Water
One unique element of our property is the way it could not properly handle water.  We had routine flooding in our driveway, backyard, and even our basement. When it rained our house received waves of water from the street in front of our house and the parking lot of an office building behind our house. Fast running water would converge in our backyard drive and quickly swamp our property. Beyond the flooding all the water continued to move the hillside forward into our drive way. At first we held it back with shovel, but soon it became clear that wouldn't be enough. We had to control the flow of water which would take multiple strategies.

First we focused on the parking lot run off by digging a swale between the parking lot and our backyard, planted small trees on the edges to quickly absorb the water and dumped truck loads of tree mulch to help absorb the moisture.

Next we dug along the driveway to install a 50 foot long drainage pipe to collect rain water driven down the drive from the street and deliver it to the back of the property at the foot of a large ailing black walnut tree. Which is now doing much better given the extra water.

Finally my favorite water control element was the creation of our waterfall and pond. The pond was a necessary fix to standing eager at the base of our backyard. This area was always the last to dry and was always either mud a cracked dry spot. This spot is also close to a drop off depression that would make a great rocked up waterfall run. So combing the problem as an opportunity to create a fantastic pond waterfall combo.

It started with a shovel, a plastic form pond and a few big rocks. After outlining the pond form and digging out the hole I set the form in the ground and placed rocks all around the rim and inside to help hold it in place. It was small. It wasn't very pretty. But it's all I knew what to do. Then the spring rains came to fill it up for me.  Instead of the water filling in the pond by flowing over the rim, the water instead filled the hole underneath and popped the form out even with rocks all around it like a cork from a bottle of champagne. Pond #1 failed.

So after cleaning up the rocks and pulling out the form. I decided to take a few days and access the situation. That's when I noticed that even after 3 days of dry weather the water water stayed in the clay heavy dirt hole. I also noticed that frogs were already starting to move in to investigate this large puddle. That's when we decided to switch gears and go with a wildlife clay bottom pond. I would make it bigger - much bigger. Using shovel and pickaxe I enlisted the help of my family and we made the whole deeper and much longer formed in the shape of a boomerang around the foot of our beautiful maple tree. This made it possible to connect to the waterfall run behind the tree. After wallowing in the clay hole like a pig to set solid sides and bottom we began to fill it in with hose water.

It was July 4th weekend and it was a celebration. Weeks of effort was culminating now in the beginning of a new wildlife pond. The frogs that had already come to investigate, we're ready for it. I had festival goldfish in a fishbowl waiting for a bigger home. The rocks for the waterfall were in place, pump motor placed in a homemade skimmer with filter bucket and the water delivery hose run and ready. It was magnificent to flip the switch and see it all work for the first time. The water started as a milk chocolate clay brown but soon become clear. It was magical to see as it rolled down those rocks and multiple drops and finish as ripples into the new pond. It took a couple weeks for the water to gain true clarity. Sediment had settled but algae was now growing so the pond water went from brown to clear to green. The natural green tinted water was perfect for the flying insects, frogs and the festival fish that made it home. They had cover from predators who could not see through the shallow water to find their prey and everyone had access to a basic food source. I added store purchased fish conditioner drops and a few buckets full of lake water and aquatic plants from a nearby lake to help kickstart the level of biologics and plant growth in the water. It was amazing to watch the goldfish get bigger and brighter and become wild again. After a couple weeks of periodic feeding I stopped completely and the fish began eating plants growing in and around the water full time. Years later our four fish are maintaining a population of 25 and we are on our fourth generation of fish.

Sun
Now that we have reviewed water, let's talk about sunlight. Our brick ranch house sits under many tall trees. We have some level of shade in approximately 75% of our property. Our grass grows slowly even though it's a shape loving variety. Landscape beds are strategically placed in the spots that receive significant sunlight through the tree branches. We use more early spring flowers so they receive more light before trees gain their leaves and produce their shade.

Thanks to periods of drought, pests, and old age we have had to cut down a few tall trees which has opened up more space to sunlight.  We've also noticed that because the sun travels from one corner to the other of our property, some beds get more indirect morning sun while others get more indirect afternoon sun. These beds are great for plants that enjoy partial shade. Our coral bell plants for instance shimmer bright red not only from the need to grow darker red because they are under shade but also because the indirect sun beams tend to light up the underside of the tall leaves based on the slanted afternoon sun.

Finally one of the side benefits of putting in a retaining wall to hold back the hillside from our driveway is the ability to make more beds. This stone wall area receives consistent morning and afternoon sun. From top to bottom the crown of the hill bed is separated from the top of wall bed by a tree log border. The wall itself separates those beds from the bed in front of wall providing us three distinct bands of planting space thus tripping the number of plants we can put in this small space.

From bottom to top, the front of all bed contains a strawberry patch with taller flowering plants behind. The top of wall contains sprawling with petunias and other trailing plants that hang over the wall. The crown of the hill bed sits above tree log divider provides space for medium size wildflowers like wild aster and goldenrod that I trim down in June to keep from getting 6 foot tall. Behind this bed I have put our rose bushes which are now motivated to grow taller to receive more morning sun while catching mostly afternoon. This stadium seating effect provides an amazing layering of colors and plant textures accented by the curved stonewall. It is something to see especially in the fall as all the winged pollinators flock together to feed and prepare for winter.

Wind
When our backyard was marked with a ravine the middle of our space was open tree line. Wind and birds would streak through our backyard wrapping around our house regularly. It was exciting to see birds whizzing past our heads but the winds were channeled and could get strong, destructive at times. Efforts to build a more peaceful ecosystem meant taming this airspace.

We did this primarily by planting trees in the soil that we fil in the central ravine. It took many years but the black walnut that fell in our front yard and were thrown into this backyard space have grown into a solid tree line effectively encircling our backyard. This slow evolution has eliminated the birds speedway flight path through our yard and has helped to dissipate wind gusts through the yard. Now we see birds hop from tree to tree rather than fly through. They also tend to stay longer in our backyard as it has more perches, cover from hawks, and reliable water source as well as access to new fruits and bugs.

The new trees do drop more leaves than we've had before but that is not a problem. In fact they are a resource, a storage of sun's energy, to give back to the soil.  I no longer rake leaves into piles to bag. Instead rake leaves into mounds at the base of the trees to help feed them through the winter and into spring. I also use the leaves to cover up tender perennials like strawberries and roses so they can survive the winter. Of course I also like to move the leaves to break them down as much as I can for my own grass to feed it as well.

By controlling inputs of elements (water, sun, and wind), we've been able to transform our backyard into a peaceful ecosystem. It's a place full of bugs, birds, small animals and periodically large ones as they pass through. It's an oasis that we can all step into at any time to see nature at its best, free of human made chemicals of any kind.