THE RILL
The Rill was one of the final additions to our garden at South Acres Farm. I wanted to "end off" the garden, close to a wooden fence, the other side of which is a paddock. I wanted to use an old stone trough which was next to this fence, used for drinking water for the cattle. I considered the possibility of allowing water to spill from this trough into a rill beneath which would then wind it's way to a lower southern corner of the garden, where I would build a pond. The water would then be pumped up back to the trough to spill over again. Below are some photos of the beginnings of the rill and the plantings/pathways only four years ago and how it looks now.
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The cattle still drink out of the trough as well as eat the water-lillies !
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The water trickling down into the Rill
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The lush planting next to and above the Rill
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The Construction begins !
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The old stone trough
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The rill and new pathway
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More planting !
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We had no real plan for the planting of the rill and everything we bought from the nursery on a whim seemed to end there. We have flowering cherries, pink and white Dogwoods, large Spruce's lining the wooden fence on the left, and then a profusion of shrubs, perennials and bulbs. No particular colour scheme and everything we moved from other parts of the garden ended up in the rill. The result is an incredibly lush, full planting of every colour imaginable, creating a micro-climate. The bird life - particularly the tiny Blue Wrens is wonderful.
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Lush planting spilling over the "bridge" which crosses the Rill
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The Rill pond at the bottom of the rill
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The Rill pond
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The Rill today with stone lining
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The old stone trough as it looks today
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pathways through the flowing cherry on left and Dogwood on right
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glimpsing the paddock beyond
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Red Maples on either side of the path
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A long cool path between the planting
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Bunny and Penny love running up and down the Rill
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The pond at the bottom of the Rill
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I am overwhelmed at the beauty of the gardens you have created Jenny. Your photographic essay of the rill installation at South Acres has inspired me to get organised with a similar project I've been dreaming of for our duck pond. Imagine in a year or two, the spectacular before and after story we will all be reading about your new garden in Bowral!
ReplyDeleteThank you Maureen... I am very excited at the prospect of visiting your garden and talking about this new project!
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