A Shade Garden with Waterfalls and Ponds

Hi Everyone! I’ve been enjoying all the wonderful “Before and Afters” linked for Met Monday! Did you get a chance to check some of them out? There are lots of amazingly creative and talented bloggers in Blogland who are making their homes more beautiful by the minute!

How is your summer going? Is it as hot where you are as it’s been here in Georgia? We’ve been having August temps all month long. Wonder if that means August will feel like June? I could work with that!

I’ve been so wishing I had a skinny hose I could connect to my laundry room utility sink that would stretch all the way out to my decks. I’ve been making endless trips with gallon jugs to water my potted plants every day. I found one that was 50 feet (I think) at Big Lots…but that wasn’t quite long enough. How are your potted plants holding up?

Speaking of gardening and flowers, I thought I’d share a few more pics from the Gardens for the Connoisseur, tour I went on a few weeks ago. It’s a huge tour and included 12 gardens. The following pics were all taken in one garden on the tour…and this garden had a lot of wonderful water features.

Let’s go on a garden tour…watch your step! The path gets a little narrow at times and we are up pretty high!

See…wasn’t kidding about the narrow part. 🙂 Here’s an idea for the next time you have a tree come down….make some stepping “trunks.”

Wish you could hear the waterfall…

Lots and lots of water features…


A shady side path…

Hope you enjoyed this leg of the tour!

*If a post is sponsored or a product was provided at no charge, it will be stated in post. Some links may be affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases. *



 Never miss a Between Naps on the Porch post! 

*Subscribe to have updates delivered to your Inbox. 



Comments

  1. Pam @ diy Design Fanatic says

    So pretty. I love gardens!!! It has been hot here in Charlotte, too and the mosquitoes are awful this year! I can't go outside for 2 minutes before getting bitten! I am learning to wear long pants and one of my husbands old white dress shirts when I go outside!

  2. Chatty Crone says

    Beautiful garden . . . sandie

  3. I love the "stepping trunks" What a great idea!

  4. Wsprsweetly Of Cottages says

    I loved the wood steps..what a nice idea for a fallen tree. I will look at the idea books. What a gorgeous yard! How I love running water. What a lovely tour! I have gone on home tours here in Riverside and am always disappointed. This was delightful!

  5. Tales From My Empty Nest says

    Enjoyed your pictures, especially the waterfall. I'm like you, I wish I could hear it. They are so beautiful to listen to and watch. Love & blessings from NC!

  6. Susan this looks like our natural forested area here in B.C. We are in a rain forest.
    Those lounge chairs look really inviting, early morning coffee in hand. Maybe with a plate of fruit and some bagels.
    Thanks for having us over again.

  7. Susan this looks like our natural forested area here in B.C. We are in a rain forest.
    Those lounge chairs look really inviting, early morning coffee in hand. Maybe with a plate of fruit and some bagels.
    Thanks for having us over again.

  8. Hi Susan, Yes, it's been very hot here in SE Penna. The weather finally broke this afternoon and it's become much, much cooler and that will continue until Friday…what a relief! About your hose..you could probably find a 100ft skinny hose at Lowes or Home Depot or maybe even one specifically designed for indoor use. I hate to think of you lugging those heavy watering cans. Terrible job.
    The gardens you've been posting are beautiful. Thanks.
    Evelyn

  9. ShirleyC says

    This place is my dream of what I would love to have in my yard, but sort of hard to do on flat land. It is beautiful!
    We've had a break in the heat the last 2 days, and let me tell you it has felt so good. Some of our potted plants have bit the dust even with watering.

  10. Ron and Connie says

    The garden is absolutely gorgeous! I'd love to spend an afternoon with a good book by the waterfall. It's been hot and windy at our house, we are thinking about running away to the mountain to cool off. Thanks for sharing your beautiful retreat.

  11. Hi, Susan,
    Thanks for showing us more pics of this beautiful place.
    I only have 4 flower pots I have to water, and it's a constant struggle in this heat.
    I want to congratulate you on your porch being chosen to showcase. Of course, you deserve it.
    Those swing are just calling to me to come swing in them. Love the Christmas one. 🙂
    D

  12. Don't you just love garden tours? Lovely gardens all —

  13. Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions says

    What a beautiful place, Susan. Thanks for taking us along. I have quite a few plants in pots all along our patio and I do have to remember to water them. I prefer to do it either early in the morning or around dinner time, as the sun is not full on the patio at those times. I've been using an empty gallon iced tea container.

