A fountain for all seasons…

 

“Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall”, (to quote Carole King!),  garden architecture provides interest for every season.  Often we don’t prioritize hardscapes when laying out garden plans…possibly because of the cost and/or a desire for an instant garden of greenery and flowers.  Finding the right balance between hardscapes (pathways, arbours, retaining walls and I’ve included fountains and statuary) and softscapes (trees, grass, flower and vegetable gardens, trees, etc.) adds harmony to the garden…the yin and yang.

When we moved into this house, the garden was a mess of weeds, overgrown trees and shrubs, and spruce needles a foot deep.  There was no obvious design, which in hindsight is probably a good thing.  Although I had to start from scratch, I didn’t have the expense of removing hardscape that wouldn’t have complimented the symmetry of a formal garden I wanted.   Because I laid out the plans and did most of the labour myself, the design is by no means perfectly aligned.  I was impatient to get going and as a result,  I’ve had to “tweek” many things over time.  I’ve accepted that a garden is never done (thankfully) and just because I’m determined to do something new in the garden doesn’t mean it will actually work!  Nature is in charge.

The fountain is set in the centre of the garden, inline between the kitchen window (over the sink) and the door to the greenhouse.  Between seasonal interest and attracting the birds that visit, the fountain is the focal point in my small garden.

 

WINTER

You are probably tired of hearing me say that I love the garden most in winter, but it’s true.  The snow-topped fountain looks like a frosted wedding cake.

I probably should be protecting the fountain by  covering it over the winter months, but I’ve opted to enjoy the view instead.  Hopefully, I will not regret this in coming years!.

 

 

SPRING

Getting the fountain cleaned and running always signals the beginning of Spring.  I have to wait until all the elm seeds have dropped before I turn on the pump, otherwise, it would be plugged solid.  Not only does the fountain add visual interest, but the sound of running water is so calming and drowns out all the noise clutter of the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMER

Watching the birds of summer never gets tiring.  We’ve witnessed the “bird” hierarchy…first the crows and magpies, then the robins and last the sparrows.

 

 

 

 

 

FALL

After a trip to Europe with my niece, she gifted me with three small sailboats as a memory of the day we spent in the Luxembourg Gardens (in Paris) seated around the Great Bassin Duck Pond, watching children playing with the sailboats that vendors rent out on most days.    I was daydreaming (aloud) about how I would love to have a sailboat for each of my grandsons to set sail in my little fountain pond.  She made this dream come true!

That following Thanksgiving weekend, my grandsons launched their boats!  We should have had a bottle of champagne to commemorate…

xox Judy