Well then, let's make the stock tank into a table...

When I last wrote about the stock tank pond (here), I was trying to decide what the next iteration would be. Should I fill it with soil and plant it? Or maybe I should turn it into a contained crevice garden? What if I put a top on it and treated it as a table planting (à la Gardening on Pavement, Tables, and Hard Surfaces by George Schenk), or going the cheap (but not necessarily easy) route just turn the whole thing over and use the base as the top? Oh the choices! No matter what direction I went I knew I needed to empty and clean it out so here's a shot of that unpleasant process, photo from the end of April...

I was happy to see that after 7 years of use the bottom was still solid.

So it's no surprise—assuming you read the title of this post—that I decided to go the table planting route. I just couldn't shake my love for the tank in this image and decided to find a piece of wood to go on top of my tank.

I visited different websites and investigated options, there were several that checked a few boxes, but nothing that seemed perfect, until I saw this post on my local Facebook Buy Nothing group. There were multiple photos of the things up for grabs (a hording tenant had been evicted) but my eyes narrowed in on that wooden table top on the upper right.

I drove over with gloves, a tape measure and a few tools. As luck would have it the measurement was exactly what I needed for the tank, and it was in two parts (once I took out a couple of screws) so easy to get home. The best part was the price... FREE!

Here it is stored in our garage until I could paint it, the top side had already received a coat of blue paint sometime in it's past life.

My vision for this project was so strong that I found it hard to understand why Andrew wasn't 100% with me on what I had planned. Thank goodness I could point to George Schenk's book and convince him I hadn't completely lost my mind. See, other people do this too!...

My freebie table top measured 1" thick and I put two more coats of paint on it—my garden's signature orange (as used on the shade pavilion and the neighbors garage wall). Andrew secured the two halves together with cross-bracing so they would not work their way apart.

To fit the table top evenly over the stock tank I had to cut two leaves on the large Agave ovatifolia. I hated to do it, but they've callused over nicely so hopefully they won't be an issue when the cold and wet returns.

Okay, it was time to plant! I tackled this fun project way back in mid-June.

I'd been collecting branches and started by piling them (and soil) on the table.

The branches included some I'd saved from the Fatsia japonica we removed in the front garden (post on that here) as well as a couple of big pieces from the annual Paulownia pollarding. I used them to build a framework at the backside of the table. That way the planting could tilt down towards the frontside. I shoved moss that I'd been collecting in the voids between the branches to help contain the soil.

I also saved the stump from the Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' we removed from the front garden. While these pieces were valuable for creating a planting framework I also really loved the symbolism of using branches and heavy woody pieces that had grown to size here on the property. It felt good to reuse them and keep them here rather than just chopping them up and sending them away in the yard waste collection.

Then I just started to place the plants. At first I left them in their containers, but soon I was pulling them free and piling up soil around the base as I went.

I was quickly "in the zone" and took zero photos as I worked. I can share that Little Prince of Oregon was instrumental in supplying plants for this project. I think 22 of the at least 33 in this planting came from LPO. 

I am thrilled with how this project turned out! I'll share some plant close-ups, but first an overall shot from June 18th...

And one from August 4th. I didn't realize how much things had grown and filled in until I started editing my images from June and could see how different it looks now.

Now some close-ups from back in June; Astelia nivicola 'Red Devil' and Asarum maximum 'Ling Ling'

Athyrium niponicum ‘Silver Falls’ (the fern) with Saxifraga stolonifera, the twiggy stems of Sophora prostrata 'Little Baby' on the left.

A bit of a wide shot. Three Tricyrtis formosana ‘Samurai’ are at the back, along with a Lepisorus bicolor from Secret Garden Growers. The short fern with the colorful frond is Blechnum brasiliense, it's not hardy—I tucked it in just for fun.

There's a trio of Pyrrosia lingua, because I love pyrrosia.

The view from the back looking out over the patio—it rained one day in June.

One last June shot...

And now it's July 2nd. I never would have dreamed it would take me so long to write about this project!

Here you can see an issue that's going to age the wood table top faster than I'd hoped. The space between the two halves, along with a couple of the glue-laminated strips that are separating, is allowing water to drip down to the stock tank below. I heard it one day after I watered. Duh!

Did I drill holes in the tank for drainage? No I did not. Only about 1/2 to 3/4" of water can accumulate in the tank, as there's a drainage hole on the side close to the bottom. Still, moisture on both the top of the table and beneath means the wood will rot quicker.

The back "wall" of branches is holding up well. I wasn't following any direction when I did this, it just seemed like a good idea.

Blechnum spicant

The Astelia nivicola 'Red Devil' again. It's probably a bit shadier here than the astelia would prefer, but since I had three I couldn't resist tucking one in.

I hauled this bit of wood home from our June trip thru eastern Oregon/Washington. I had no idea at the time there was a praying mantis case on it.

The neighboring Astelia chathamica 'Silver Spear' and Agave ovatifolia 'Frosty Blue' are in a sunnier spot out from underneath the overhanging branches of the Stachyurus salicifolius.

The Fuchsia procumbens at the front of the planting was a last minute purchase at a local nursery, Thicket on Alberta. I'm so glad I happened to see it as it's perfect in this spot.

And finally a few "now" photos taken on August 4th...

What will I do with this planting over the winter months? I am undecided. The large agave ovatifolia is covered then, to keep it dry. I might experiment with covering this off and on too. Our months and months of wet just might be a bit too much. Then again if plants in the ground (and my original fern table) can handle it then these should too. It all really is just a grand experiment! 

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