Can you build a 1x2 wood frame/ that leans in as roof, and then place screening over it? i have the same issue as you, but was able to move the little pond farther away from the pond than you. Anyway, i'm sure many here will have other ideas. With this, the pine needles will slide off and away from the pond. hmmmm
Nicci:)
{{gwi:195574}}

What a nice illustration! I wish I could do things like that lol :).

Anyways, the pine branches are pretty low, and I'd like to get rid of alot of them, but they provide alot of privacy from my neighbors yard. (who, shall I say kindly... we need privacy from. All my other neighbors: sure knock down those branches, but this side... well u get the idea!)

I really like that idea though! Maybe a shorter one to fit under the branches, or if it is higher, that would provide privacy too. Do you/anyone know of any vines that like shade? Kinda off note, but it would like nice to climb up the lean to. The big project of 09 is becoming increasingly complex!

There is not much that will grow under heavy pine tree foliage and shade. The soil is usually too depleted of nutrients and if you add nutrients for other plants, the roots of the pines will grow in that direction and use it up. The soil is usually somewhat acid when pine needles are left in place as mulch. Pine needle mulch is really effective as a weed deterrent so you could expect that it is effective against desirable plants as well. The shield from an accumulation sounds like a good idea if you have a way to make it work. You have to accept it won't be a low level work area. Most pines lose one third of their needles every year. You might try ground covers such as Virginia creeper which is found among pines in the eastern coastal regions and the Appalachian mountains. It will grow thinly even if it is considered only slightly less invasive as Kudzu. Acid loving shrubs such as Azalea and Rhododendron are often found together with pine on south facing hills. Sometimes in front of the pines you will see an understory tree such as Dogwood but only when the pines are mixed with other trees. If I was doing it, I wouldn't beat myself up over a lack of summer flowering plants. Instead, I would use some large rocks arranged like an outcropping to allow a drizzle fall of water from the rocks into the stream. Some moss is grown in acid conditions but I find it likes alkaline conditions better. Sandy

I don't know what planting zone you live in pondmaster, but down here in 10 the red trumpet vine does very well under pine and shade. I had to cut a massive one out of a group of pine and palm last year so that I could change it out to a fern garden where i feed my squirrels. It and ferns are about all I can get to grow under the pines, as Sandy points out, not much tolerates them.
Nicci :)

Here is a link that might be useful: red trumpet vine

P.S. I know that link says 'full sun', which i'm sure they tolerate, but I'm not kidding, mine got only morning sun about hour and half, and then only bright light/in shade, did great :)
Nicci

That would be a great vine, colorful nice foliage! I just saw in a magazine caladium... would that work? I am a hosta person, and never had this although they seem popular in the shade. Also, I will try my hand at elephant ear this year, just not under the trees!

I have caladium bulbs that do peek out of the pine area pondmaster. But you will have to maintain them, unlike the red trumpet, which will grow vertically (with some beginning help from you) and take care of itself, whereas the caladiums will need you to remove some of the pine needle mulch, as Sandy mentioned, it thickens quickly, and if too deep, buries the bulbs so deeply they can't hit surface when trying to come back each early spring. So you'll have to 'groom' to keep them. However they do like the shade/bright light...with a little help from you.
I have a tropical fern that does quite well as another 'layer' of plantings around pines. You should read My Exchange Page:
http://members.gardenweb.com/members/exch/pollywoggin
and see them. it's some type of hybrid fern Gino and I bought two 4" pots of when we first came here, 2 yrs. ago. They have since taken over the entire area (with attention given to humidity levels)and do not at all care about the pine needles/shade. They grow to about 3 to 3 and 1/2 feet tall, and 2 and 1/2 to 3 feet wide. Beautiful.
If you read the link i gave you on the trumpet vines, see that without some first inital care, it may spread on the ground. The one i cut out had done just that. it roots where it hits the ground, so it spreads....good or not depending upon your needs. So at first, keep eye on it to make it vertical.
Nicci :)

I love the tuberous sword fern that grows everywhere in Florida, but it is considered an invasive non-native plant. That may be what you have growing there, Nicci. I think the grape like tubers on the roots are facinating. They filter brackish water. Even if you have one of the other sword ferns the U of Florida Cooperative Extension has growing info. free for the asking. They might grow under those pines. Sandy

Ferns! What a natural look under pines! I looked and looked, but I guess in my area they dont grow great/ arent popular. I dont know why. One qustion on the calidiums, are they like elephant ears as in the bulbs will die from a frost? or are they cold hardy. thanks again, and I am on the look for the trumpet vine!

