Reflecting Buddha

photo, Dan Ryan

This small, circular pond is positioned in our Japanese maple grove—planted with roughly 15 different cultivars of Acer Palmatum trees. We call this our Buddha pond for obvious reasons. Experts warn you not to put a pond near a lot of trees, and this is why: it fills with leaves each fall. But we knew that before we dug the pond in this spot, and it's small enough that cleanup is easy with a net and a shop-vac. Besides, isn't the reflection of the red and yellow leaves beautiful? In the spring, enormous parrot tulips add a splash of red around the Buddha (see a photo in my June 2011 post here), then giant lime green leaves of the Sum and Sustance hosta emerge to anchor the Buddha in place throughout the summer. I am toying with the idea of planting some weeping Norway spruces for year round interest.

See our Buddha in the spring here, and here.