Pond Garden Tour

The Pond Garden Tour will show you the gardens around my irrigation pond, which is deep and large enough to swim in. Be brave and push past the Gunnera, roses, and Phormiums to the water's edge. The path surface here is a little uneven, so please try not to wobble! That water can be quite cold...

Sit on the wooden seats on the pond decking, shaded by a large sun umbrella, and watch Rusty the dog belly-flopping into the refreshing water. You'll probably hear the bellbirds - they live in the tall overhead trees. Peep into Pond Cottage - don't worry, I've made the bed! Most of all enjoy the watery views, whether it be spring, summer, autumn, or winter.

Should you dislike garden gnomes, you should leave the Pond Garden Tour immediately! The Moosey pond is ringed with gnomes, some fishing, others reading, wheeling barrows, mowing lawns, or just hanging about by the small stone retaining wall. There is no escape!

Introducing the Pond GardenIntroducing the Pond Garden...
I fell in love with the Moosey pond the very first time I saw it. I remember waking up on my very first morning here, watching the mist rising from the water as three rabbits took a dawn drink...
Pond Garden ImagesPond Garden Images...
The pond is one of my favourite garden features. So favourite, in fact, that I built a tiny one-room cottage overlooking it. Enjoy these pond and cottage images.
Minimus my Cottage CatMinimus my Cottage Cat...
Minumus, my cottage cat, is a little grey barrel-shaped female. She spends her days in the gardens near the cottage and her nights inside, snuggled underneath the bed cover. Dear Minimus!
Pond CottagePond Cottage...
Pond Cottage is a much photographed and admired little cottage which nestles in the trees on the edge of Pond Paddock. It's a gardener's retreat, with a magical view of the pond, naturally!
People in the PondPeople in the Pond...
The pond isn't only for dogs to cool off in. People also go in there. In the height of summer they might swim around the edge, or lie relaxing on their backs in the middle. The water is always on the edge of too cold, though...
Gnomes Fishing ClubGnomes Fishing Club...
There are fish in the Moosey pond, and you might spy some little chaps with red hats on the water's edge doing a spot of fishing. In the early days, fishing etiquette was observed, and no gnome set himself up too close to another. Then one day all the fishermen decided to band together and form a Fishing Club. They set themselves up by the water lily clump.
Pond Garden Dining FurniturePond Garden Dining Furniture...
Meals in the garden are much more enjoyable with a table, and for months I've been looking out for an appropriate outdoor dining set for the pond decking. It had to be wooden, sturdy (in other words not too rustic) and cheap.
The Pond PaddockThe Pond Paddock...
The Pond Paddock used to be a sheep paddock, and the grass is still fairly rough and robust. It is now ringed with garden borders and dotted with mature deciduous trees - flowering cherries, oaks, a silver birch and a maple.
Pond PlantingsPond Plantings...
Originally the plants, trees, and shrubs at the water's edge planted themselves. I left things alone during my first gardening years. In 2007 my Great Pond Beautification Plan was finally launched, and it's still going strong. There's always room for improvement - and more garden gnomes, hee hee...
Cannas on the DeckingCannas on the Decking...
Canna lilies - love them? Oh yes, I do, particularly the striped leaf varieties. Grow them in the garden? Not so successfully. Ove the last six years I've grown them in large pots on the pond decking. They can then over-winter in my glass-house.
Pond Garden Dappled SunPond Garden Dappled Sun...
Standing by the pond the views over the water are always magical. Here are some photographs of the pond, taken from the Pump House side, looking towards the decking and the house. First, a beautifully framed pond view, with the irrigation pipe hidden in the lower left corner.
Pond Garden White SeatPond Garden White Seat...
My new white garden seat was a late 2009 Christmas present, from me to me. Oh - what a lovely gift - just what I'd always wanted! But seriously, this seat was a cut above my usual wobbly, crumbling sitting structures. I found the perfect spot, too - hidden behind the Moosey pond.
Swimming Pond DogsSwimming Pond Dogs...
All the Moosey dogs have enjoyed having their own swimming pond. The water is usually fairly cold because it's come all the way from the mountains, down rivers and irrigation canals. Today's pond water might have been yesterday's snow-melt!
The Pond in AutumnThe Pond in Autumn...
The pond in autumn is a quiet, reflective place to visit. Fallen leaves with rich, autumn colouring float on the top of the water. And, magically, there's usually not a puff of wind.
Pond MaintenancePond Maintenance...
