Thursday, February 21, 2013

A Pretty Watergarden



Every year I try to do my small part to support garden themed events for worthy charitable causes.  One such garden tour is the annual Pond Tour for the Hospice, which raises much needed funds for the Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice for Palliative Care in Hamilton. 

The hospice is a non-profit organization that provides supportive care to patients who are facing a life-threatening illness. A portion of the hospice's operating budget comes from the government, but the rest must be raised through special events like the annual pond tour.

Amber Downes of Clearwater Ponds, who helps to organize the tour each year for the hospice, emailed me the other day to let me know that they have set the dates for this year's tour. This summer the two day watergarden extravaganza will take place on Saturday, June 22nd and Sunday, June 23rd.

To coincide with this announcement, I thought that I would showcase one of the prettier ponds from last year's tour. 

I have already shown you a few sneak peaks of this terrific garden. Today, I will place them back in context and show you the full garden and pond.


Before we head into the back garden, we'll pause for just a quick second and admire the colorful container plantings at the front of the house.



Now let's go down the pathway leading to the backyard.



Beautiful blue-grey stones edge the stone path.


As we round the house, a mix of trees, shrubs and perennials partially obscures the view, 
making what comes next a bit of a surprise.

Looking back the way we came. 

If you like your garden to be neat and tidy at all times, this is a good example of what you might want to consider planting. 

Provided they are well watered and the slugs are kept at bay, this planting combination, which includes magenta astilbe, mixed hostas, pale pink spirea, pyramid-shaped boxwood, assorted hydrangeas and a Japanese Maple, are going to look great for the full gardening season.


As we round the corner, we get our first glimpse of the pond.


As you can now see, the pond is quite expansive and takes up a good portion of the back garden.

Amber Downes of Clearwater Ponds tell me that, "When Clearwater Ponds first met these clients, they had a brand new pond built by another contracter. Unfortunately, the pond was not functioning properly. The pond had good "bones", but not enough "muscle" to keep it functioning properly."


A stone patio runs along the back of the house and overlooks the pond.


To get the pond functioning properly, Clearwater Ponds increased the pond's filtration and improved the pond's circulation by adding an additional pump and a surface skimmer. They also reinstalled the existing filter properly.

Amber says, "The clients are so happy with the final result. Their pond is beautiful to look at and is always crystal clear."


The waterlilies in this pond are quite colorful.




One final project that Clearwater did was to redesign and rebuild the previously existing waterfall. The newly installed waterfall is much more natural looking and visually pleasing.




For those of you that live in the GTA, mark your calendars for this year's pond tour. It is a wonderful event for a great cause.

To see more ponds from last year's tour, be sure to check out this virtual Pond Tour for the Hospice on Facebook. There will be a different pond each day for the next few weeks.

32 comments:

  1. Hi Jennifer...if I lived in your area I would definitely attend this pond tour. This pond and the surrounding garden is spectacular. It's very nice of you to help your local charities...it makes you feel really good doesn't it!!

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  2. Beautiful photos!!! I wish I lived there- I would love to go tour the ponds!!! Thank you for letting me have a virtual tour. =0)

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  3. Hi Jennifer
    You have certainly captured the beauty of this property. A great idea to have a pond/garden tour to benefit such a worthy cause.
    I have marked it in my calendar, and if I am free, I will certainly go.

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  4. Those water lilies are beautiful - great tour x

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  5. Un hermoso jardín en todos sus detalles! Un abrazo grande.

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  6. What a great idea for a tour! Gorgeous gardens and ponds, thanks for sharing.

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  7. That mermaid statue is fantastic. Just makes me smile - so beautifully done but a little cheeky too.

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  8. Hospice was a great organization for my family when my father was ill. What a wonderful fundraiser! This is a gorgeous garden and I could sit by that pond all day long!

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  9. So gorgeous! Love the stonework and the pond - or lake! Have a happy weekend Jennifer!

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  10. Jennifer, awesome pond, waterfall and water lilies! It's good idea to benefit the hospice. Thank you for sharing!

