Stock tank returns to the Circle Garden – as a planter!
Happy 2023! I’m back from a holiday blogging break, but during the past three weeks I wasn’t just baking, wrapping presents, hanging out with family, and putting away holiday decor. I’ve been outside. A lot. Ripping things up.
In fact the cool months are my favorite season for making structural changes to the garden. This winter I decided to redo — again! — the Circle Garden. I know many readers will find this funny, but I opted to bring back the stock tank, as a planter this time.
Three years ago — three! can you believe it? — I wanted a change and dismantled my iconic stock-tank pond. The announcement nearly broke the gardening internet, at least among Digging readers. But I didn’t look back. I wanted to try something different in that space, with one eye toward creating a lower-maintenance garden. Ha! Is there such a thing?
The next iteration was more classically Southern. I echoed the existing ‘Winter Gem’ boxwood balls with an inner circle of ‘Micron’ yaupon hollies, with a focal-point whale’s tongue agave elevated in a peacock-blue pot. But it just never came together for more than a few good weeks in spring (when annuals like tall verbena bloomed) and fall (when compact perennials like purple skullcap mingled nicely with foxtail fern). For long stretches of the summer and winter, it just looked straggly and unbalanced, thanks to differing levels of sun and shade during the course of the day.
Aggravatingly too, a border of ‘Southern Star Blue’ dwarf ruellia seeded like crazy between the stone strips of the sunburst path. Despite its prolific nature, it still wilted pitifully during the hottest part of the summer. It had to go. And so did the inner circle.
What I fantasized about was a circular Corten planter bed and background arbor à la this christian_douglas_design garden in Northern California. Dreamy, right? But it wasn’t in my budget for a do-over with pricey materials and labor to make it happen. Instead my husband offered to help me with a DIY version. Which is more satisfying anyway.
Out came the shovels, and we dug up the plants, gave away some of them, and used a PotLifter (a simple hauling harness; you can find it online) to relocate the big agave pot. Then we excavated the mound of soil and moved it onto tarps around the circle. We dug until we reached the packed layer of decomposed granite that supported the old stock-tank pond.
In lieu of an expensive circle of Corten steel, I decided a galvanized stock tank would do the trick — plus it would coordinate, as the old pond tank did, with my other galvanized pots and the shed roof. My old tank was gone, so I needed another. (Three years ago, I tried to sell my old tank, but when I didn’t get any takers, I ended up giving it away. D’oh!)
I couldn’t stand to pay full price for a new 8-foot (actually measuring 7.5 feet) tank, so I scoured Facebook Marketplace for a used one. I saw lots of listings for secondhand cowboy pools, but I didn’t need or want to pay for the pump accessories, and I didn’t want a hole in the side. Eventually I found a tank about an hour away — someone had had a dream of a cowboy pool but changed their mind — and I got it for a song. We brought it home in our truck and rolled it right into place. Back in baby’s arms!
Immediately the tank gave the Circle Garden new life — and it wasn’t even planted yet. Just like the old pond tank, it makes the space live larger, it creates a substantial focal point, and it adds significant height, even at just 2 feet tall. We took turns standing in the tank, swinging our old pickaxe, and banged dozens of gaping holes in the bottom of the tank for drainage. We also removed the stopper that plugs up the tank for holding water. Good drainage is key for plants.
Once we’d made sure the tank was level on its compacted D.G. base, we shoveled the soil off the tarps and into the tank. One cubic yard filled it up about a third.
While waiting for another weekend to roll around, I dragged my rebar bottle shrub up the hill from the bottom of the garden and tipped it into the tank. It looked promising for a fun focal point.
The next Saturday, and the next, my husband picked up a load of Lightning Mix from Whittlesey Landscape Supplies. We hauled it by the wheelbarrow load downhill into the backyard and up an old sturdy metal pet ramp to dump it in the tank. I couldn’t have done it all by myself and really appreciated my husband taking on this project with me.
It took about 3.25 cubic yards, but finally the tank was full. It’ll settle over the coming months, and I plan to top it with an inch or two of decomposed granite. I cleaned the bottles and refoliated the bottle shrub, and I used leftover stone to better edge the uphill planting bed. Out came those troublesome ruellia too. I dug in yellow spider lily bulbs and purple skullcap among the golden yuccas. I hope for a good show next fall!
