Have you ever wanted to add a pond to your garden? Bridget Ludwig and her husband built their own oasis and have shared photos with us.
"My husband and I visited Longwood garden in Pennsylvania for many years and took a few classes there about building a pond and about water lilies. I got inspired and started creating the shape and flower choices and read many books on "how to". My husband and I built the pond three years ago and now the flowers have flourished. We have 5 pink and white lotus which can get six foot tall. There are many flowering pond plants which sit on a ledge inside the pond. We created a walkway and surrounded both sides with cannas and roses. There is also a beautiful arbor with a bench so we can talk and feed the fish."
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Comments
Hi Bridget! Isn't Longwood gardens the best? You have implemented your training perfectly. I imagine you spend lots of time on that bench, admiring your and your hubby's handiwork! Well done and thanks for sharing!
What a compliment! Thanks! Longwood is the best for plant education! We've been to some dinners there. It's a dinner party in their water lily room.with the sun setting and candles burning it's truly magical!
Yowza on those magnificent lotus flowers...standing so tall and stately...like the Queen's Guard at Buckingham Palace...definitely not to be ignored! At this point, are your water lilies and lotus in pots at the bottom of your pond? You must be doing a great job fertilizing them and keeping them happy. Congrats on turning your vision into reality.
Hi! Yes everything except tropical plants are on bottom. The first 2 years they sat on milkcrates we fertilize every week and deadhead and spray for bugs as well. My husband gets in for 3 hours a week.
What a beautiful oasis you have created and how mature it looks after 3 years. Really stunning specimens. I also love the blue and orange glass lamps in the last photo. Now, how many GPOD readers can fit on that bench? I expect most of us would like to come and sit a spell...
Come on over and we'll start a party! I love to share my garden with people the more the merrier! Thanks for being so kind!
Ohhh mannnnnn!!! As we flirt with triple digits and intense sunrays, this posting comes as SUCH a welcome visual (and actual!!) sigh of relief!! Lilies!! Lotus!!! Still, cool waters!!! "sigh!!!" Nice investment of time and energy! (Wish I had taken that portrait of the flowers and buds!! Nice photo!!)
Thanks so much! This Facebook thing is all new to me!do you believe these pictures got over 14,000 likes? It's craY! I have a great camera with micro lens so I get some great shots?you make me feel special?
My dear!!
A young friend of mine just upgraded her camera to a much nicer model.
But, I will tell you the same thing I told her:
The Equiptment is only Half of the Equation to good photos.
The OTHER and more important Half is the artist's eye and imagination BEHIND the lens!
With 14,000 hits (likes) you should be proud and know you are on the right track!!! Congratulations!!
I Hope you keep shooting and sharing!!!!
You are soooo kind! I appreciate that! I sure will! I've got tons of pictures, it's so much fun to shot something you created and see the finished product! Do you garden? I guess I could send more pictures to the magazine but I don't want them to get sick of me! Keep in touch!
Wow, the pops of color and beauty of the curved beds are perfect. It was a grand idea that came together wonderfully
Thanks! I had so much fun designing it! I have a design and architect background so I wanted to let loose but still have some structure. The other side of pond is heart shaped with a Japanese maple in the middle. I love it! I've got ton more pics but don't know if I should go thru fine gardening or Facebook page I've got more pics on there now
This is so inspiring, Bridget. A beautiful pond and I love the lotus. Your waterlilies are stunning and so healthy. Do they all stay in the pond over the winter? Like Michaele, I wonder if your lotus are containerized within the pond to keep them under control. I added a lotus tub to my garden this spring. I don't have room for a pond (or do I?!). I ordered some beautiful lotus starts and killed them. :( Try, try again next year. Thanks for the inspiration. Really, it looks awesome!
You killed them? I so wanted to gaze at their beauty. Darn!
Sadly. Don't know what I did. I'll try again next year!
Do you think maybe moving them was not a good idea?
Yes, you should try again, most definitely.
I hate when plants die.
