbie, I hope your weekend and evening are nice too!
-- Judd, Adel, Iowa, http://www.stoneyhedge.com, Zone 5
jroot
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1026 posts in 139 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 65 days ago
Wonderful shots.
I have never been able to train my fish. Good for you.
-- jroot
GrandmaT
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3222 posts in 387 days
hardiness zone 5
posted 65 days ago
Well Judd, I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening than remembering how the day went surrounded by your grandchild(ren). :-)
-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b
MsDebbieP
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3811 posts in 509 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 65 days ago
isn’t that wonderful!
I’m glad that you got a photo and could share it with us.
How wonderful to be putting the food right in its mouth
-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)
Iris43
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182 posts in 138 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 52 days ago
Loved your pictures. What a wonderful experience for your GD to have——-memories of visiting grandma and grandpa.
-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'
Bon
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1741 posts in 289 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 52 days ago
Looks like a lot of fun feeding them by hand.Nice family memories.
-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more
springwood
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124 posts in 330 days
posted 49 days ago
Brilliant garden…..I loved the stream, beautiful pictures…...my granddaughter who is three loves to be out in the garden with us too.
I have just saved your web site to my favorites, so that my husband can see what I would like in my garden, hopefully it will give him inspiration.
-- Derbyshire------- English Countryside
Judd
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10 posts in 71 days
hardiness zone 5
posted 48 days ago
Hey Guys!
Thanks for the wonderful comments! It spurs me on to document more of the garden – maybe even before our first frost! Wait…. No, that might happen tonight. So I’m just going to try real hard to get more pictures of the garden out to you all. I have taken hundreds over this year, and some are very colorful:
So the Hybrid bearded Iris are in bloom, almost a month late, due to the cool spring. But then things warm up a bit, and the pond springs into action. And we get lots of these:
As summer picks up, the days get much warmer and this happens:
OK. So, I am happy with things so far! More pictures later…
-- Judd, Adel, Iowa, http://www.stoneyhedge.com, Zone 5
jroot
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1026 posts in 139 days
hardiness zone 5a
posted 48 days ago
Beautiful waterlilies. The last double bloom is really exceptional.
-- jroot
MsDebbieP
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3811 posts in 509 days
hardiness zone 5b
posted 46 days ago
oh how lovely!!!
I love the iris’ in the pond area. Beautiful
-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)