Filed under: fish, garden, Minnesota, pond, water garden | Tags: ater garden, butterfly koi, flowers, Koi, Minnesota, plants, pond, water, water lettuce, water lilly, water plants
I’m into year two on my west pond, and things are looking good. Last years pond may have been a little infertile since many plants are doing so much better this year.
Last year the water lettuce and hyacinth, both annuals in northern ponds, were just not growing well. This year they are taking over quickly. The water lilly is doing better as it should in its second year.
The year old koi are really eating up the fish food. Most of the juveniles are changing color, but some may stay black. The butterfly koi are blending right in. They can be identified by their longer fins.
There are a few yellow flowers on the plants under the bridge. I can’t remember the plants name. I added some spiral rush in those pots this spring after the rushes I planted last year died.
I’ve added a few new annuals in the pond side pots that add a bit of new color and texture also.
The thyme growing in the sitting area rocks are really starting to look good also.
The new hibiscus is blooming again as it has come out of transplant shock. I really like these flowers.
So there they are, pictures of the second year of my pond. Hope you enjoyed them.
Michael
Filed under: cats, cold, fish, garden, pond, water garden | Tags: cats, flowers, frogs, garden, goldfish, Koi, pond, turtles, water garden
Although some areas near by were affected by the early frost this past week, our ponds remain healthy and blooming. The Sedum is in full bloom and a few other flowers continue to bloom near the pond daily. I was surprised to see the Blackie with a pale purple flower hidden in the leaves one day. Sorry, I missed taking a photo of it.
The baby Koi continue to grow.
Trying to get a picture of them in the water is a challenge. Most of them are just darker spots against the sand bottom. A few have already become colorful, but most are a dark grey to black in color.
It is obvious that we had two hatches since they are of two different sizes. Even the large adults are hard to see in these pictures, so finding the young ones is really a challenge.
Most of the time the baby Koi hang out under the plants, but when I feed them they will come to the surface to grab a chunk. They have a tough time getting the big pieces of food in their mouth, but they try. Mostly they work the bits of algae off of the rocks and floor of the pond for food.
There are still a few frogs around the pond but the weather has been cool and they don’t come out much. I think the cats have been lunching on them.
The Hyacinth are not growing so well in the cooler water of the big Koi pond, but are still thriving in the smaller Goldfish pond. Most of the water plants are slowing down and could use some warmer days.
We only got a few blooms on the water lilly in the Koi pond this year, but rarely missed a day in the Goldfish pond. There is one there yet today. The water lilies seem to prefer to be open when the sun hits them and close up when they are in shade.
I’ve not seen a sign of the turtles since the hatch. I don’t even know if any survived. The old nest was cleaned out by some creature just last week.
There’s the pond news for the week, come by and see them for yourself some time.
Michael
Filed under: garden, home addition, house, Minnesota, pond, summer, water garden | Tags: flowers, garden, Koi, Minnesota, pond, porch, summer, water garden
July 10, 2011 pond
Many of the plants I put in or around the pond have started to bloom lately. Some I remember the name of, some I cannot. Those that I don’t remember for sure are not appearing in any online listing, so you will have to help me guess their names.
Our water lilies are now in bloom. These are part of the same ones we have in the front pond. I just broke off a part of the root mass and transplanted it to this pond. Since the water is deeper and colder it took a while longer to bloom here, but is worth the wait. The koi will usually hang out near this plant.
This, I think, is a marsh daisy. It’s planted with about 2 inches of water over the pot. To get the right depth I set the pot, actually more like a basket, on top of a rock. The yellow flower just emerged today.
This pond side planter contains bogwort. It likes its roots wet, but the crown of the plant above water. The plant on the right started blooming two days ago, the one on the left should be in bloom tomorrow. This planter is sitting on an underwater shelf with a few rocks on it to get the depth right.
Growing between the rocks by our bench is creeping thyme. It’s not a big plant, but ideally suited for an area that will get walked on. You can see that neither the plants, nor the flowers are very big.
I have four different varieties of this succulent, each a different color. They are planted next to the house where it doesn’t get much rain because the roof overhang. They bloom when they get a little rain, but don’t mind being dry.
This hen and chicks has an unusual flower. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
We.ve added a bit of patriotic bunting to the porch wall. The porch has an old time look already so bunting just helps set it off.
I’ve also added some low voltage lights to light up the stairs. You see them as a black circle just under the railing. They don’t show up much during the day, but at night they light up the area quite nicely.
I need to get the screens and screen doors on before summer is over and a railing for the step area. I’ll find a few other things that I need to do before this is all over I’m sure, but for now we’re enjoying our porch and the pond in bloom.