The variegated whale’s tongue agave put up a fight coming out of its big pot, and I had to saw off some lower leaves that got damaged. It should recover quickly this summer. My original idea for serene simplicity — the agave and a field of silver ponyfoot — may have gone out the window when I added the bottle shrub. One evening, nearly in the dark, I was out there scooping out soil by hand and burying dozens of newly divided rain lily and oxblood lily bulbs, not unlike an eager squirrel hoarding acorns for winter. Visions of spring, summer, and fall color are dancing in my head. What a joy to be back in the garden again, dreaming of the seasonal changes to come — and not sweating!
Next, the rotting side fence is getting replaced (that’s where my gardening budget had to go, alas), the metal arch will be moved somewhere else (too much going on there), and I’ll repaint the shed (maybe changing the colors). In the tank, I’m debating using sedge or shaggy zoysia as a grassy groundcover to camouflage bulb foliage and add meadowy movement. If the bulbs don’t pan out, I can always go back to the ponyfoot and agave idea. One thing is for sure: the garden is always a work in progress. And I’ve never been afraid of the shovel.
So how about you? Are you digging into any gardening projects this winter?
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Digging Deeper
Come learn about gardening and design at Garden Spark! I organize in-person talks by inspiring designers, landscape architects, authors, and gardeners a few times a year in Austin. These are limited-attendance events that sell out quickly, so join the Garden Spark email list to be notified in advance; simply click this link and ask to be added. Season 8 kicks off in fall 2024. Stay tuned for more info!
All material © 2024 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
I am happy to see the stock tank back in place. It really does add structure in a nice round way. I’m sure whatever plantings you decide on will be lovely, certainly the agave is.
I’ve decided after all the extreme weather of the past few years — from heat waves to drought to Arctic freezes — you really can’t go wrong with steel of any kind. 😉
What a joy for you to be out there gardening in January. I have adored all versions of your stock tank garden and applaud your new ideas. It’s exciting to be sparked by an idea and run with it. Looking amazing as always and an inspiration, too. Here’s to the new stock tank garden (v. 3.0?) and all of its goodness. Cheers, Pam and Happy New Year!
Yes, stock tank garden 3.0 — that’s a great way to put it! Thanks for the cheers. I’m having fun!
just…OHYEAH!
looks brilliant, feels just right..(.wondered what you were up to amidst the radio silence!!) 🙂
Thanks, LCP. 🙂 These projects take time, as you know, and I wanted to wait until I had more than an empty tank to show. Everyone will think I’m crazy already — hah!
Love it! I’m so glad the agave gets to be the star in the new design as it’s a showstopper! Interestingly I too am working on a stock tank redo, still in the thinking stage though (blog post on Friday) as there is so much clean up from our storms still to be done before I tackle any fun projects.
That agave should be happy to have room to grow. I just wish I didn’t have to sacrifice so many of the lower leaves to get it out of the old pot. It was really tightly bound in there. I look forward to seeing your new tank redo. I’m sure it will be spectacular! Good luck with the storm cleanup – ugh.
So glad to see the tank back. The boxwood was rather pedestrian.
Um, thanks.
I didn’t intend to be snarky; I love your book and your blog. I just felt that the boxwood circle wasn’t as intersting as the rest of your garden.
Tracy, thanks for the follow-up. I appreciate that. I felt a little defensive about my boxwood circle, which to me is the backbone of my Circle Garden, which I love for its Southern roots, all-year structure, and playful circle theme, not to mention heat, drought, and cold tolerance. Everything else on the inside is play space! Whether you meant those boxwoods or the former inner circle of ‘Micron’ hollies, “pedestrian” just smarted a little as I was sharing the years-long process of redoing a garden space. It’s true, one doesn’t always get it right the first (or second) time. Anyway, thanks for reading and keeping it real!
I’m a sucker for a good stock tank, and as far as I’m concerned, you’re the QUEEEN of stock tanks. I think this latest iteration will be fantastic!
Haha, I think Loree is the queen of stock tanks, though I have more space for a big daddy tank like this one. Thanks for the encouragement, Gerhard!
Nice redo, Pam! I like the Agave in the center. In order for it to be the star it should be, I would keep the rest simple, maybe just the silver pony foot ground cover you had in mind.