  14. Anonymous says

    How do you like to go up in a swing Up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing Ever a child can do! I use my swing EVERY chance I get..especially to watch sunsets over the lake. franki

  15. A Pretty Pastime says

    Thanks for the tour of the gardens. They're beautiful 🙂 I have LOADS of potted plants and I water them every morning with water from the rain barrels. I hate lugging a hose around the garden beacause I tend to wipe out a plant or two when I do ;-)but I have to once in a while.

    It has been VERY hot here in Virginia~a few days over 100º. It's supposed to cool down today and I'm ready for it 🙂

    Have a wonderful day!

    Katy

  16. What a beautiful tranquil garden, so inspiring. How I wish for a water feature in my flat garden.. Thanks for the tour.
    Watering pots in mid summer can be a chore yet every year I plant more and more pots. LOL.

  17. Beautiful and love the stepping trees ;-). It has been very hot here in SC so the scenes look refreshing! However, it is always about 6 or 7 degrees cooler over at the beach….haven't gotten there much because I have been sick with a cold for the month of June!

  18. Ridgely (a/k/a Grandma J) says

    A lovely break just looking at your photos. If you search on Amazon for "swan soft 100 foot hose," they have a moderately priced skinny hose that might be long enough. Thanks for bringing the outdoors to all of us!!

  19. Shellbelle says

    Your photos were so fabulous, I swear I could hear the waterfall!

    Yes, it's been hot here in Saint Marys, GA, but the evenings are still cooling off enough to sit on my tiny porch and watch the sunset. That is when the storm clouds aren't covering it up!

    What an incredibly lovely yard you have!

  20. Graceful Moments says

    Beautiful photos…looks so cool and peaceful in those gardens. I like the carved, wooden statue in photo #10.

  21. Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) says

    Susan, thank you for taking us along on this wonderful tour. The waterfall is fantastic, the trunk carved face was amazing. I can only imagine sitting there and listening to mother nature sing her beautiful tunes.. tablescape ready to go, looking forward to seeing yours.. hugs ~lynne~

  22. Busy As Can Be says

    Wow so pretty…you just want to get a good book, a quilt and tea and stay all day!

  23. Susan, I have one of those skinny hoses and it is WONDERFUL for watering my outside potted plants. Actually, my hubby set it up outside on my deck so it wouldn't be inside, he installed a faucet so I can turn it on and off. I think I got it from like Harriet Carter (catalog) or Lillian Vernon (catalog). Mine though is 50 feet and it works for me. The TOUR was wonderful, gorgeous waterfall. We actually made trunk steos in our last house as a walkway! It worked well. Thanks for sharing this beauty!!! Can't wait for TT tonight, I am posting….finally! XO, Pinky

  24. G'morn, Susan ~ Now I can see why I haven't heard from you & vice versa … I followed you on the old blog & you me, there.

    I'm back with you now … sorry. I so enjoy your writes & kept wondering …

    G'morn ~
    Just popping by to wish you & your family a safe & lovely 4th. We are taking our kid-lings to Knoebel's Amusement park & they don't know it so they are going to be thrilled in a couple of hours.

    We will be back in a few days …

    Until then, my friend ~
    Hugs, Marydon

  25. Susan, thanks for taking us along on this garden tour. I love all the water elements and the natural areas of this garden. I could definitely enjoy these spaces!
    Have a Happy 4th of July! ~ Sarah

  26. Rettabug says

    Susan, what a wonderfully cool & shady glen…so appealing in this heat right now.
    Its like a spa treatment in the middle of the day. 🙂

    I adore your door!!!! I've been wanting to do that to my garage entrance for a long time, but I was scared I'd mess it up. Thanks for showing us its easy.

    See you later tonight with my TT post. 😀

    fondly,
    Rett

    The Gazebo House

  27. Very beautiful. That made me feel at peace just looking at it.

  28. Beautiful garden pictures Susan! Thank you for taking us on a tour.
    Debbie@houseatthelake

  29. Often, people tend to get confused while figuring a perfect solution for a narrow bed placed oddly. The most creative solution to this happens to be transforming it to a bewitching water feature.

  30. Often, people tend to get confused while figuring a perfect solution for a narrow bed placed oddly. The most creative solution to this happens to be transforming it to a bewitching water feature.

  31. Hi Susan. These are some fantastic garden water features. What a fabulous retreat. Many gardeners fail to understand that a lot of the beauty of waterfalls (for me at least) comes from the sound of the water falling. Creates an incredible escape and retreat. Thanks for sharing.

  32. Thanks for sharing. I loved the tour.

Leave a Reply to Tales From My Empty Nest Cancel reply

*