DIYers David and Lynda Byrd built a unique landscape water display with the use of tubing. "We like to hear the water running as we're walking through the garden," David says. "To hear the water running is real soothing and relaxing"
The Byrd's design was not one you could find in a book or magazine. Their latest design (figure A) resides in the secret garden. The plastic tub in the bottom is surrounded by natural rocks and concrete in-between them. "The way that I lay rocks is that I'll stack the rocks up like a puzzle, and then I'll mix the concrete and stuff the concrete into the cracks with my hand," David says. He smoothes the concrete out with his hand to make it look natural and part of the landscape. Over time green moss will grow and make the creation look even more natural. Here (figure B) is an oak tree that had to be cut down, and what David did to create the water display was to take a chain saw and carve out the inside of the stump in order for it to house water. He coated the top of the stump with cement, and let the water drip from a hose that comes from the well via the tree vines. David and Linda run 1/8" hoses from the water source (can be a well or even a bucket) up along tree and out the limbs (figure C) or vines until it reaches the water display. This size hose is the perfect size for running water long distances. "When the PVC pipe comes out of the well house it goes across the yard in a ditch that's covered with grass ... usually to a tree in the yard that's elbowed up (figure D) to the side of the tree and attached," David says. The faucet has a Y-screw-on adapter where one side is used to water the plants and the other is used for the drip-hose that goes up the tree to the water display. The Byrds have about eight different sources of water within their garden. To accommodate the hoses that have to be placed in rock, David uses an air hammer to hollow the inside of the rock out. "You don't want to get it too deep because birds will stand in the water and pluck their feathers," David says. "You want to get maybe only two to three inches deep ... get it to where the water will stay in the rock and flow out at some point." "We like to feature surprises in our garden," Lynda says. "We like to take people places where they think nothing is there, and then we have something that is totally unexpected." Water, water everywhere ... and they did it themselves!
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