Why I Oughta...

I came across some new water feature inspiration - this time it was at the Lemont Park District Rec Center - in what appears to be the Danny Rizzo Memorial Plaza .  Right before you enter the building is a water feature that is made up of stacked, flat flagstones (or something similar) that allow for the fountain to cascade down each of the layers and pool into a round, visible reservoir.  I could see this being a DIY job - the hardest part is moving the rocks.   Here, below, is a video showing this stacked flagstone water feature/fountain in a round pool.  Here, below, is a photo: I could see this being an upgrade for our current container fountain and something (with the right drill bit), we could ourselves.  Maybe even a small pond as the reservoir.  

One of the things that I've been chasing FOR YEARS in all three of our gardens (two of our own, one borrowed via my sister Vic/Equation Boy/Man when we lived there for two years) is a water feature.  I've longed after one in various forms.  Over the years, I've had two water features that managed to be planned, executed and maintained.  But, each of them lasted for just one season. The first one was this three-tiered acrylic fountain that I had near our garden in our first house in Elmhurst.  The birds loved it.  But, it dried out rapidly.  Then it cracked and was junk.   The second one was this small wine barrel water 'feature' that we had in the borrowed garden/patio .  It was an insert that wasn't quite the right size inside of a wine barrel planter from the hardware store.   I've talked about adding some water - for both the visuals but also the sounds - many times.  I included it on my 2022 to-do list and it was an item that didn't get done.   Wh

What's better than one garden water feature and 'garden dreaming' post on the blog?  Certainly...You could say that: Two of those posts would be better.  But, even better than two?  That's right....three of said posts.  Especially when they run in close proximity to each other...as it serves as a document of the evolution of my thinking on projects like this and allows me the ability to work in draft format in my garden diary. First... I started this series with a look at some available stock tanks that could be used as ponds . Then, a few days ago, I posted about how I learned all about rills and what they are in the garden .  Today, I'm posting about some further inspiration that I've come across that has appeal to me as a gardener.  In terms of location, I'm talking about the patio-adjacent area to the north of our current patio .  I posted some drawings and thoughts about doing a second Belgian Fence in this area .  You can see the location here .   I st

There I was....minding my own business scrolling through gardening instagram when I came across this post from....guess who?  Yep.  Erin the Impatient Gardener.  You know....the online gardener who gardens in Southern Wisconsin who I have posted about a bunch and continues to show me/teach me new things.  Here's her post below: View this post on Instagram A post shared by E R I N🌿The Impatient Gardener (@impatientgardener) Wait....What the what?  What's is this?  A Rill?!?!   I am going to admit something:  I have NEVER HEARD of a rill.  Like...this was that time when a girl in like 2nd grade mentioned something called a "Panda Bear".  I was blown away.  Never heard of a Panda Bear.  And...then..... *boom* Suddenly, this cute black and white bear was in my life.   That's how I feel about a garden rill.  This is NEW TO ME.    Sure, I've heard of water features.  Ponds, streams, waterfalls.  Even fountains .  But a rill?  I had to look aro

Last Winter, I posted a little backyard garden dream about a stock tank pond based on Erin the Impatient Gardener having set one up a few years back .  I thought it was a unique way to add a water feature to the garden - and one WITHOUT fish - but rather focused on aquatic plants.  At that time, the problem that I was facing was access to an affordable stock tank.  Between the supply chain issues and pandemic-induced staying-at-home, stock tanks were either not available or the shipping was a killer.  So, imagine my delight when I walked up to the local Big Box store this past week and I see these beauties out front: On the left are rings.  Not tanks.  Fire pits are the intended use, I think.   The most expensive ones ($129) are these online - 2' wide x 2' tall x 4' wide .  And, despite the HD listing not showing the capacity in gallons, I'm pretty sure it is 100 gallons ( based on this Tractor Supply listing ).   That seems like a good capacity to start on something li

I've posted a bunch of times about fountains and ponds here on the blog including a look at some designs that I'm documenting to save as inspiration for something that *could* eventually find the way into our backyard.  In April, I showed this park pond in Woodridge .  And last year, I posted about these bowl-like fountains that I found at Wannemakers .  Today, I'm sharing this image that I took at the Fragrance Garden in the Morton Arboretum .  It is a kind of hybrid between some of the pond ideas that I've been filing away AND the bowl/fountains that I've posted about, too.  This one has a nice round elevated bowl that is perfectly level and lets the water roll off into a concrete bowl that has flagstone ringing it.  This is a kind of interesting approach, but I wonder if having something like this that has A LOT of turbulence in it (water fall) limits the fish you can keep in this?  Maybe they're smart enough to head to the calm waters?  But, I also like

On a recent Sunday morning, the kids and I found ourselves out at Forest Glen Park in Woodridge.  It is right on 75th street and we've driven by it hundreds of times on our way to Nat's folks house over the years, but we've never stopped.  The park has a couple of tennis courts facing 75th Street, but tucked in right behind the courts is a nice playground setup with a soft surface, a bunch of unique equipment for a variety of ages.  Our kids - who span from the upper single digits to just past potty-trained found a place to have fun.  Together.  That's pretty nice. But, the park also has some nice plants (or what appeared to be nice plants since Spring hadn't quite emerged when we arrived) and a neat-looking fountain and/or pond.  You can see the size/scale of the fountain in the photo at the top.  Of note, the fountain is totally out of the ground and at a perfect kid height of like 30" tall.  I call it a fountain/pond because it is kind of a linear pon

On a recent trip to Menards, I was in the garden center and was drawn to their fountain setup.  They have a dozen or so fountain ranging from formal tiered fountains to desktop versions.  Some of them are terribly cheesy but others seem ok to me.  But, there are two things that seem to bind them all together:  they're made of fiberglass.  And they're cheap.  Well, relatively cheap.   I've had a fiberglass fountain before at our old house in Elmhurst and I really liked it .  Some of the time.  It was a three tiered traditional fountain with a pineapple on top.  A few things I came to appreciate: 1.  The bowls weren't very deep.  So that meant that I had to constantly (like every other day) fill it with the hose.   2.  The birds loved it.  But they made it SUPER dirty. 3.  It didn't last 2 seasons because I left it out over the winter and it suffered some freezing cracks and was rendered worthless.   Thus, despite having an itchy purchase finger, I pa

This beautiful 51" two-tiered fountain is on sale at Menards this week.  I saw it and on impulse stuck it in the back of our car and brought it home.  I've wanted a fountain for a few years and I thought that I finally was going to be able to get one up and running.  Actually...I've wanted a pond in our yard, but Nat thinks - with the toddler - that's a tad too dangerous for us at this point in our lives.  So, the fountain was a compromise.  We live just 8 houses away from North Avenue and are in the flight pattern for O'Hare Airport.  The noise isn't terrible, but the gentle waterfall noise that this fountain produces was sure to drown out whatever noise pollution we had. But, things weren't meant to be.  In fact, this fountain didn't even make it out of the trunk.  I brought it back.  For reason(s) I won't disclose!  I'll just bide my time for when I can get Nat herself to Menards so we can 'buy one together'.  I better hurry, beca