Wordless Wednesday 11.19.2014

first ice of the season on our little waterfall & pond

Wordless Wednesday 9.10.2014

bees like water lettuce too!

Wordless Wednesday 8/13/2014

Wordless Wednesday 6.18.2014

Foliage Follow-Up 1.16.2012

Perfect timing for Foliage Follow-Up this month as I've been astounded to see the lovely lush greens of . . .

. . . string algae!  Although the water temperature is so cold that the koi are in hibernation mode, the algae is thriving. Did you know that giant sea kelp is also a form of multicellular algae? 

 Unicellular algae is what creates the "pea soup" conditions that our pond commonly suffers through in the spring.

Lots of winter sunshine here allows the algae to photosynthesize and grow, grow, grow!

Thanks to Pam at Digging for hosting Foliage Follow-Up each month! Read more here.

Wordless Wednesday 8.10.2011

Nymphaea sp.,  hardy water lily

Photo Friday 3.25.2011

Spring cleaning includes the koi pond, too. Here is a look at the process. Jim's hard work from last weekend has been somewhat canceled thanks to the recent high winds. Plant debris and dirt blowing everywhere!

Lotus Petal Dance

It's been a bit of a cold and dreary week, no? Here is a little summer magic to warm you...



Have a great weekend!

Friday Afternoon Garden Club 9.10.2010

It’s FAC time in The Art Garden!  Grab your favorite beverage and pull up a chair.  You didn’t really want to work this afternoon anyway, did you?  Leave a comment to join the garden party.

Today’s topic: water gardens

Good news / bad news in the water garden.  The good news is that Kyoto, my favorite koi, totally recovered from his ailments of last winter (read about that here and here). He's happy tearing around the pond with his pal, Lucky:

Kyoto and Lucky at play

And participating in the evening feeding frenzy:

Kyoto, center, fights for his share of the food

So that's great news!


The bad news is that our water clarity has been terrible this year. For whatever reason (suggestions, anyone?) our usual crop of water hyacinths and water lettuce, which we depend on to shade the water and also filter it, did not grow at all this summer.  The result was murky, pea green water (caused by suspended algae) that made fish viewing almost impossible. Grrrr!


How have your water gardens fared this year?  Did you try any new plants? What are your favorites? Tell us about your fish, too...

Gilded Visitor

Look what I found or, rather, what found me: 

Can you believe the beautiful iridescence and bits of gold? When in flight around my little pond, the spotted wings of this species of dragonfly are their dominant feature.

This guy looks like he's contemplating his next move. 

Unfortunately, I don't think he's going anywhere...

Pond Cleaning Day

Yesterday, Jim gave the pond a light spring cleaning. The goal was to eliminate the decomposed plant material and fish waste that causes poor water quality. This was also an opportunity to give a few fish to a friend with a larger pond; too many large fish in our pond was causing concerns about water quality and overall fish health.
The first step was to remove the water from the pond. Jim hooked up a large, flexible pipe to a submersible pump and filled the blue tank, which would become the temporary fish home.Here comes 'Lucky"! The rest of the water was released into the gardens. The best fertilizer ever!

Once the pond was empty, it was time to bring out the industrial-strength shop vac. Out comes the black, stinky, anarobic goo! This was promptly deposited into the compost bins and throughout the garden beds---truly, black gold.
(Notice that most of our water plants sit on a shelf that rims the perimeter of the pool. Technically, this would be considered too shallow for water lilies, but ours thrive.) At this point, a blast of water from a high-pressure hose nozzle works well to loosen off a bit more crud from the boulders, pots, and pond walls (concrete, in our case). You can also employ a stiff-bristle brush if you want to, but, hey, no need to go crazy. A bit of algae and bacteria are a good thing!

The most time consuming part of this whole process? Refilling the pond! We use non-potable water from a small well on our property. The water is somewhat alkaline and we don't use any corrective treatment for it, but the plants and fish thrive anyway. (I'm convinced that most pond/fish care literature is way too fussy!)

As you can see, our hardy water lilies are starting to emerge and are packed into their pots. Stay tuned for Water Lily Dividing Day, coming soon!