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My Backyard Rain Forest ~

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Category: Zuzu's Bloomin' Blog | Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 12:26 am

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It's total genius . . . . . . or complete madness
. . . the jury is still out!

Okay, our problem was a fairly simple one,
we needed a watering system for the back yard planting beds.

You just can't count on Mother Nature
when it comes to rainfall around here.
It's always either too much or too little.
When we aren't getting drowned, we are having a drought,
in fact we are over 4½ inches behind right now.

Too much rain isn't usually that much of a problem for my plants,
because this island is basically a sand dune
and the excess drains down through it really quickly.
But the flip side of the coin is
that the soil gets really dry really quickly here, too.
A good rain on Saturday morning
can still leave you needing to water on Monday afternoon.

Hauling the long, heavy hoses up and down all my winding, twisty paths
usually results in some mangled plants
and occasionally an achy back or shoulder joint.

So, as I said . . .
we needed a watering system for the back yard planting beds.

But, no ordinary watering system would do, noooooooo.
It had to be different, clever, unusual . . .
"weird" is probably the word I'm looking for.

As hubby and I sat over french toast this morning at our
favorite Saturday breakfast restaurant, we started to scheme.
And on our way home, we stopped to pick up supplies.

Hubby dived into the project with enthusiasm as soon as we got home.



So here is the result,



two Rainbird type impact sprinklers
mounted in the top of our Wisteria covered pergola.



They are up at a height of about 9 feet,
and each of them sprays water out in a semi-circle of about 35-40 feet.
The water falls like rain over most of the back yard.

I think the plants and birds are gonna LOVE it!!
And, when the weather gets really hot and oppressive this summer,
I'm gonna run through those sprinklers like a kid!!!



Well . . . maybe not run exactly, pro'ly more like stroll,
wanna join me?

Bring your swimsuit.


Last edited: Sun Apr 01, 2007 12:27 am

This blog entry has been viewed 304 times

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katsback wrote on Sun Apr 01, 2007 12:50 am:

how cool is that! great job zuzu, the wisteria looks heavenly too!!

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cajunbelle wrote on Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:11 am:

Very ingenious ZuZu. You and hubby make a great team.

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reggaefan wrote on Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:54 am:

What a great use of your insanity ZUZU Solider On

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Gardenstew wrote on Sun Apr 01, 2007 9:59 am:

Zuzu you're not just a pretty 'virtual' face :) The gnomes salute your clevernicity! Let us know how it goes.

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eileen wrote on Sun Apr 01, 2007 12:08 pm:

There is a very thin line, they say, between sanity and insanity and an even thinner one between madness and genious. Somehow I think you and your OH have managed to land on the genious side. LOL What a team you are Zuzu as your idea is really fantastic. You'll have rain for your garden while everyone else is sweltering and their plants are withering. A really great invention!!!!

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Netty wrote on Sun Apr 01, 2007 12:48 pm:

How clever Zuzu, I like your style LOL
Love that Wisteria too.

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Melissa wrote on Sun Apr 01, 2007 4:50 pm:

cool idea great thinking.

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glendann wrote on Sun Apr 01, 2007 7:37 pm:

Great minds think alike what a great scheme.You will love it when it gets dry and your plants and birds for sure will.

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zuzu's petals wrote on Sun Apr 01, 2007 7:45 pm:

Thanks everyone, I'm glad you all don't think it's TOO crazy.
It's working really well so far,
don't ya love it when a plan comes together?
:-D

I think DH is really proud of it *lol*
he just passed by, and with a big grin on his face,
he said
"I'm going to turn the sprinklers on, just to watch them run".

That's just fine with me, they'll water in the plants I dug in this afternoon.

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islandgal wrote on Tue Apr 24, 2007 1:44 am:

wow a really great garden soo colourful. Many of the plantsfor a moment I believed that you lived nearby on my island. I would like to grow many of your plants but it is too hot here. I have clay soil and the good thing is that it retains water...the bad thing is that when it is dry it can be very hard and when too wet it is too difficult to work with. I am thinking of a sprinkler system for my shade house and I agree that lugging a heavy hose around is very tiring.

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