The sounds of a garden

Flower & Garden Magazine, Sept-Oct, 1997 by Molly Dean

In a scene of I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, a favorite book when I was young, the main character closes her eyes and tries to focus on the songs of birds around her. She experiences, however, a cacophony of sounds indigenous to life in rural England early in this century: someone hammering, a hen "announcing an egg," a cottage "wireless" and a pump clanking on the village green. She describes these as "all rather ugly noises, really," and writes, "but the church clock striking the quarter somehow drew them together into one pleasant country sound floating on the light spring air."

The types of sounds may have changed, but even today we are surrounded by sounds that can certainly be described as ugly. "Noise pollution" is, in fact, the usual term for the roar of traffic, the screeches of sirens and the drone of machines. Those of us who garden, however, are able to achieve temporary respites. A garden can provide a haven or refuge. The sounds of a garden, as well as its fragrances, colors and symmetry of design, help create a soothing environment.

THE SOUND OF WATER

Few sounds are as restful as that of running water. A focal point of one of my gardens is a small waterlily pool, complete with bubbling fountain. This was relatively easy and inexpensive to construct, using a flexible pond liner. My husband and I completed the job in a single weekend. First we dug a level-bottomed hole of the desired shape and dimensions, set in old carpet remnants and a layer of sand and inserted the liner. We placed large rocks about the edges of the pool to conceal the top of the liner.

A small submersible pump for the fountain was easy to install, the main requirement being access to electricity. (Actually, we have two pools, but the first one is so far from the house that it would have been a major project to provide a source of electricity. Therefore, its waters remain tranquil.) We placed the pump on the pool's bottom on concrete blocks so the fountain jet would be level with the surface of the water. We then guided the waterproof cable out over the edge to a grounded electric outlet.

The force of moving water, depending on the size and type of pump used, can range from a gentle misty spray to a dramatic cascade. Although our pump is small and ordinary, there are other more exotic types. Some fountain jets create shimmering veils of water flowing in the form of a bell or a sphere. The water sound created by these is more continuous than the intermittent splashing of an ordinary fountain. Other fountains break the stream of water into individual droplets. As a result, a prism effect is created as each bead of water refracts sunlight. Their sound is musical, the fall of each droplet adding its single note to the symphony.

There are other ways to introduce running water into a garden, depending, of course, on the size and style of a particular plot. Water might be introduced into the smallest garden, for instance, in the Japanese manner, dribbling from a bamboo spout into a small basin cantilevered from a wall. An interesting idea for a shade garden is to have a series of tiny waterfalls (or just one) cascading into a woodland pool.

A friend of mine constructed just such a water feature -- a pool similar to mine with the addition of an artificial but convincing rock outcrop. A submersible pump circulates the water from pool to rocks. It is even possible to acquire small "instant waterfalls" constructed of molded plastic or fiberglass. The smallest I have seen is 19 inches wide, 26 inches deep and 14 inches high. Ferns and other green foliage plants soften the artificial look.

The addition of water to a garden makes possible a range of other garden sounds. After our own garden pool had become established, we began to play host to green and brown bullfrogs, sunning themselves on lilypads during the day and filling summer nights with their plaintive croaking.

How do you make your garden pond more appealing to frogs? Provide plenty of foliage cover at the water's edge, where frogs, as well as other forms of wildlife, may seek safe concealment. Rushes, hostas, sedges or Japanese irises all offer shelter, which particularly helps young frogs or toads emerging in the spring. You may also order frogs from some water garden suppliers. A pair of small bullfrogs will cost about five dollars.

RUSTLING FOLIAGE

Although I have never chosen plants solely for their quality of rustling and murmuring in the wind, I find the idea intriguing. Are some plants truly more pleasant to the ear than others?

One answer comes from the Orient. The Japanese have traditionally prized bamboo for the rustling sound it creates in the breeze, as well as for its elegant form and the shifting patterns of shadow it creates on translucent rice paper screens. There are many bamboos that could be used as a screen or accent, or even planted beside a pool. For the first two uses, a popular choice is black bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra), whose stalks mature to a handsome, glistening black marked with bands of white, and ultimately reach about 25 feet. It also produces slender, bluish leaves that are musical in the wind. It is important to remember, however, that black bamboo will not survive below 10 degrees.