That was my original plan — silvery blues all the way — until I stuck the bulbs in there. With all that green foliage hanging around, I think I need to pivot to a green, grassy groundcover to disguise the spent bulb foliage. I’m excited to see how I like the bulbs up in the tank. I love bulbs but don’t have a lot of places for them.
My impulse would be the same as Peter’s: just ponyfoot to make the whole thing a sculptural focal point. But it’s easy to empathize with the dynamic digger-gardener side, especially after all that work getting the soil in. A body that’s still feeling those wheelbarrow trips doesn’t want to hear about sculpture, tyvm! And the nation’s always there for stock tank v3.1…
Ha! 🙂
Yay, it’s back! Can’t wait to see what you do with the bulbs and how you hide them (always a challenge). I have BIG plans for our backyard this year. New fence, a garden shed/greenhouse, removal of most of the lawn, beds enlarged, and pea gravel replacing much of the lawn. And all that’s before I can plant anything! BTW, I may have three large clumping bamboo to hopefully sell. Let me know if you know anyone who needs one. They won’t even have to dig them up. 😉
I’m going to try to hide the bulb foliage with sedge or other longish grass. We’ll see! If too messy, I’ll pull them out next year and just go with silver ponyfoot, which I’m using in another agave tank to good effect. Your garden plans sound exciting, especially the addition of a shed/greenhouse and removal of lawn. Clumping bamboos can be expensive at the nursery, so hopefully you’ll find someone happy to take yours off your hands. With our recent winters of repetitive deep freezes, I’m wondering if clumping bamboo will remain as popular. They keep getting hit hard, mine included. 🙁
Good point about the freezes and clumping bamboo. Mine are definitely alive although they have many silver leaves now. And yes, they are pretty expensive! I hope carec does the trick for you cause I think you’ll really enjoy that pop of color from bulbs, especially in early spring.
I think so too, although they won’t be especially spring- blooming. The rain lilies bloom off and on through the growing season, whenever it rains. And the oxbloods bloom in late September through early October.
You need to add some old-fashioned jonquils and daffodils!
Yes, just the serene Agave sounded great, but then again, you couldn’t keep it and added the bottle artwork. Way to go, love it as well.
Thanks, Karin! Sometimes more is more, and the only way to find out is to experiment. 🙂 I love the verticality of the bottle tree in the tank, and it gets more sun here to catch the light. It’s a nod to Southern garden culture, but with a southwestern twist. I call it my ocotillo bottle shrub.
You know I planted lots of bulbs this year, and I also covered them with sedge. So I approve this plan! Pony foot’s always a good choice when it looks good, but it’s one of those that I never can count on to look good all the time in the weather we have. That’s the key, isn’t it, anymore? I realized that after the last 3 years of weather that my garden is going back to builders’ plants of yaupon and nandina. Better, non-invasive versions of them this time, but tough stuff is needed. I commend you for so much hard work and motivation. It looks great!
Thanks, Robin! I actually don’t mind ponyfoot going dormant in the winter. But now I need a green groundcover to disguise the bulb foliage, which I’m not fond of. And yes, bulbs in a sedge lawn look amazing. I tried oxblood lily bulbs in my sedge lawn out front years ago, but the deer loved them too.
And I commend YOU on choosing non-invasive tough plants for your garden. Nandina is pretty, but berrying kinds are so invasive. We still have options: Sabal minor, yaupons of different habits, sotol, yuccas of all kinds and colors, Jerusalem sage, agarita, golden thryallis (it may die back but comes back quickly), grasses of all sizes, salvias, etc. I also think we Central Texans are so used to green winters that we have little patience for dormant plants in winter. Good structure helps with that, even when plants are hunkered down. I’m a big believer in large pots and getting plants up off the ground to create vertical interest all year.
I am so happy to see you did this. Those tanks are a great structural asset to any garden whether they are planted or used as a pond. Yours looks marvelous with the whales tongue and I hope he will be with you for quite a few years to come. We’ll watch him grow.
Yes, I’m thinking more steel is the way to go, what with all the extreme weather over the past 3 years. It creates structure that defines the garden, even when plants are dormant.
Wow! How exciting to transform that part of your garden. It looks great.
Thanks, Lisa! What goes around comes around, with regard to this redesign. 😉
Good decision to bring the stock tank back. When you took out the pond I wondered why you didn’t just plant it. Then I remembered all those downhill wheelbarrow trips we made. It’s done now and all you’ll need is a little soil top-up now and then. Have fun experimenting with different looks.
