above ground pool update and landscaping
Nanook, i put this under inspired design because i'm going to have to be REALLY inspired to landscape the pool but was wondering ... is yours in???
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yes! the pool finally went in last Saturday!, they didn't hook up the pump until Monday tho'. We've been swimming since Tuesday and thank goodness it was finally done, we're in the middle of another hit wave. Temps will be hitting about mid nineties for the next few days. I'm really hoping for some rain because the earth is as dry as bone. I don't even want to attempt to dig any beds until it's moist enough. I'm thinking for now to just plant some tall annuals that I started in the gh, variegated Nicotiana, maybe some cuphea (if it will grow that high) I also have a fair bit of cannas from last year that I may throw in there for now!
sounds like you're all set and yes it has been great "pool " weather here too, but without asking to be cursed with rain, we also need some... no real rain since may but has been nice to enjoy these hot sunny days in the water! I have no solid landscaping ideas yet, the deck men are coming probably this week and i think i'll wait to see how every thing looks once it's all done, I like the idea of tall bushy perrenials and the grasses to soften the look of it
I have quite a few things that I've done from seed, a couple of different Ricinus communis ( castor bean) and I thinking of adding some alocasias to the mix, to sort of give a tropical feel to the area. I can do a lot with large pots of these. I just don;t have the energy to do any more digging and prepping of the area so I thought to try this route first, then next year really get ahead of it before this type of weather comes. I can barely stand to be outside, the temp here today was well over 32 deg C, around 92 def F and humidex made it feel like a 102 F. The pool temp was about 88 deg, and I think I spent more time in there than the kids! :-)
it was very hot here too definetly not gardening weather and one of the things i have on my plate is to build up a small rock retaining wall to hold in what was built up to level the area and that project is definetly waiting for fall! Happy swimming!
cooler temps are expected later this week TG! Then I'll be busy again! happy swimming to you too!
If you partially dug the bottom into the ground, (so you'd have a slight slope), Irises REALLY love being near a pool. Trust me. I put irises, hollyhocks, climbing roses and clematis, tradescantias, poppies, butterfly weed, and lots of other stuff all around it and my deck that I had built from the house to the pool. Lots of other stuff as well - unfortunately, I didn't have a digi cam then - at any rate, the sand at the base is attractive to all types of plants. I put 2 feet of crushed stone around the perimeter of the pool, sand underneath - the irises, clems, and hollyhocks really went to town.
Have fun!
Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.
Dave Barry
your pool area sounds gorgeous! thanks for the ideas, I have quite a few irises that need splitting and it sounds like all the suggestions will really brighten up the area with colour!
We need to see some pictures, where are the pictures?
Veni, vidi, velcro I came, I saw, I stuck around.
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
help to provide free mammograms for women in need
I can mail you the CD. ;-)
hmmm - probably can email you shots - I didn't do digi ... I'll see what I can do.
Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.
Dave Barry
I found this one-it's old I had just divided and replanted the irises. You can't see much of the entire pool, etc.
I'll look up the old CD's.
Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.
Dave Barry
That's really pretty. The pool looks just like the one DS has, I'll pass the idea along.
Veni, vidi, velcro I came, I saw, I stuck around.
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
help to provide free mammograms for women in need
that is really cool! I also like the idea of the boulders around the area. I wish it would RAIN!!!!!
rain... me too. Storms and such all around me, us? Hot & dry. Ah well.
As for the pool shot - you can barely see the pink poppies in the backround, around that far curve was the hollyhock, butterflyweed, a sweet autumn clematis, and a climbing rose. Along the fence was even more stuff, just to early in the season for it to show.
Usually there were smaller plants in front of the iris, but as I had just replanted those, the small stuff got moved too. It came back tho. :-)
The boulders were a gift of nature - yard was FULL of them, so that's why we had an above ground pool.
Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.
Dave Barry
so then none of the plants that you mentioned were affected by the splashing chlorine water from the pool? If not, the possibilities are a lot more than what I'd thought!
ah - I used Baquicil. No chlorine. It worked great for me.
Here in Wolvieland, we use the saline method to produce chlorine , and that works great, too. The chlorine has not harmed the plants poolside, but I don't have the type of plants that I had in Ma. I do have some black cap raspberries, (don't we all) a trumpet vine, a red bud, wisteria, rug juniper(ugh), and a few other shrubs. (the only thing I planted was the trumpet vine)
If we weren't moving, the rug juniper and the other shrubs would be HISTORY. I HATE junipers. ;-)
Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.
