Elevation changes

Last weekend I took a panoramic shot of my backyard, my permaculture playground (starting this spring!). when I put the pano shot up as my Permies background, I was struck at how well it showed the elevation changes. Even standing in the yard looking around, it isn't this pronounced.



The one thing it doesn't show well is a defined "curb" that extends from the black walnut tree in the center of the picture, parallel to the house. You should be able to see it now that I pointed out it isn't there! ;)

You can clearly see where the water pools toward the woodline from the firepit, then ramps up so that the horseshoe pits are on a lip before it dips down into the wooded depression. Can you see it? I've got Arundinaria Gigantea (bamboo) growing in both horseshoe pits now.

Do you think that depression should become, maybe, a pond???

Let me know what you think.

j

I love ponds, but they don't suit every location.

I'm not quite sure where you mean. Is that the shady patch to the right of the firepit? Maybe put the photo in here and circle the area.

What sort of soil do you have? Can you make a clay lining? If you dig out a pond that will give you spoil for more elevation changes :)

Yes, its the shady area. It wouldn't be a big pond, but I would probably dig a deep section in case we put koi or something in there. The soil is till plain over limestone (what used to be a shallow inland sea extending south from the Great Lakes.

I'll have to dig deeper into the history of the neighborhood, but I think it was part of a golf course more than 100 years ago. Before that it was forest.

I'll put up another picture later with markings.

j

Nancy Reading wrote:I love ponds, but they don't suit every location.

I'm not quite sure where you mean. Is that the shady patch to the right of the firepit? Maybe put the photo in here and circle the area.

What sort of soil do you have? Can you make a clay lining? If you dig out a pond that will give you spoil for more elevation changes :)

I think water capture is gold. If you have a location that makes sense, go for it.