Water, Water Everywhere in Serendipity Gardens

Jo Ellen Roe November 26, 2013 0 Comments

Water

Water plays an important role in Serendipity Gardens, as it does in any landscape that offers habitat to animals. One of the four requirements of being a certified natural habitat is the presence of water.

Ponds and Pots

We have several ponds and two pots of water.

The ponds consist of a ground-level pond about seven feet in diameter, with a smaller pond about three feet in diameter  above it. Water from the small pond flows over rocks into the larger pond, and creates the water noise that adds so much to the ambiance of the garden. From the large pond, the water then flows through a little stream down and across the yard to another small pond. From there, a pump helps the water make the journey through hidden pipes back up to the top pond, where it feeds into the upper pond and creates the waterfall. ... Read More

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A Special Birthday Party at Serendipity Gardens

Jo Ellen Roe October 18, 2013 0 Comments

Fire, Nick and Holly

Two of us enjoying the fire’s glow.

Serendipity Gardens is out in the country. One of its features is a fire pit that we don’t use often enough.

Quarterly Birthday Parties

I feel very lucky that my three grown daughters all live close by. However,  finding time and a way to celebrate birthdays has gotten more and more challenging as their lives have gotten busier and busier. Does your grown-up family have a similar challenge? What do you do to make it work?

Our response to the birthday dilemma is to celebrate birthdays on a quarterly basis. Just recently, we had our fall birthday party, with four of us as guests of honor. This particular party was one of the best ever. ... Read More

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Renaissance Man Paints Serendipity Gardens!

Jo Ellen Roe October 14, 2013 0 Comments

Do you ever need the services of an artist, a musician, a bricklayer, or a pond maintenance guy? I would like to recommend Kellas Brown. Because he is skilled in all these areas, I call him the Renaissance Man!

Here’s how I came to know Kellas. I wanted someone to build a pathway to connect our front sidewalk with the patio in back. Our local supplier of hardscape materials, the Rocke Shoppe, recommended him. We hired him to do the work, and our sidewalk turned out just as we had envisioned it. ... Read More

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Big Leaves Rock!

Jo Ellen Roe October 8, 2013 0 Comments

Elephant Ear

I love plants with big leaves. Big, bold leaves add excitement and texture to my garden … and would do so, in fact, to your garden as well. It’s especially nice to place them next to plants with finer-textured foliage.

For example, I planted my biggest leaved plant, Petasites Japonicus, next to a dark red Japanese maple. The combo offers contrast in size, texture, and color. Sweet!

Today, I have a collection of big-leaved plants and am always looking for places to plant more. Now where can I put that banana? ... Read More

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Frogs Jump Start a Backyard Ecosystem

Jo Ellen Roe October 1, 2013 0 Comments

Froggies (1)

When Serendipity Gardens was two years old, my husband built a pond. Shortly after, the frogs arrived, and they’ve been part of our backyard ecosystem ever since. We did nothing to make them come other than have water, and we do nothing to keep them except use a bubbler in the pond in winter to keep it from freezing over.

The frog population varies from year to year, because of predators. An occasional heron stops by for a snack, or a garden snake slithers up and catches one unaware. Despite these challenges, though, the frogs continue to add their immense charm to the garden. They help manage the insect population, too. ... Read More

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