Cultivating My Inner Tree

Last summer my husband and I built a small water feature in a decorative container for our back patio. It was the first one either of us had constructed, and it was a great learning experience. About a month after it was built, my mom came to visit and fell in love with the bamboo spigot idea. She and I shopped together for alternative ideas for her space, and she came to love the deer scarer (also known as a deer chaser or ‘shishi odoshi’) style of bamboo waterfeature. And, this style really made sense for her woodland setting in Virginia.

(Aside: Mom doesn’t have deer in her garden, which is kind of surprising given where she lives. And, I’m not sure if these chasers would really scare a deer away given how tame they often become in residential settings. Still, I imagine the first few times a deer encountered a ‘chaser’ they’d bolt. We did have fun watching the squirrels come to investigate, lose track of what they were investigating and then flip out when the spigot clunked!)

While Mom was visiting last summer, we didn’t purchase the fixtures for her Shishi odoshi. I meant to go back and get one to send her for Christmas, but by the time I got around to it, the nursery was out of stock for the season. Fortunately, I was able to order an even nicer one that arrived before my visit to her house a few weeks ago.

While I was visiting, she and I set out to install the waterfeature. She had some old pond liner under her deck that she’d saved after tearing out a nasty, swampy pond that came with her house. Fortunately, there was a large enough section of liner without holes that we were able to recycle it for our purposes.

Mom had originally thought to put the spigot feature in an area of her garden that blends into her neighbor’s somewhat romantic setting. The whimsical gazebo backdrop didn’t feel quite right to me. So, I suggested she consider the opposite side of the house, outside her painting studio. Turns out she liked the idea. Her plan to site it near the gazebo really stemmed from the fact that her outdoor plug is on that side of the house and she’d gotten used to having a beautiful bird bath in the space I suggested for the new waterfeature. When I explained that we could easily get electricity to the location and that the birdbath made more sense tied with the gazebo while the spigot made more sense in a wilder setting, she was sold. So, we went to it!

The first thing we had to do was dig out a pond space where we would place the spigot and recirculating pump. Fortunately, amid a winter with not much rain, we tackled this job on a sunny morning after a long drenching rain. So, digging wasn’t too bad. Her soil is very rocky and filled with lots of true clay.

Here in Seattle so many people believe they have clay when what they really have is compacted soil. True clay is hard to dig and is incredibly slippery. So, we had our work cut out for us. As we washed rocks and prepped the site we did quite a bit of damage to the soil structure in the garden bed surrounding the scarer. I did my best to limit the damage and move plants before working in their area. Still, it will be interesting to see what doesn’t fare particularly well after our installation. Fortunately, it was fairly early in the season when we did the work, so our hope is that the plants will have the energy to withstand the compaction and that the rains will continue to come and improve the drainage and aeration before the full spring surge.

While I was digging out the space, Mom began gathering larger, decorative stones from around her garden. As I dug out rocks, I set them aside to re-use in the waterfeature. Together we trimmed up the pond liner using scissors, despite my begging that she find a box cutter to use instead. Still, we managed to get a piece that fit our space. We washed it well,  lined the hole, set the spigot in place and filled the liner after holding it down with some stones. And, it worked!

To be honest, we did spend several hours the next day fine tuning everything. For instance, we’d put the pieces together wrong in the first place. Sleeping on the problem of it not knocking correctly helped us see the problem and fix it quickly the next day. As well, I realized I wanted a bigger splash pool, so we pulled out the rocks and did some additional digging. Fortunately, we hadn’t done a final cut on the liner, which we’d cut oversize the day before, so we had wiggle room to make the splash zone larger. And then I did the final cut, using a box cutter, which was such a better tool for the job than the scissors we used the day before. Once again: use the right tool, and life will be easier!

As we closed in on finishing our installation during our second day, my nephew showed up to help us. He prowled through the woods and creek to find more interesting stones, moss and branches to create a dry stream heading downhill from the spigot and pool. He found a mossy old log that he used to hide the electrical cord. Plus, he helped me uncover plants hidden under piles of leaves in the wilder parts of Mom’s garden, which we added alongside the dry stream he created with us. We added native ferns and wild ginger, knowing that hydrangea, hosta, toad lily, and dogwoods would soon surround our new addition to the garden. I had hoped to take Mom shopping for a dwarf Japanese Maple to add to the mix, but we ran out of time. Maybe next time!

Now my Mom has a beautiful waterfeature in her garden bed to provide inspiration as she paints. The birds, squirrels and chipmunks have a new water source near the bird feeders — and this water moves! Unfortunately, my nephew got a bad case of poison oak after I left, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he contracted it helping us. Perhaps he’ll find some solace as he suffers knowing that his pain will always be rewarded when he visits the beautiful stream he helped create.

Getting to work with my young nephew and my young-at-heart mom was a real joy. Both of them are enthusiastic about the outdoors. Both are inspired and inspiring artists. Together we built something lasting, something that will bring joy to the birds and other wildlife that visit the garden, something that they will be able to share and develop for years to come. I learned from each of them, as I do from all of my clients, how to be a better gardener and a better garden mentor.

Read on for the tale of how shopping for vegie starts in the summer of 2007 resulted in the installation of a new waterfeature for our patio .

