Really lovely, Mike. Thanks for posting the photos.

Mike, it's always a pleasure to see your photos! Thanks.

Thank you very much.
I've been working on this garden since 1978 and have had a lot of time to make changes and correct mistakes. At 71, my pace is slowing down a bit, but it's still fun. I'm surprised, like most gardeners who have been at it awhile, how fast things have grown. I find myself doing a lot of pruning in the form of removing the lower branches, and in some cases sawing down trees and removing shrubs. The garden is going through constant editing. Wouldn't have it any other way!
Thanks again Missingtheobvious and nhbabs.
Mike

Mike I'm glad I stumbled upon these - I usually don't look at this forum. Your place is always inspiring.

AMAZING pictures!!!! I hope I can do something like this one day . . . I'd love to have a pond, but my kids are a bit too little, too self-confident, and curious right now. But that's a good thing. Just gotta teach 'em to swim, then start digging!

Thank you David. I don't come here very often either. My ponds don't have liners, pumps, or filters so not much in common with most of the posters.
I always read and follow yours in the other forums though. You have an incredible amount of knowledge and experience. Plus you have traveled quite a bit and have a keen eye about climate and how it affects what can be grown in a certain locality.
Queen, start out shallow. None of my ponds are over waist deep.
If I had had an excavator instead of a flat track loader most of the time, things would have been different. The pond next to the Crocagator was hand dug with a construction shovel. I dug it to make it look like a stream, gravel bars and all. My downspouts drain into it. All the ponds are connected. I'm up on a ridge so I make the most of what water I have. Some are rain ponds in the summer. I mow them. After removing the rocks kids throw in when they're full of water.They just can't resist it! lol
Mike

Your garden and your photos are absolutely gorgeous -- I can believe this is the work of decades. Very inspiring.

WHAT IS THAT GIANT green alligator - topiary?

WOW!

BTW, greetings from BRRR cold Wisconsin - we don't have any landscapes remotely resembling that. Wish we could see where posters are located - they'e removed that feature.

Would love to have soil that retains water. But my largest ponds rely on the water table under the ground. Means for a lot of the year they're empty and only fill up again during the rainy season. Some smaller ponds are concreted so they're year round. Slowly I'm building up a series of permanent ponds. But it takes hard work, time and expense.

You can put your location in as your last name when you go to your own sign up page. Easy. See mine. Min

These pictures are so inspiring, thank you for all the hard work, the environment loves you!

Mike, do you give tours of your incredible property? So very beautiful! When are you writing a book, or have you?

Absolutely lovely; a beautiful fantasyland.

WOW! It's a paradise! Thanks for sharing.

Hard to tell where Mother Nature started and you took over.

I think you could rent this out for a wedding venue.

That is a great pond! I truly envy you. If I ever had that much room, I'd attempt to do the same thing.

Wow!

Stunning. I truly don't have words. A work of art!