Building a large hypertufa rock that includes a water fountain
Roseann Dashkowitz
3 years ago
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Comments (14)I would completely concur with the plan to build a raised bed. You can use railway sleepers which are cheap and easy to construct into a bed. If you buy topsoil in bulk (which you will need to do) then it is much cheaper than you might expect compared with potting compost from a garden centre. Make sure you add in a good organic supplement too - something like spent mushroom compost or well rotted horse manure. I would definitely also dig out a depth of the poor soil that you have by the fence at the moment - the greater the depth of soil the better and most medium size shrubs will be happy in 450mm of good soil. Just make sure it does not dry out, especially when the plants are establishing in their first year or two. What you plant is entirely up to your taste and desires, but I would personally be cautious of bamboo. Even the clump forming varieties are generally pretty agressive and spread with strong roots that will take over a raised bed. I would suggest going for a mixture of evergreen shrubs to give you a base structure even in the winter and supplement with some perennials that will give colour and change through the summer. Climbers on the fence will help soften it too - Evergreen Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminiodes) is a great plant giving nice shiny leaves all year with heavily scented little star flowers in mid-summer....See MoreWaterfall!? Is it possible???
Comments (8)Hi Marc, When I read waterfall, I am assuming that you want to create something naturalistic? In which case this is a great space in which to create a waterfall. It will require some effort but you could definitely do something spectacular with a good quality pond liner and a tonne of nice rock. I would suggest a small sump pool / pond at the base of the feature. I would use the spoil from the digging of the pond to build up against the wall, you will probably need to import some soil and sand also. When creating the slope make sure you bury the pipes that will eventually feed water to the waterfall. Create a couple of turns in the waters path down the slope, with flat areas at the turns, that way once you have lined the pond and waterfall you will be able to cement stones into the water flow. Make sure you leave space for some planting around the waterfall as it will help it look even more natural. Good luck!...See MoreRoof Showdown - Tiles .vs. Slates
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3 years agoRoseann Dashkowitz
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