Sorry, unless you are in zone 10 the caladiums have to be dug up in the late fall. Another good reason to use containers. We do need to know your zone. it is impossible to suggest plants without some idea about that. Sandy

Pondmaster, Sandy is right on about the tubers, dig them up unless in 10. They are related to elephant ears, which you'd also have to dig up. i've never attempted to grow elephant ear under pine, and don't think i'd try. Like i was saying, it is a lot of work to constantly remove the needles and debris from around them. Mine are just coming back up, and when I see them all, I'm moving them. (the caladiums)
The fern is a tropical hybrid and does great. The plant tag that came with it only listed it as 'Monster fern'. But Gino has a client who bought just regular fern, and his also do just great under the pine. the Dr. has 5 acres almost 1/2 full of pine and tried for years to find something that would live under them. after years of no success, he found a nursery that mentioned trying fern. he bought over 100 ferns in 6 inch pots, had his yardkeepers plant out, and they went crazy. They're doing wonderfully.
Notice them behind the agapanthus.
{{gwi:195575}}

Nicci

Wow really nice ferns, so tropical! I will look for them for sure, just wonder where... I had no idea about the calidiums not being coldhardy- im in zone 6. I dont mind bringing them in tho, it might be better to put them away some from the pines.

pondmaster, you need to update your profile here and list your zone. Just go to bottom of any page in 'gardenweb' (including this one) and see the word 'members' closer to the right side in the dark green footer-bar. click it, you may have to re-log in, but add that zone, and an email addy you don't mind sharing with we peeps here :). It will make communication and help here much easier for you.
i know i love your enthusiasim on making this project work, and i'm sure the other more seasoned ponders here do too.
But updating your member profile would really help you much more. :)
You can get more hardy ferns by checking different message boards on this website. Go to gardenwebs main page, and scroll down until you find the Fern section, or try the Plant exchanges. either way, these two boards can help you locate cold hardy ferns. I'd help you myself, but i really doubt my 'monster ferns' would make it that far up in n.america. We had a coldsnap here this past winter, and if not for the shelter of the pines, i think i would have lost mine this time.
Not to babble on, but really take my advice on this one and update your member page, and visit the two message boards i've listed for finding ferns for postage, trade, etc. i know you're on a budget, and they'll help :)
Nicci

It's funny how something said or shown reminds you of something you heard 50 years ago in casual conversation. The photos of the pines reminds me of the stories my father told about working in Florida as an engineer in the early 30s. He grew up in the mountains and the flat sandy land in Florida amazed him. He said they would have to plant a forest of pines to hold the soil in place long enough to find a place to stand on, let alone build on if the mosquitoes left you alone long enough. LOL, we certainly spent enough time there over the years, even though mother would never consent to move there for good. The last time we were in Florida we didn't even see a mosquito. We certainly saw a lot of pines and a lot of ferns but they were not the ones we had at home.
I took a bunch of sword ferns back with me the last time. I wanted to see if I could get them to grow somehow. A few held on indoors for a couple of years but outside it was hopeless.
You should be able to find lots of ferns that would grow in zone 6, but I don't remember any in that zone range that would tolerate the soil conditions under a pine tree. I can check a couple of places that might give me a name. I'll get back to you if I find one. I still think your best bet is containers. Sandy

Sandy,
you are right about holding the soil together with their root system. Every time I dig to place in a new plant, i run into their roots. and the soil here on our little plot (acre and a half) is almost all sand, very little soil, except for what i add in compost and coffee grounds. the pine debris eventually creates a layer of 'topsoil', if you could call it that.
in the middle of the glades, you'll certainly run into the 'skeeters. but the agricultural dept. is so worried about west nile that they are really good about spraying for them now. every 2 weeks or so you'll hear them overhead, just after the sun set, spraying to kill off the mosquito.
it is a beautiful landscape, indeed. i've loved fl. since i was a kid up north and would visit an old couple who had a winter home here. they would tell me of 'the exotic, never cold...land below us' :) i vowed i would come to this mythical place. and i did the day i turned 18. :) never looked back. your memories of parents remind me of stories i've heard of the pioneers who helped to build this lovely state. Gino has met a few of their surviving children through his work, and they make worthwhile conversation, an era not to be lost by the passage of time.
Nicci