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  11. Thank you for taking us on a tour of such a beautiful garden, so good that it was raising money for such a worthwhile cause too. We have a similar organisation in the UK, the National Garden Scheme which raises funds for cancer charities and nurses. A book is published each year listing all the gardens in the country which are taking part and the days they are open, a huge amount of money is raised each year and we get to see some fantastic gardens!

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  12. Wow, Jen, this is just gorgeous.
    So much detail, and obviously love, must have gone into the making of this.
    I especially love the water lilies.
    Truly so beautiful.
    Thanks so much for sharing this here.
    Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

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  13. That is a very well-maintained garden, every plant looks healthy and growing vigorously. That pot with tropical plants is beautiful too. But most of all i love those small water cascades.

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  14. Just gorgeous, and your photos do a wonderful job of illustrating the garden's beauty. Amazing use of plants and I love the heron and frog sculptures and the purple waterlily!!

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  15. Być w tym ogrodzie to rozkosz dla oczu, jest pięknie, staw cudowny. Jedocześnie zwiedzając ten piękny ogród, pomaga się innym. To wspaniała idea. Pozdrawiam.
    To be in the garden is a delight to the eyes, it is beautiful, lovely pond. Contrived exploring this beautiful garden, it helps to others. It's a great idea. Yours.

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  16. What beautiful images, if only I had a garden like that to sit in.x

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  17. First, these photos are just gorgeous! What a lovely paradise this pond is. I love the frog and lily pads/flowers. And the pathway to this pond is stunning! Second, I love that someone is willing to share their beautiful pond to help a worthy cause! Thank you for a fabulous post!

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  18. Want. Want. Want!! I wish there were more zeroes in my paycheck to afford something like this. So spectacular. Big sigh....

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  19. Helas it's to far away to do this pondtour but a beautiful gardens will there be to visit. I hope many people will go for it.
    Have a wonderful weekend Jennifer.

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  20. Wow, gorgeous pictures ! Indeed a paradise.

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  21. How I wish I could go on this pond tour! My dream is to have a pond someday with a waterfall...not much chance of that happening soon, so I'll just salivate over this beautifully serene pond and garden. But I could copy some ideas from the container plantings out front--gorgeous!

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  22. What a fabulous garden...I love the containers that look so exotic. And that is a spectacular pond....I will have to remember this event as I retire since I plan to travel more to see gardens in PA, NC, and Ontario

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  23. Thank you for sharing this beautiful garden. I love the planting combinations, the restful feel of the garden, and the placement of the sculptures which all look as though they belong in their respective spots.

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  24. Be still my beating heart - I would give my eye teeth for a pond like that - I can't remember if you have a pond in your own garden Jennifer?

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    1. I wish that I pond Elaine, but sadly I don't at the moment. One day maybe....

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  25. I love the punches of pink in the first photo. Those waterlilies are gorgeous too, what bold colors. Beautiful garden.

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  26. What a wonderful pond garden and so love the size and colours of the front planter........may have to copy it this spring.

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  27. So beautiful...meticulous plantings and the pond is spectacular, a perfect place to relax.

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  28. Such a stunning place to visit, Jennifer! I love that front yard's flower arrangement. It's fabulous! Have a great week!

    Hugs for the dogs!

    Satu

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  29. Jennifer girl ... this is my idea of HEAVEN .. truly ! .. I wish every gardener could have a wonderful retreat like this .. it would make our lives so much easier and less stressful .. I often wonder if people who have gardens like this ever take them for granted .. get used to how absolutely wonderful this is ? .. I know I could never take something as soul filling as this scene for granted. I would have to keep myself from wading into the pond and just literally soaking it up for pure pleasure : ) it is just so beautiful.
    I would have loved to go on the tour .. I know you will take perfect pictures of it for us to appreciate !
    Joy : )

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  30. Such a beautiful garden.I love those black stones along that path and patio edges and the Colocasia in the water are perfect. Wish I loved closer to visit with you!

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  31. What a gorgeous garden! I love everything about it! The plants, the statuary.. just beautiful! I would absolutely love to have a water feature in my garden.

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