It Was Going Too Well

Building the babbling brook has been flowing right along. The process may have been moving some what slowly. Toting rocks takes time. Toting them from afar takes longer. Making them look natural and aesthetically pleasing can require some do overs. Progress was methodically being made at least.

Today we got some planting done.

Maybe I need another big rock in the planting bed at the base of the dwarf Japanese White Pine. I don't want the stream edge to look too rigid and defined. There needs to be some interplay.

That is the problem I have been having with the upper brook. It was too linear, too rigid. I added more rocks on the back side in that pocket in the shrubberies to break up the line. I planted a shore juniper in the break in the shrubs. It helped a little. It still needs something. Being cramped by the straight line of the walkway doesn't help.

I think I need a monolithic stone obelisk to go back there. I'm sure I can find one. Will I be able to move it is the question. Just a minor detail that needs addressing..

The real problem lies below. Did I really think it was possible for me to build my first babbling brook with a rubber lined pond without hitting a snag.

The pond is the snag. I simply could not place the rocks around the edge in any way that would adequately hide the exposed rubber liner. My pond was too shallow at full capacity. The banks were too high. Five inches of ugly black rubber kept staring out at me. It was hideous. It had to be fixed. I neglected to check for level across the length of the pond. It was very level from side to side.

I removed all the rocks from around the edge. The plan is to dig the sides down deeper so when the rocks are reset they will sit just above the water level. We will not be seeing swaths of black rubber in my very first pond.

For now we can look the other way. The babbling brook has turned out quite well. A little more planting will be done on the flagstone path side to finish it off. I need to remember to save some room for iris.

It was all going too well. Now I have hit a snag.