Maturation of a water garden Whenever a water garden owner asks me about water clarity or algae problems, I always ask them when the pond was installed. What has been done to improve water clarity, control algae or even clean the pond? Have they added any chemicals? If so, which ones, and when were they […]
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Things to Consider Before You Start Most pond builders who have built even one pond have probably wondered, “If only I had checked ‘X,’ I would have saved so much time and money!” I have gone through this thought process so many times myself that I have created a checklist of things to consider before […]
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When the subject of edges on water gardens comes up, I cannot help but think of the phrase “sedges have edges.” In other words, if the stems of a marginal water plant have distinct edges, you can be reasonably sure that it is a sedge. All ponds also have edges, and each type of water […]
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Water gardening and the entire experience of having one can become a passion, if not an obsession. It can consume a person’s thinking to the point that some non-water gardeners might question the person’s sanity. (To be clear, we who have this passion would never question it!) So, what makes the hobby so pleasurable? For […]
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By far, one of the most common challenges that water gardeners collectively face is how to handle sediment — or, should I say, the “muck” that builds up over time in all bodies of water. But is sediment always bad? It is completely natural for sediment to build up, and most natural pond systems deal […]
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Anyone who has been involved with water gardens for even a short period of time understands how algae can be a curse. When you think about what to do with string algae, such as filamentous algae and blanket weed, or pea-green soup algae, which is the same as planktonic and single-celled algae, it can create […]
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Most of us who have been in this profession for a long time have had the experience of adding newly purchased fish or plants to an existing population, only to see them start dying within a couple of weeks. Holding new fish or plants in a quarantine tub for a length of time before placing […]
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There are many different kinds of gardens — vegetable gardens, flower gardens, rock gardens, butterfly gardens and, of course, water gardens, just to name a few. But a type of garden that many people do not regularly consider is a bog garden, or gardening with plants that like “wet feet.” Bog gardens are normally associated […]
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We water gardeners generally enjoy seeing nature and the ecosystems that surround us. Adding a water garden to a landscape is a great way to add more nature that is up-close and personal. While many enjoy the sound of water and others are drawn to the beauty of waterlilies and fish, there are other ways […]
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Just when I start to think that there isn’t much more can I write about keeping fish outside in brutally cold winters, I get a question that makes me realize that there are still some things I have not considered putting into writing before — even though I have been overwintering koi and goldfish outside […]
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