My stint with ponding began about a decade ago.... there is a long story which I'll not write here at this time. But this is my second pond. First and smaller one had to be surrendered in the other half of the property/plot during division [between two brothers]. The experience in that one did not allow me to forego another one in what became 'my half' [part] of the property. I did this in 2009 and continue to enjoy. This is a natural pond. I do not add any fertilizer, I do not have a pump, I have some little fish - some are guppies [to take care of mosquito larvae, just in case], there is insect life. I just top up the water when it gets low quickly esp. in summer. But there is a need to replace the liner as roots have pierced the sides and some water is leaking out slowly and so far, it has been holding up okay. So I'm postponing it as it involves a lot of work. Here are some photos: Pic was taken in Nov 2014 when the pink lily was up. I did this when I wanted a good close macro shot. It was a little adventure! You can see my stone bench [where I sip coffee and also breakfast] at the back. I got a few more shots like this one. There are better ones hiding in other folders. Toads love this place as well - they lay eggs, croak at night and present an eerie feeling. Pond skaters abound - they say that the pond is good when they are here. This is the other lily which is at this time dormant I guess, but it made a great surprise show after being underwater without a sign for 3 years. It was in Nov. last.
You have made a beautiful pond with the lily's and other water plants. Is it hard to find a balance of plant to water volume to achieve the clear water you have? I always have algae problems. Maybe it's because I have fish?
I have a natural pond too Dinu and have a vast array of insects and amphibians that visit or live in it. At the moment my newts are breeding and so are the pond skaters. The birds use it as a bath and drink from it. My water lilies won't be flowering for quite some time yet but I'm looking forward to when they do. Do you get damselflies and dragonflies hunting over the water by any chance?
A very respectable pond. A good pond for Gerridae and night frogs. No dancing frogs? How deep is it? I like the color of the lilies. Are the lilies in pots? Jerry
When I made the first pond, I did not know I had to wait for the eco system to settle. It was so green with algae initially and I was so restless.. I was removing water trying to dilute it. When I got tired of it and left it alone for some months, it settled. So when I made my second pond, I was prepared for this and waited patiently. It took about 8-9 months for the water to become clear. With the new liner, it looks so dirty, but we need to be patient. This is what I learnt. I kept the water lilies in the pot, but in a year or two it outgrew the pot, the root system grew nicely. Last year I removed the old plant and kept the smaller one which had established by its side. Now this has also grown well. I removed the pots later when it served no purpose. I also kept rocks to keep the roots down - they had floated up. Now it has again floated up. My pond depth is about 24 inches. But now due to leakage I mentioned above, water stays only for about 17-18 inches. Here frogs are not present, only toads. Of course, dragonflies, damselflies love it too. I found a water beetle also. I have a few plants in the small 'bog' corner as well. Spiders are there. Dragonflies and damselflies also multiply here. Algae is active in certain months as I have observed. It is there, but they make the water green for some time. When it rains, they are gone! Again they come.... but it is no longer a big problem for me. I also remove strings of them when they are overgrown. I think they help the water to be clean, also the hyacinth and water lettuce roots help in this. Some birds also visit the pond for a drink, besides the separate bird bath. I see a kingfisher lurking around as well and there is pond heron visiting to steal the little fish! Hope I answered the queries.
A beautiful pond, well done Dinu!! I just bought a marginal plant but as it can go in a pot that’s what I have done. http://www.watergardenplants.co.uk/epages/es749775.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/es749775/Products/317 K
@kate it won't take long to out grow that pot ...the amount of plants I've moved from pots in to the garden is madness mate