Day 1, Act 1: The Morning Nursery Visit: I ask Bob if he’d like to go to a local nursery with me to spend some coupons & pick up a few vegie starts. I’d been to the nursery earlier that week & had seen some leggy but viable vegies still for sale. Bob accepts. We go to the nursery around 9am. All vegies are gone until fall. With soon-to-expire valuable 50% coupons burning a hole in my pocket, I feel the need to at least look around in case there’s some kind of “must have” in the garden center. I almost decide to buy a box of organic fertilizer I’ve been wanting to try. But, then, I see a waterfeature trickling & wonder what the price is for a small bamboo spigot. Low & behold, the “floor model” price was reasonable — $29.95 for a spigot with pump attached. With my coupons — OMG! How could I resist?! In other garden centers, pumps were retailing at $35-$40. Spigots & bubblers were that price as well. I knew I had a container at home that I wanted to renovate. Sure, it had drainage holes, but I knew I could seal those with clear caulk in no time. So, we selected a couple of 25% off water plants, snatched up the bargain spigot & pump & headed home. We figured we’d have a waterfeature running in no time. We should have known better!

Day 1, Act 2: Preparing the Site: When we got home, Bob immediately began removing the plant material from the container. We knew that sealing the drainage holes in the pot would take a while as the sealant would need several hours to set up and harden. He got the plants out & all were in shape to be transplanted in new locations. I worked on getting rid of the roots by putting them in my worm compost bin; the worms will eat them. And, I distributed the soil into some garden locations. Bob then got the sealant out. Uh-0h, it takes 24 hours to 1 week to dry completely. Well, so much for soothing bubbling sounds on the patio tonight at dinner. Uh-oh #2, Bob points out that although we do have a plug available on the patio, it isn’t properly weatherproofed & it is mounted pretty high on a lamp pole. He wants to re-wire the pole to put a proper outdoor plug on it & hide the mounting as much as possible. We rinse out the container, grab a glass of iced tea & head to the hardware store around 11am.

Day 1, Act 3: Home Depot: Well, a weekend rarely goes by when Bob doesn’t have to make at least one trip to the Depot. We already needed to get a part for our BBQ, so having to go for the waterfeature just added more things to buy to our list. We found a waterfall sealant foam spray that sets up in 1 hour and is sealed/hardened in 24 hours. After much digging through the electrical department, we were able to figure out how to put together, mount & seal a new outdoor plug & switch. (I say we, but mostly I mean Bob.) Of course, we had to buy a new drill bit to go with the electrical box and screws and washers as well. With all of this in hand, plus our BBQ racks, we checked out & headed home around 1 pm. (In case you can’t tell, the can of worms is wide open at this point.)

Day 1, Act 4: Minimal Cursing from Bob the Electrician: Right away, we fill the pot drainage holes with waterfall sealant. Its going to take 24 hours for that to be hardened and sealed. Between the drilling, rewiring, testing, and sealing, it takes Bob until around 4pm to get the electrical all set up so that we have power to the plug for the waterfeature. The lamp is now on an outdoor switch & the original “high up” plug is also charged. And, he managed this with very few 4 letter words.

Day 1, Act 5: Billy the Fish & Spot: All characters are exhausted at this point with no relaxing waterfeature to enjoy. So, we walk Shiloh to rent movies and stop at the pet shop to buy some goldfish for the new waterfeature. Goldfish are a great addition. They keep the waterfeature clean & they eat mosquito larvae!As I’m looking at the feeder fish (bargain priced at $.14/smalls & $.25/bigs), I think of the recent “Billy the Fish” posting. I can’t tell most of the fish apart, but two are white with orange spots. I named one “Billy” and the other, well of course, “Spot”. We return home & float their bags in the doggie swimming pool for the night.

Day 2, Act 1: Filling & Testing: In the morning, we set up the container in its location and begin placing containers & stones in the pot on which we will rest plants and decorative rock. In the early afternoon, we fill the container with water and insert the umbrella palm , water hyacinth and a bit of Duckweed we had purchased the day prior. We float the fish bags in the new waterfeature. Still, it seems a little empty.

Day 2, Act 2: Finishing Touches: Bob and I wanted a few more water plants, so we ran up to another nearby garden center that has some cool carniverous bog plants. Here we found some pitcher plants to add to the garden. I wanted a purple taro, but theirs were a little sad and spendy, so we left them behind. (I also purchased a chocolate cosmos, which is now planted with my peanut butter bush, but that’s another story.) When we got home, we spent about another hour adjusting containers and stones to get everything just right. And, we released the fish. Also, I had some Acorus in the garden beds, which I dug & planted in the water garden after reading it does well in these spaces. (That was another can of worms as I found about a trash container of roofing material left from our roofers last year hidden in this planting bed - yuck!). We are still doing some fine tuning, but we were able to relax on the patio with iced tea and beer and listen to our new waterfeature. We’re both happy with it & I’m glad Bob was still smiling at the end!

Day 2, Act 3: Celebratory Meal: Just before Bob and I sat down to an amazing dinner of Spicy Lemon Verbena Meatballs, Spicy Cilantro Slaw, (The Herbal Kitchen, by Jerry Traunfeld) Jasmine rice & Vihno Verde, we took a moment to feed Billy & his pals their first meal in their new home. They were timid at first, but soon were popping to the surface to grab goldfish flakes. Little do these “feeder” fish know how lucky they are. Oh, and gnats were gathering around the pitcher plants, destined to feed a beautiful part of this tiny ecosystem we love!