No Title 2005
Supplement to “Cascading Waterfalls and Splashy Statuary”
Waterfall gardens cascade with plants
Sources for waterfall gardens and statuary
Waterfall gardens cascade with plants
Plant materials for pondscapes are extremely varied and there are hundred of choices. According to fourth-generation horticulturist Matthew Boone Gardiner, president of the Boone Gardiner Garden in Crestwood, water gardeners have their pick of aquatic and bog plants.
“For landscaping around waterfalls, it is always nice to have some height and maybe a weeping form to come over the waterfall,” he says. “Small ornamental trees are always a good choice.”
These might include weeping Japanese maples, weeping evergreens such as blue atlas cedars, and weeping bald cypress.
“All make excellent choices in providing structural interest in these settings.”
Along the bank of the waterfall, Gardiner recommends planting mixed perennials in a naturalistic arrangement to soften the water feature. Groundcovers such as sedums and creeping Jenny add texture and interest.
At the Powers’ waterfall garden in Bowling Green, sedum, cosmos, and hosta were early starters that continue to thrive. The water-loving perennial arrowhead, along with water lilies and irises, flourish in Salehi’s Frankfort area waterfall garden, a picturesque setting supplemented with bold splashes of color by way of her cherished potted geraniums.
At Rowletts Station Inn and Gardens, some of landscape and garden designer J. Gary Puckett’s favored plants for waterfall gardens include irises, cattail, and sweet flag, an unusual perennial herb whose foliage is similar to that of the iris and whose natural habitat is shallow water. Other good choices: creeping Jenny, a rapid spreader with coin-shaped, bright green leaves that prefers moist soil; and water lilies, an aquatic plant beloved for its myriad of colors and shapes of blooms.
Discussing plant choices is one topic among many on which Puckett loves to share his tried-and-true gardening knowledge.
Each spring, visitors to Puckett’s 2-acre idyll are likely to find his green thumb in the Patio Garden, conducting spring gardening seminars amidst the surrounding sweetspire shrubs, ornamental grass, hosta, daylilies, and river birch, dogwood, and crabapple trees.
Regardless of plant choices and garden types, Puckett’s favorite axiom remains this gardening rule of thumb: “Running water intrigues the mind to investigate.”
Sources for waterfall gardens and statuary
Here are a few Kentucky sources for aquatic plants, pond supplies, fish, statuary, and other water garden items:
Antiques & Accents
Highway 25 East
Corbin, KY 40701
(606) 526-0646
www.antiques-accents.com
Boone Gardiner Garden Center
6300 Old LaGrange Road
Crestwood, KY 40014
(502) 243-3832
www.boonegardiner.com
Economy Aquatic Gardens
4506 Bardstown Road
Louisville, KY 40218
(502) 499-6353
www.epond4u.com
Landshapes Ponds & Gardens
11517D Shelbyville Road
Louisville, KY 40243
(502) 244-0732
www.kylandshapes.com
Quality Landscaping & Garden Center
3320 S. Dixie
Munfordville, KY 42765
(270) 524-7194
Rowletts Station Inn and Gardens
1131 L and N Turnpike Road
Horse Cave, KY 42749
(270) 524-7196
James Sanders Nursery
4123 Schneidman Road
Paducah, KY 42003
(270) 443-8851 or (800) 455-8388
www.sandersnursery.com
The Plant Kingdom
4101 Westport Road
Louisville, KY 40207
(502) 893-7333
www.plantkingdom.net
Wilson’s Nurseries Inc.
3690 E West Connector
Frankfort, KY 40601
(502) 223-1488
To read the Kentucky Living March 2009 feature that goes along with this supplement, go to
Cascading Waterfalls and Splashy Statuary.
