Looking at fellow Greengirl MJ's fence photo brought to mind that we have not talked at all this year about water gardens. And apparently, she has one too!
I installed my pond about 12 years ago and have never regretted all the hard work that goes into not only building, but maintaining the garden. Each spring's ritual of scooping out last year's leaves is quite smelly and messy. But, once the water trickles over the flagstones that sound is music to my ears.
When building water gardens, design is important. You need to determine whether your pond will hold fish, whether you will filter the water and the many needs of moving the water such as pumps and hoses. www.aquaeden.com and www.pond-doctor-dave.com are two sites I found helpful.
When it comes to plant selection, the is quite a large selection. However, I have found that if you want something a little
different, buy early! Don't wait for Memorial day. I purchased a beautiful pink water lily that has over wintered for the last 5 years! I simply pull out the pump and leave everything in the pond. Next Spring, on cleaning day, I can usually see sprouts of green popping out from the lily's root mass.
Then there are the fish. I had koi one year, but had a little "accident" with my hose. The pond was down about 10" so I stuck the hose in to fill it up. Well, three hours later when I finally remembered the hose was running, it was too late and the koi were the victim of too much chlorine. So I stick with goldfish. There are three of them that get taken into the house each fall to live in a 10 gallon tank in my basement. For the past 5 years, they have had fry (babies). So many of the neighborhood kids and co-workers get to try their hand ad goldfish rearing.
You don't need to dig out a section of your back yard to enjoy water gardening. I've seen rain barrels with small sprays that are gorgeous.
Who else enjoys water gardens out there? Backyard ponds, lakes, what have you got?
