Joey, Joey, Joey

I've dipped a toe into water gardening this season with this half whiskey barrel. (Which whiskey? The interior of the barrel was still fragrant as we carried it out of the garden center. One deep whiff each, and my husband and I looked at each other and said: "Jack Daniel's.") For this instant garden, put in a plastic barrel liner, and just add water. Toss in a Bacillus thuringiensis mosquito-larvae-killing donut, and let the water sit for a few days to off-gas the chlorine. This garden is "planted" with triangle-stemmed dwarf papyrus, parrot's feather, horsetail rush, some submerged oxygenating plants, and the lovely hardy water lily pictured above, 'Joey Tomocik'. Its gently fragrant bloom is a bright, but not strident, pale yellow. The undersides of the leaves are wine-colored, and the tops of the leaves are lightly splotched with the same color. The flower is held up above the surface of the water, opening in bright sunlight and closing by mid-afternoon. After a day or so, as future blooms lie loosely coiled underwater, then it's time to go...time to go.

Newly blooming: Tricyrtis hirta (toadlily); Impatiens balsamina 'Blackberry Trifle' (self-sown).

Comments

[Patricia Tryon]

Simply: lovely. You make it sound easy, but I am still dubious...

[Chan S.]

Thank you, Patricia. But easy it is! (If *I* can do it, anybody can.)

[Stefanie]

It's beautiful! I never thought those half barrel water gardens could be so pretty. Since my husband doesn't want to build a pond, I think I might have to give a barrel a try.

[panasianbiz]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. While I have never personally attempted a water garden, I have always admired their beauty and tranquility. Yours is splendid!

[Talina]

Hi! I found your blog via google image search, was looking for a begonia image and your site came up..

Your water garden is super cool! I am thinking of starting one myself.. How do you keep in clean? Do you use filters?