BEFORE AND AFTER – THE RILL ON THE FARM

14
Apr
2013
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.
the-rill-01-cattle-drinking
The cattle still drink out of the trough as well as eat the water-lillies !
the-rill-02-water-trickling
The water trickling down into the Rill
the-rill-03-lush-plant
The lush planting next to and above the Rill
the-rill-04-construction-begins
The Construction begins !
the-rill-05-old-stone-trough
The old stone trough
the-rill-06-the-rill-and-new-pathway
The rill and new pathway
the-rill-07-more-planting
More planting !
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.
the-rill-08-lush-plant-spilling-over-bridge
Lush planting spilling over the “bridge” which crosses the Rill
the-rill-09-rill-pond
The Rill pond at the bottom of the rill
the-rill-10-the-rill-pond
The Rill pond
the-rill-11-rill-stone-lining
The Rill today with stone lining
the-rill-12-old-stone-trough
The old stone trough as it looks today
the-rill-13-pathways-through-cherry-dogwood
pathways through the flowing cherry on left and Dogwood on  right
the-rill-13-glimpsing-beyond-paddack
glimpsing the paddock beyond
the-rill-14-red-maples
Red Maples on either side of the path
the-rill-15-cool-path
A long cool path between the planting
the-rill-16-bunny-and-penny
Bunny and Penny love running up and down the Rill
the-rill-17-pond-at-the-bottom-of-the-rill
The pond at the bottom of the Rill

COMMENTS

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  • Thank you Maureen… I am very excited at the prospect of visiting your garden and talking about this new project!

  • 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!