I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me, Shirley. I think I was so ready to let the pond go that I wanted the tank gone too, just to start fresh. But I found that I missed the structure of the tank, so now it’s there again. 🙂
Your circle garden is really special, Pam. It will be exciting to see how it progresses as the new plants fill in. Great idea! Thanks for sharing the project highlights!
Thanks, Beth!
Welcome back Stock Tank! It looks perfectly at home, the sun to the stone rays. gail
I love that, Gail. The sun has come back out!
Loving the return of the stock tank, and I think the plantings will look great when they fill in. For me the stock tanks and the water collection tanks in the midst of the Texas wildflower and plant communities display all that is good in your state.
Thanks, Kathy, and I agree — it’s especially a distinctive Central Texas look.
Like many of your commentators, I’m pleased to see another stock tank in your back garden. I’m sure you’ll be tweaking the contents now and then for years. I’m also really surprised that no one offered to buy your old tank! My current projects are somewhat boring but necessary: pruning!
Tweaking will be unending, for sure. 😉 You’re in the midst of one of my favorite garden tasks: pruning. I find it so satisfying.
I liked the previous iterations of the circular garden, but this latest promises to be at least as appealing, especially with the agave and bulb / grassy look. Rock (granite) on! As for me, I hope to resume my design, while getting the finish grade set to soak up our sporadic rains and a rock wall for the front courtyard.
I shall rock on, David. And you as well! I look forward to seeing your new wall for the courtyard.
Welcome back stock tank! It is perfect as a planter and gives definite structure and increased interest to your already wonderful garden. Isn’t it funny how us gardeners will go through anything to make our gardens complete? It was fun watching the garden change though, and it did keep you busy, ending with a very satisfying result! Enjoy your new look!
Thanks, Lee! We do make a lot of work for ourselves – or at least I do. 🙂 But the creative process and experimentation is really half the fun.
So far it appears to be unanimous, the stock tank is back – yay! Have you considered trying to achieve the corten steel look with metal paint? Nice that you got the replacement for a song.
I miss the rain lilies from my Galveston home. They’ll be charming in the tank, as will the oxblood lilies.
Painting the shed doors a new bold color would add a fresh touch to this area!?
Lucky you to be digging in January. Too soon for that in Maryland, although January’s weather has been more like March. It’s worrisome.
Hi Ginny! Yes, I’m thinking of refreshing all the colors on the shed. As for painting the tank, no. The silver is good. Plus, all my gardening efforts now have a stern eye toward maintenance, which means no unnecessary painting. 🙂
It is always fun to have a project come together. Still a little too cold and damp here to do anything in the garden other than pick up stick blown down in the winter winds.
I love the stock tank back into the circle. The agave will look magnificent sitting there.
I know that feeling of giving away something you had in the garden and then lamenting the lack of foresight. ha… It has turned out good.
Nothing like a man with a shovel or ax in his hands. Well done. You two make a great team.
Thanks, Lisa! Haha, so true, and his help was very welcome. 🙂
All that hard work and your vision for a new look has really come together well. It’s definitely not gardening weather here in the NE, but I’m living vicariously through posts from other gardeners in warmer areas.
Thanks, Ellie. I bet you’re making lots of plans for your new place this spring too!
I’m new to your blog & really enjoying it!! Wish I’d discovered it sooner.
Love the new stock tank/circle garden design. Love the colors/textures.
Between the increasingly frequent deep freezes and Phoenix-like triple digit summers I’ve had to replace/rethink much of my garden as well. It’s been challenging though to find Xeric plants that can withstand temps in the teens to 110. I too have a bottle shrub in a galvanized tub but it’s much smaller. I could see doing something similar to yours to better emphasize the bottle shrub & add interest to the yard!
Welcome to Digging, Vicki! I think everyone in Austin is feeling the same way you are about our changing climate. It’s harder than it used to be. Together we’ll figure out the toughest plants, I figure. Keep on planting and experimenting because we all need gardens.
Thanks for the welcome! Hoping to discover plants that can adapt to these climate changes by reading your blog. Perhaps local nurseries will also begin carrying more of these super hero plants! Thankfully freezing precip where we are in far NW San Antonio has been light today compared to everywhere north of us! Yikes. Happy it’s not a repeat of Uri 2 yrs ago but then again Feb isn’t over.