I wish I could afford a waterfront home, but I can’t. My biggest dream is to look out my windows and see water for miles and miles.  Lakefront or oceanfront, it doesn’t matter, I just want to see water.  One of my favorite things to do in the mornings is to sit on my front porch with a cup of coffee and a good book.  I try to get at least thirty minuets of quiet time before the chaos of my day begins.  And I would like nothing better than to have this beautiful hill county lake view. Now that would be a great way to start any day.

Each morning I would sit and watch the birds as they fluttered around the bird feeders. Then it occurred to me that the birds needed a water source. So I decided to build a water feature in my front yard, my very own water view.

I have this cluster of trees next to my sidewalk about ten feet in front of my house and decided that was the perfect spot for my new water feature.  It is close enough that I could sit on my front porch and see and hear the water, but far enough not to bother the birds.  This was the perfect spot as it was also close to the bird feeders.  So I brought in my trusty rock mason and started to implement my brilliant plan.

I mixed rocks of several sizes, and some were more like small boulders.  Using different sized rocks and mixing in boulders makes the fountain look less formal.  I just love to leave cubby holes so that I can add plants in these areas. I wanted plants that would stay low, as to not block my views of the fountain.  I also wanted flowers that would cascade down over the rocks.  Oh, the visions I had in my head!  I could just see Carpet Periwinkle planted in this little cubby hole, as it would add the perfect splash of color.  There are several  other annuals that would work in this spot, like Moss Rose, Lantana or even Petunias.  When deciding I had to remember that I wanted something that was low growing and deer resistant. I'm sure that in the middle of the night when it is soooo hot and dry, the deer stroll up to the fountain for a drink of water; however,  I sure  did not want to provide a buffet of flowers for them to graze on.

There are a few things that even I don’t count on, like Mother Nature. I know that the deer will sooner or later show up and began to graze though my newly planted beds to see if there is any yummy stuff.  Now whenever I plan a landscape design whether it is for a residential or a commercial project or for myself, I always try to use deer resistant plants.

But I never thought that frogs would destroy my beautiful cascading colorful plants.  For two years I have planted something in that wonderful cubby hole that I purposely left for flowers.  And both years the frogs have killed my plants.  So far there are no frog resistant plants that I'm aware of.  It's not that they eat the plants, they dig up the plants in the pursuit of waterfront accommodations.

Both years the frogs have decided that the cubby hole made a much better home than a planter.  I now have to agree with them.   I watch the frogs dive in and out of the fountain and know that they are living in paradise, they have it made.  They too have Waterfront property!