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Pond Garden Tour

I fell in love with the pond and its giant flaxes the very first time I saw it. I remember watching early on my first morning as mist rose from the pond and three rabbits took a dawn drink. I never saw the rabbits again. Thankfully the presence of people and, more importantly, five cats discouraged them.

The Pond

I knew that the pond was functional and that we paid for the rights to gravity feed it from the water race. But I could dig around it and create a pond garden. I poured through books on water planting and got very keen.

Then I think common sense and Kiwi pride kicked in. Did I really want that British pond look? I started thinking flaxes and Toe Toe, cordylines and hebes, and the Pond Border was born.

I shifted a gunnera from the water race (it must have self planted itself there somehow). It started its life pondside as a cute little plant, about one foot high, with neat crinkly little leaves. Four years later it is HUGE with leaves as big as armchairs... the dramatic rise of Gunnera!

In the summer of 1997 I bought my first cricket radio, chose a favourite shovel, and started cleaning up the mess in the Pond Paddock. The paddock grass was lumpy and uneven, with large dirt tracks. Some parts of the ground were bare and there were large piles of soil, mud and stones.

Now it's all finished. I don't think there'll be too many more changes - well, maybe that curve needs to be dug out just a little, and perhaps a path from the hebes through to the pump house. Watch this space.

Pond Puppy... Mon 24th Jan 2005: The pond tour contains photographs of absolutely everything under the sun except the pond itself! Here is my 2005 summer attempt to rectify this, helped by the new puppy.
Seat by the Pond... Wed 7th Jul 2004: It's funny how a garden seat in a messy area of the garden can be completely forgotten for months. Now that I have made the effort to tidy its surroundings the garden bench by the pond has became a real favourite.
Pump House and Gums... Wed 7th Jul 2004: This is the rustic Pump House by the pond. Alas, for this important little structure the adjective 'rustic' is a euphemism for 'in urgent need of repair'. Different types of gum trees surround it.
Looking Back to the House... Tue 29th Jun 2004: This is the view from the Pump House as you look through the trees back to the house gardens.
Flax Reflections... Sat 12th Jun 2004: Many New Zealand flaxes have grown from seed around the edge of the pond. They are the species Phormium Tenax, growing tall with stiff dingy green leaves.
Pond Decking and Dog... Fri 21st May 2004: Taj-dog is on one of his exploratory morning circuits around the garden. He is seen here nose down passing the pond decking.
Gunnera Leaves... Mon 23rd Feb 2004: Gunnera leaves are three dimensional - they are tough to touch, and quite brittle. They can be damaged by wind, and late spring frosts can burn the edges (Gunnera of course are giant perennials).
Wood Pond Garden Decking... Fri 26th Dec 2003: The L-shaped decking by the pond is a pleasant place to sit with your feet in the water.
Pink Reflections... Sat 6th Dec 2003: First the Ballerina roses show off their pink flowers, then the Filipendula starts blooming, usually by Christmas Day. Pink seems to be the only colour in the pond-side garden.
Pink Ballerina Rose... Wed 3rd Dec 2003: The planting on the corner of the Pond Border is one of my favourites in the whole garden. I've planted two Ballerina roses next to a large bronze flax. Together with the green Gunnera, this is a trio of contrasts.
Pond Garden Lawn & Gunnera... Fri 23rd May 2003: As you step further back from the Gunnera you get a great view of the whole of the pond garden lawn. The Jelly Bean Border is on the right.
Gunnera Plant... Wed 26th Feb 2003: The back of the Pond Border is dominated in summer by the large leaves of the Gunnera. It is impossible to believe that this giant perennial started life fitting into a nine-litre bucket.
Pond Water Pipe ... Thu 29th Aug 2002: Water can always flow into the pond from the water race, and the round floats help to turn the water on and off. It's peaceful gardening nearby, listening to the sound of the water.
Romney & Merino Sheep... Wed 30th Aug 2000: Here are two of the ewes who seem mesmerised by the photographer. The Romney on the left is a great mother and always has twins.
Secret Garden Path... Wed 30th Aug 2000: This is my very first wild and wandering secret garden path, which goes through long grass, around secret corners, and leads to the Pump House.
Pond Garden Vista... Sat 26th Aug 2000: The water in the pond is cold, and often quite cloudy, particularly when it is raining in the Southern Alps. Our water race carries a lot of silt at such times.
Pond Water... Fri 25th Aug 2000: As well as being a water feature, surrounded by shrubs and trees, the pond has a function and purpose - it is where we draw water for irrigation. Water flows into the pond from the water race via a gravity fed pipe.
Pond Garden Pump House... Tue 22nd Aug 2000: Here, surrounded by gums, is the Pump House - the nerve centre of the irrigation for the garden. It's a rustic wooden structure near the boundary fence, and is slowly falling to pieces.
Pond Dragon Fly... Fri 31st Mar 2000: Here is yet another of my son the photographer's close-ups of insects series. Zzzzz... The Pond has a lot of dragonflies during summer.
Pond Decking Tree Seedling... Wed 29th Mar 2000: This bright green tree seedling starting poking up thru the decking cracks a few years ago and was immediately warned for bad behaviour. I'm not sure just how long it will be allowed to grow here.
Lazy Fat Sun Cat... Tue 28th Mar 2000: The decking by the pond is a warm sunny place for Sifter to stretch out and take it easy.
Pond Gunnera... Sun 26th Mar 2000: This is a very dangerous place to take a photo from. The underside of the Gunnera's leaves and stems are all studded with sharp thorns. The leaves are very stiff.
Pond Garden Dappled Sun... Wed 16th Feb 2000: Here is a beautifully framed view of the pond from the Pump House side. Stephen's irrigation pipe is hidden in the lower left.
Eucalyptus Tree... Tue 8th Feb 2000: There are Eucalyptus trees planted all along the fence-line and they surround the pump house. Their bark gets stripped off in the winds - consequently the ground beneath is difficult to keep clear.
Agapanthus... Tue 1st Feb 2000: This is a view from the back of the pond, looking through some flowering blue agapanthus. The main Pond Paddock is in the background.
Cat Licking Paws... Tue 1st Feb 2000: Sifter is at the back of the Pond Border in the grass cleaning himself. Paw licking is a definite cat art.