Each week more and more leaves blow into the pond, become waterlogged, and sink slowly down. Imagine how much sludge there was, then, at the bottom of the Moosey Pond after fifteen years! Some Pond maintenance was well overdue.
The New Pump HouseThe New Pump House...
Finally in the summer of 2008 the old rustic pump house at the back of the pond just got a little too rickety. Non-Gardening Partner spent his summer holidays dismantling it and rebuilding a new one. He was, however, under strict orders to make it look rustic.
Gnomes Book ClubGnomes Book Club...
My large family of garden gnomes live, work, and play around the pond. Some like to fish, some trundle about the garden with their wheelbarrow, while others sit on toadstools and daydream. A small elite group of reading gnomes have formed their own Book Club.
Garden Pond PathGarden Pond Path...
I've had a Pond Beautification programme running for a number of years. It's been a bit of a stop-start gardening process, but finally I've learnt how to get tough. One of the results - a brand new pond path!
Sheep by the PondSheep by the Pond...
The Moosey sheep are wool producers only - they are shorn once a year, and never, ever destined for the dinner table. The flock is mainly merino, and they spend some quality sheep-time in the small paddock behind the pond.
Wilderness Behind the PondWilderness Behind the Pond...
In my early, super-energetic years I started clearing the area behind the pond, which I romantically called The Wilderness. My plan was to have a natural place, with just a few organised paths - just trees and shrubs, maybe some mass plantings of tough things. But it was to be clear of mess and controlled. Hmm... It's not hard to spot the anomaly here.
Pond GunneraPond Gunnera...
The Pond Border opposite the cottage is dominated in summer by the large green leaves of the Gunnera. It's hard to believe that the pieces of this giant perennial started life all fitting into one normal sized bucket. I found them growing in the water race, and transplanted them.
Agapanthus by the PondAgapanthus by the Pond...
By the water at the back of the pond I've planted some species blue flowering agapanthus. This first photograph looks through to the Pond Paddock. Agapanthus are happy being planted in here - they are tough, and don't sulk if the summers are dry.
Wood Pond Garden DeckingWood Pond Garden Decking...
The L-shaped wooden decking by the pond has always been a restful place to sit. You can dangle your feet in the water, talk to a cat, throw tennis balls in the pond for the dog, or watch the colourful dragonflies skimming the water's surface. You might even see some little fishies!
Elegia capensisElegia capensis...
One of my most subtle new foliage plants Elegia capensis, is too subtle for its own good! Several clumps grow on the edge of the pond, but far away from any of the paths. Looking over from the other side it's hard to see it at all!
Pond Decking and DogPond Decking and Dog...
Taj-dog is on one of his exploratory morning circuits around the garden. He is seen here nose down passing the pond decking.
Pink Ballerina RosePink Ballerina Rose...
The planting on the corner of the Pond Garden is one of my favourites in the whole garden. I've planted two Ballerina roses next to a large bronze flax. Together with the green Gunnera, this is a trio of contrasts.
Bunting for Pond CottageBunting for Pond Cottage...
So what's trending in the Moosey Garden? Bunting is becoming a very popular adornment for the outside of stylish cafes, craft stalls, and so on. My own Pond Cottage has had bunting for a few years now. Am I not on the cutting edge?
Pond Dragon FlyPond Dragon Fly...
Here is yet another of my son the photographer's close-ups of insects series. Zzzzz... The Pond has a lot of dragonflies during summer.
Early Pond Garden SeatsEarly Pond Garden Seats...
I've always moved my garden seats and benches around. They stay in one place for a few years, and then they shift gardens. In the year 2008 a comfortable wooden garden bench sat at the beginning of the pond-side path. I would sit here and gaze at my lovely Pond Garden, then turn my head to the ram paddock behind me and make furtive garden expansion plans...
Cats on the Pond DeckingCats on the Pond Decking...
The decking by the pond has always been popular with the Moosey cats. In the early days it was a warm sunny place for Big Sifter the tabby to stretch out and take it easy. These days you'll likely find young Minimus the cottage cat snoozing on the decking...
Eucalyptus TreesEucalyptus Trees...
Eucalyptus trees grow all along the fence-line behind the pond, and surround the pump house. Their bark gets stripped off in the winds - consequently the ground beneath is difficult to keep clear. Many types of Gum tree find the droughts that Canterbury suffers quite hard to survive.
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