What a little jewel of a garden spot! The historical bricks, rocks and plantings really work well together and I love how your chairs just sort of disappear since you can see through them. I am sure your view outward to the lake is beautiful too, especially sitting there listening to the sound of your waterfall.

Great job! Now if you can just relax and enjoy it all without thinking of MORE projects! LOL

BettyLu

Very, very nice!

Jodi

I like it!

Now... are those last two goldfish going into a basement bathtub for the winter, or will you fillet them?

They're talking frost tonight...

Very nice,you both have done a very nice job,did hubby help with the plantings as well?
Nice and peaceful looking.
What lake are you by?Got a picture of that too?
Thanks for sharing.
cAROL

I love it! I sure hope that you have a few weeks before winter weather sets in to rest from your labor, enjoy hot chocolate, the fall colors, and the lake view (from Lake Street so to speak). It's just great.

Thanks, all. cAROL, hubby helps with the hardscape; softscape is my business. The lake is Lake Minnetonka. Our house is about 25 minutes west of downtown Minneapolis. Here is a picture taken a couple of weeks ago at sunset.

{{gwi:1090834}}

Bettylu, I'm going to try to find smaller chairs, but I wanted to show the size of the patio and the chairs seemed to be a good way to do that.

Jim, I think we'll take the goldfish back to John's Variety in Mound, their previous residence. Mike wants to try sunfish next summer. He'll catch them off our dock and plop them into the pond. Then when fall comes, back into the lake they go.

Manyhosta, hot chocolate sounds great. Maybe we'll bring our little fire ring up there too... and marshmallows.

Thanks for all your support of our endeavors, Jodi. It's really fun to share the experience with the folks on this forum. Lois

Very nice Lois!! like your pond! ponds or any water feature always add a sense of calmness to a garden. I'm sure that you are enjoying your morning coffee on your patio (very nice too) next to your new pond.

Paul

PS never name goldfish, in 3 years there will be 500 more (or more)!!

Boy o boy Louis,you have a great piece of property there don't you.
Your pond is laid out great,and with the view of the lake,and hearing the sound of the falls,Tranquil very Tranquil.What a great way to end a day.
cAROL

Absolutely beautiful! I agree with trying to enjoy it without thinking of more projects. It seems like when my DH and I take time to relax it ends up discussing a new yard project. What did you use to cut the pavers?

So pretty, Lois! I love small gardens in small spaces. In my yard I am creating a lot of small gardens rather than trying to landscape everything at once.

Yours, I love!

christine

We rented a 14" electric dry brick saw, BX-3. It came with a 14" diamond C1 blade. The cost was $65 for 4 hours.
The saw required a 20 amp service. It worked really well, but it was quite windy, and the dust went everywhere.

We did the border first, installing the pavers vertically. Then we laid all the horizontal pavers that didn't need cutting first, so that we could minimize the time we needed to rent the saw. We had never done this before, but we are quite pleased with the results. We had intended to sweep sand into all the crevices, but I like the look of it without the sand, so the jury is still out on that. I'm sure it would be more stable with the sand, but not as aesthetically pleasing to me. We'll see.

See how it does this frost cycle, but having had something similar I think you're going to need the sand for stability over time. If you need sand, check out Hedberg Landscape and Masonry Supplies in Plymouth to see if they have sand in a color that 'disappears.'

ah... another Hedberg fan! I love looking at their stuff... great slabs and boulders...

of course, it is a little embarassing to get in the line of dumptrucks, drive up on the scale... then go and fill my five-gallon pails with gravel and get back in line for the second weighing. The last time I was there, my bill for four buckets of crushed limestone was $2.96...

Thanks, manyhosta. We got the pool liner at Hedberg's. That's a good idea about the disappearing sand. We might just try that.

Jim, great story about your limestone. I was just thinking... A person could get a couple of hundred pounds of rock free by having her husband ride through the scale with her the first time and then dropping him off by the boulders and going through the scale the second time alone. Just my larcenous tendencies rearing their ugly heads. Fortunately, my honest tendencies always win.

I love Hedberg's about as much as a person can love a place that isn't all about hosta. If anyone wants crushed white marble landscape stone, I have many many cubic yards free for the digging. ;-)

Lois, looks wonderful - enjoyed your yard transformations this year. Did you leave any projects for next year?

Paul

Hi, Paul. Where have you been? I missed you. I hope the only project I have for next year is planting a few new hosta here and there and sitting on my patio with a gin and tonic.

I went down to Chaska Farm and Garden yesterday and bought just a couple more hosta to look at while I'm sitting on the patio - Ginsu Knife, First Mate and Lakeside Dragonfly. Now I am finished for the season... I think.

Boy o boy. . do I ever like it!
The only thing I can think that would improve it is if you could move it to my house. . lol!

GREAT JOB!