Water features that aren't the pond

I have two non-pond water features in my garden. The most prominent is the water barrel in the front garden, found at the intersection between the two front walkways.

I'm trying something a little different in it this year, as the deer visit it every night (and sometimes during the day) so it's difficult to find plants that they won't snack on.

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I've not put a clay pot here before, but I wanted something heavy. A juncus and some red-veined sorrel were my plant choices -- the sorrel was an experiment.

I was concerned about the pot taking up too much of the swimming space for the fish, but they seem to like it -- maybe because it gives them more surface to nibble?

Or maybe it just makes them feel more protected, secure?

I like the way it looks, and the plants give some shade to the water, which gets only 2-3 hours of direct sunlight but it's noonday sun so plenty warm.

These photos were all taken during the last week of June, and I have to admit that the sorrel experiment looks to be failing. I knew that sorrel needs plenty of water to thrive, but apparently it does not like growing in water -- the leaves are a weird color and they look "soft". I'll try to find something else that might work here...


The second non-pond water feature is the "stream", and it's a key element of the back garden:

I've said this for the past three years: I need to rebuild this!

To ensure that I don't put it off another year, I've not turned the pump on this year. Not having the sound of running water is disconcerting, and a great motivator to get started on this project ASAP!

There is rock damage:

And exposed liner...

...in more than one place:

You may remember that my main complaint with the stream is that it loses water too quickly -- I need to add water once a day or so. I've never found a wet area so I'm not sure where it's going, but it's not down to evaporation, bathing birds, or even thirsty deer.

So for now it sits silent and dry. So sad.

The nice thing about putting this off for a few years is I've come up with a new design, something that won't have the drawbacks of this original one and won't require a month of work.

Stay tuned for that project!  (The two wide shots give you a small hint as to what I have planned)

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