Hi Tim! Thanks for the kind words!the water lilies get cut back and placed on the bottom of pond. They are kept in black plastic containers we get at Maryland aquatics nursery. The pond is 30" deep. That is for Maryland. Every zone is different.we fertilize the lilies every week to keep them healthy.the lotus are put in the same plastic containers as lilies. When you plant a lotus you have to cut the root a certain way and lay it so it grows in a circle! It must be that way. You can research how to do it in google.i don't know why your lotus died unless the root direction was wrong. You didn't have enough sun. Didn't fertilize . Good luck!
Bridget, your pond, plants, fountains, lighting and other ornamental touches are over-the-top amazing! There is so much to look at and enjoy from every aspect, you really want to expand the photos and study them in detail. How large is the pond and what is its shape? Is it bi-level? Love the mushroom and frog fountain. More photos please!
Hi! Love all these lovely comments! The pond is around 18 feet by 30 feel. It has a heart shape on one side. It has a shelf running along the back and side of pond for the tropical flowers. I have tons more photos! I'm completely new to Facebook. Should I go thru fine gardening or put them on my page. There are 25 photos on my page you can see now!
Bridget you can reply and add photos here by clicking on the box at the bottom left of each reply box.
Thanks!
Wow, I'm not sure to continue with my pond efforts or just give up and realize this one here is it! No, I am more inspired than ever to trudge forward. This is really amazing and has given me some great ideas. Those lotus are crazy cool. And the surrounding of various color pops makes for a very pleasant view. Thanks for sharing.
Don't give up I know it's a lot of work so you have to be committed but once you get it on track it's just 4to6 hours a week plus most ponds aren't this big. Also I did tons of surrounding flowers and a walkway and a patio area ( whew!) . To wake up to something like this is amazing everyday is pretty amazing! Thanks so much!
What an inspiration Bridget. Due to water restraints from a drought my pond is looking sad. I was thinking of filling it in but you have inspired me, The plants in the pond and out are gorgeous. I love your design. It must be wonderful to sit there and feed your fish. Any problem with predators? One year we had a blue heron devour some goldfish that were 6 inches long that we had for years. love to see more of your garden.
Hey Granny ! A blue heron got half of my large fish? but I still have 100 or so of babies so I'm hoping they stick around for a while! I've got tons more pic's of pond and my other 6 gardens. The mag will probably get sick of me?
Beautifully done. I can just imagine all of the birds that are drawn to it.
You wouldn't believe it! I had to get binoculars and a bird book!
The view across the pond to the arbor and amazing bench is wonderfully inviting. Is the large-leafed plant darmera peltata? One of my favorites for large ponds. Thank you for letting us visit your dreamscape, Bridget.
Thanks Barbara! The large leaf plant should either be a lotus ( don't know the technical term ) or a elephant ear.
A superb job! Wonderfully captivating. The lily pads are gorgeous! Love the mushroom/frog sculpture, also.
I love my fountains! The mushroom one looked to serious so I got a metal frog to put in the front for some whimsy?thanks for your nice words!
Bridget, every single design detail of your pond and it's surroundings is wonderful. The colors, the plantings, the lights... Heck, just everything is so pleasing to the eye, you and your husband must be thrilled!
Thanks! It's my passion! I'm a artist so I create thru my gardens!
Hi Bridget! Your pond and garden were worth the hours of study and toil, for it is truly lovely. The bench and arbor are a magnet for anyone to relax and drink it all in.
Beautiful photographs for us all to dream over. I'm not going to build a pond like this because almost none of it would survive the many predators , not to mention the weather, but I can dream!
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the compliments! Photography is a hobby of mine so I always am taking photos of pond and the other 6 gardens in my yard. I guess you can see I'm into gardening pretty bad! My husband loves working together and it gives us something to talk about!
When you can work together planning and building, everything is more wonderful.
You got that right!
It is just the prettiest pond I've ever seen!
How kind of you! I've got more garden pics on my home page you can check out!
Lovely!
Beautiful, I'd love to make a pond in my backyard. I've got 4 grandchildren, the oldest being 4, and two more on the way. How safe is a pond, or rather how safe can one make a pond without putting an ugly fence around it?
Hi! Some states require a fence for even a 24inch high pond so check your area we have a little dog that runs around the pond all the time so I keep a big net by the pond! ( lol )
Wow! Thanks for the kind words! It makes all the effort worth while when it makes people smile!
learn how to make the perfect pond HERE - http://thegardeninguniverse.com/
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