Having read & perused a number of gardening books, one of the main item on designing a garden is on creating a focal point.
A focal point could be anything from a striking structural tree, a unique sculpture, a mass of flowering shrubs, a gazebo, a painted wall/mural and well, anything attractive that draws our eyes to it upon entering.
Mine is a re-cycled 2'x5' bath-tub placed in the middle of the garden on 4 concrete blocks for stability and filled-up with rain-water harvested from my drain-pipes (more on this in future post!).
A focal point could be anything from a striking structural tree, a unique sculpture, a mass of flowering shrubs, a gazebo, a painted wall/mural and well, anything attractive that draws our eyes to it upon entering.
Mine is a re-cycled 2'x5' bath-tub placed in the middle of the garden on 4 concrete blocks for stability and filled-up with rain-water harvested from my drain-pipes (more on this in future post!).
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| Instant garden 'pond'! |
It is planted with submerged pots of tropical water lily; kiambang air (errm, can't recollect the english name for this plant at the moment); a type of reed as well as floating water hyacinths. It's also home to a resident spider, 3 Goldfishes and a Neon Tetra fish. Its guests have included a dozen tadpoles too, haha!
I consider it a part of the garden's hard landscape but it can actually be easily moved if so needed to as it is not cemented onto the ground.
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| Sun-kissed surface always looks magical! |
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| 2 of the current 4 fishy residents |
Keeping the 'pond' clear of decaying leaves/stalks and fallen leaves is an easy job because its size is compact and since its right smack in the middle, I'm always keeping a look-out for yellowing leaves, floating debris and spur-of the moment-type cleaning sessions. When the bottom of the 'pond' looks too murky, I'll use a manual hand-held air pump to clear it and if I'm feeling really lazy, I'll wait for the next rain-storm to do the job by channelling the rain-water right into the pond!
I tend to just stand around the tub and look at it....its really therapeutic and when the purple blooms of the water hyacinths burst forth after a round of fertilising, that's when it's a truly lovely sight! Ahhh, if only the purple blooms are scented too, sigh.
I'll admit that neighbours and passers-by gave puzzled looks when they spotted the bath-tub in the middle of the garden while it was a work in progress (*snerk*- what? are they going to bath in the open?), but hey, I've learnt to just trust my visions and instincts for my garden and it's now the talking-point of our friends and guests!
So, just GET ON with that project you have in mind for your garden! :D