Dave Barry
Oh, you planted trumpet vine too? I thought I was the only one here who would do that. Remember a few years ago when Eric sent me some roots from one he was trying to kill? (What ever happened to him, I wonder) Anyway, the vines are doing what I wanted them to do- cover up the side of an old cement block ice house that we use for yard tools storage now. They look like they're mature enough to bloom, but I haven't seen any yet. What time of year do they blossom anyway? I guess I'll have to look that up. It's another one of my nostalgia plants. I can remember the hummingbirds visiting the flowers in my folks yard when I was a kid, and we'd pick the flowers and put them on our fingers for monster claws, and make hollyhock dolls from those blossoms. We we terrors in the garden it seems.
Veni, vidi, velcro I came, I saw, I stuck around.
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
help to provide free mammograms for women in need
LOL - I love trumpet vine, and I do remember those threads - I just stayed quiet.
Mine hasn't bloomed yet - I planted it (a very small seedling, bare root, actually) 2 summers ago - it is really just taking off this year.
I do see blooms here from mature plantings. I suspect the Michigan bloom time might be 2 weeks behind ours?? Really tough to tell - once Mi summers get going, things even out right quick. hot is hot, eh? ;-)
Thankfully, I have lots of loniceras to keep the hummers happy, along with salvias, agastaches, etc., and of course feeders.
Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.
Dave Barry
DH just told me today that there are buds on the vines over at his friend's house. Still nothing on hours, but another year she said hopefully.
Veni, vidi, velcro I came, I saw, I stuck around.
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
help to provide free mammograms for women in need
Hey! Believe it or not. Our trumpet vines are blooming!! We have 4 clusters of blossoms on them. They're covering the side of the old milk house very nicely. Happy to see that they bloomed in spite of the drought. We got a good .8" of rain last week that made the gardens and the weeds very happy. :)
Veni, vidi, velcro I came, I saw, I stuck around.
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
help to provide free mammograms for women in need
great news!
It looks like mine will bloom next year - when I'm not here, of course. ;-)
Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.
Dave Barry
My trumpet vine started flowering a week or so ago. We put it in in 2001 and last year was the first year we had any flowers on it. I don't think it was flowering this early last year though. I'm still waiting to see my first hummingbird, is there a certain time of day they are easier to spot?
Flee~~Zone 5 Mid-Michigan
That's gorgeous. I'll look forward to next year with high hopes.
The hummers seem to feed continuously during the day.. we've seen them from early morning until dusk.
Veni, vidi, velcro I came, I saw, I stuck around.
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com
http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
help to provide free mammograms for women in need
I really must do a thorough search for chlorine alternatives up here. We (as usual) are lagging quite behind a lot of the products from the U.S, frustrating for me! I wish we'd get some rain it hasn't rained here for several weeks, everything is bone dry making for absolutely no urge to plant or dig anything. The potted plants will have to suffice I guess!
Nanook we are using something called pristine blue which is an alternative to chlorine and supposed to be gentler on the skin and easier...their web site iswww.pristineblue.com and they give a tel # (usa) 800-257-water New pool has been great... first case of "swimmers" ear in the 16 yo not so great! also wish we would get some good rain ...cloudy humid and a few showers but nothing significant and don't want to water as the water bill this year (filling the pool ) is going to be off the charts!
I looked up pristine blue, it's not sold up here yet. I was talking to a couple of people and apparently there is something similar up here but it's a little hard to find. i will keep searching!
I'm also checking this all out, i like the boulders also ,and i actually do have to build up some kind of retaining wall to hold in the raised area that the pool sits on ,your rocks and flowers really seem to soften the look of the pool...
it worked very well, and made for interesting plantings. I used to seed annuals at the base of the boulders, and in some of the crevices. Of course, I also put different Euphoriba's there, too. And rock garden plants.
The property in Ma was very nice - nicer than here. Less acreage, but ... well, ...I think I chose better plants than the previous owner of my current home did. No ego here! ;-0
Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.
Dave Barry
Yes, you're property in MA was very nice. I liked the way everything seemed to sort of melt into the natural landscape--the woods that surrounded the property. The house just seemed to nestle into the hillside there.
But, there are alot of nice things about you WV place. And, you'll get to do it all from scratch in NC. :-)
Transitions Farm
Gardening, cooking, and riding in Central Mass.
Ann
"The elders were wise. They knew that man's heart, away from nature, becomes hard; they knew that lack of respect for growing, living things, soon led to lack of respect for humans, too." Chief Luther Standing Bear, Lakota Sioux
thanks!
I'm looking forward to NC. I did make some changes here - a lot thanks to you and your DH (best juniper and barberry removers, bar none!!), but didn't do the all out replanting I wanted to do - no point to spend the $$$ if you have to move. I admit this place has good bones tho. :-)
Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor's garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one.
Dave Barry
I was wondering do you have anymore pics of your pool landscape?
I am trying to decide how to do mine.
Thanks
Marie