Friday, April 3, 2009

A Winter Gardening Fix

As a gardener living in Northern Illinois, winter can seem like forever. Perusing garden catalogs fills the void in January, making garden plans helps in February, but by March I am just itching for the smell of soil and plants. So the only solution is to head out to the Chicago Garden Show.
Pat and I went on a cold and rainy day into Chicago, which is a 2 hour drive (in Chicago traffic) from Belvidere. As soon as we walked in the smell of flowers hit us. It was wonderful. We were instantly drawn to the displays and oohed and aahed over all the plants. My particular obsession is with water gardens. Anything with water draws me in. Below are just a few of the many pictures I took of the water features.
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This was a small waterfall that went into a rock depression instead of a pond.
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This picture shows a downspout filter that saves water to be used in water features. A pump and hose can be attached sends the water to a pond, fountain, stream.
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This fountain is made up of rock formations that have been drilled and put together to form a grouping. Pricey for the poorer gardener!
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This is a fantastic alternative to the above fountain. Concrete forms were used to make the 3 pillars in this version. I love this idea!
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Mood lighting, water and fog, what more could you add?
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This guy is just plain funny!
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Simple and calming.
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This was a Mexican fountain. The water came out of the structure and poured out over the stone slab.
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This is a picture of my house, an old 50's ranch. See the brick planter attached to the front of the house? Next post I will show you how I turned it into a fish pond and show you my recycled fountains.
I know this has nothing to do with Heirloom plants but I can't resist sharing!

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