The previous owners of our home spent a lot of money on landscaping in the backyard. I have never had such a fancy backyard. We added the fence. There is a fire pit:
We also have lots of brick paved areas with rock-filled beds for plants:
Those are some of the largest hostas I have ever seen. We never had hostas before. The rest of the plants are lower maintenance shrubs, Stella d’oro lillies, and succulents. They didn’t even have rhubarb!
I think they went a little over the top with the water feature, however. It is a bubbling brook powered by an electric pump submerged in a deep vat at the bottom of the brook. It is plugged into an electric outlet by the fence. The pump has to be removed every fall so it won’t freeze up over the winter. It is not easy to remove or reinstall.
The birds love the brook. It has to be refilled every other day or so or the pump starts to make groaning noises. I plan to turn over the stones with the words carved in them, as I think those are a silly affectation and they annoy me.
The dogs love to plunge in the brook at the top and slide down to the bottom. I would never put such a thing in a yard, and I absolutely hate all the rocks in the flower beds as they make weeding and replanting a lot more work than they need to be. I plan to put in roses and hydrangeas and spring bulbs next year, but we need to clear a lot of rocks from every side of the house before that happens.
If you had to have a water feature in your yard, what kind would you get? What words would you have carved in flat stones in your yard?
Trail Baboon 
I’ve noticed neighbors’ water features that are basically “stone looking” plastic and vertical. One has something that looks vaguely “South Pacific” and the other “Ionian”. They seem to use not very much water at all.
As for the stones… just to stir things up, I’d probably do something like “Rest” and “Peace”, or “Beloved” and “Grandmother”.
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I admit, I laughed hard when I saw your comment on flipping over the stones with words carved into them. I found one in my yard and will get a picture when it gets a bit brighter out there so you can see why.
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The guy came to install the furnace and hour early, so my day has gotten a bit dishevelled!
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“Turn me over, please.”
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Excellent response, Anonymous! Confess your identity.
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clye
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I’ve always thought it would be kind of fun to have a water feature. I saw a 3 foot high crane fountain at Ren Fest many years ago that I thought was very pretty; the water tumbled down from the top onto lily pads I guess. But between the “having to deal with it” and the cost, I’ve never followed through.
No rocks with words on them for me, please.
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And certainly no rocks in the garden. I don’t know anyone who has put rocks in around their bushes and flowers who has been happy with it in the end.
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We planted rhubarb that is doing well.
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I should have called it pie plant, since that is what many folks here call it.
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I have seen some very nice, simple fountains – basically a bowl or crock with a bubbler and some rocks… or something like these: https://completegardening.com/15-beautiful-backyard-water-features-anyone-can-make-without-hiring-a-pro/
(Now it will be interesting to see what online kind of ads I get today.)
Someone gave me some small stones once with the words “Live, Love, Laugh”, and I didn’t mind those for a while, but they didn’t make the cut when we moved here… I love “Turn me over” above…
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The people before us put in white rock pretty much all around the foundation, with black plastic underneath. It does keep the basement dry, I guess, but there are still plenty of weeds, and it’s very hard to get at them.
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I’d go with a simple birdbath for the local flyers to sip from or wash up. I’d probably get one with a motor/filter/strainer/whatever so the water doesn’t get stagnant and attract mosquitoes.
Sandra put quite a few “things” in our garden, but only one rock has any writing on it and I’m too lazy to go outside to find out what it says and report back. It’s far enough from the windows that you can’t read it from the house.
I wouldn’t put engraved flat stones in my backyard, but if I were forced to do it, I’d have the words be “Don’t Tread on Me.”
Chris in Owatonna
**BSP** Hey folks, if you’re interested in reading a five-author medical thriller and you’ll be in the northern Twin Cities tomorrow, stop by the White Bear Lake middle school (3551 McKnight Rd N) to celebrate Manitou Days in the town. Specifically the Artisan and Vendor Fair from 10 am to 3 pm. Dozens of vendors and artists of all sorts will be selling their wares.
About my co-authored book. The Kill Code Collective is a medical thriller written by me and my colleagues in Midwest Mystery Works. We all belong to the Twin Cities chapter of Sisters in Crime–where we met– and started this project almost three years ago now. It’s a great way to check out the writing style and characters of all five of us. We each used a signature character from our previous books, so my protagonist, Matt Lanier, is my contribution to the story. It’s fast-paced, well-written (not bragging. Review have been excellent!) and features one of the most interesting cast of characters you’ll encounter in a thriller. I hope to see you tomorrow. If not, learn more about the book and upcoming appearances by me and/or my MMW colleagues at my website, chrisnorbury.com. **END BSP**
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Who are the other authors?
You are not making a great case for being involved with you! Will I come out of the Art Fair alive? You may have thought about these murder techniques waaaay to much for my comfort. 😉😉
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I often wonder what the process is like to co-author a book. I can imagine 5 authors could get sticky. I suppose you must like and respect each other to make that work!
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Rise and Shine, Baboons,
I am not partial to having a water feature in my yard. We do have a bird bath, which I enjoy. It attracts bluebirds in the neighborhood! I love watching them. However, keeping ahead of the algae/moss-like muck in that one simple bird bath is more than I can do. Washington DC is creating an excellent example about the difficulties involved in maintaining water features. (Yes, that is snark you read. I could go on and on, so I am cutting off my comments).
A flat stone would have to read “Ouch! Get off me.”
Meanwhile, no one mention to Chris the perils of Blue Green Algae. And then there are e-coli infestations….
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