Chanticleer Garden Guide: Pond Garden

The large pond was constructed in the early 1970s and remained unplanted to serve as a mirror for the trees that surrounded it. Over time, plantings edged their way, creating a dense herbaceous thicket of summer and fall flowers and fruits. Additional ponds were added in the last seven years.

A considerable amount of planting has ensued and the pond area now constitutes a significant garden. There is more work to be done and we are contemplating putting a small pool between the existing ponds and the arbor. The planting is consciously coarse with ornamental grasses, daisies, iron weed, and black-eyed Susan.




The large pond was constructed in the early 1970s and remained unplanted to serve as a mirror for the trees that surrounded it. Over time, plantings edged their way, creating a dense herbaceous thicket of summer and fall flowers and fruits. Additional ponds were added in the last seven years. A considerable amount of planting has ensued and the pond area now constitutes a significant garden. There is more work to be done and we are contemplating putting a small pool between the existing ponds and the arbor. The planting is consciously coarse with ornamental grasses, daisies, iron weed, and black-eyed Susan.
Little Green Herons fish for frogs, and hummingbirds use the "cotton" of the bulrushes for nesting. Damsel flies hover and the occasional water snake slides over the water-lilies. The pond is buzzing with activity when the goldfinches descend from the trees to pick seeds. Wrens nest in the gourds strung from the arbor.


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