Thanks for your answers!

The water lily seems to be working its way to the surface more already
(buoancy, or does it really grow that fast?). I positioned an
upturned pot in the barrel to give the blooming Obedient Plant some
leverage. Unfortunately, two of the three bunches of oxygenating
plants I placed in there came apart, and I'm not sure exactly where
the other bunch is--perhaps in there, under the pot, or maybe even
taken by a bird which has frequently happened in the past with my
potted seedlings. I plan to gather them up and give them their own,
weighted pot.

After visiting my local pond supply store again, I came up with some
more questions.

1) I was told by a representative that mosquito dunks and fish won't
co-exist happily with each other, as the fish may eat the dunks and
die from it. Even if the label says its safe for fish, although I
have little reason to doubt the store representative. I got dunks
anyway, though, and put them in because I have to wait before adding
fish anyway. What do you think? Will they also kill useful insects
like spiders and dragonflies?

2) What can I place around the container to fight the mosquitoes? I've
read marigold can work (in my case potted, of course, if possible). I
placed the container near a fence, so couldn't I get a bunch of those
bug zappers/sticky tubes and line them around? And how might I be able
to encourage spiders (one spider apparently was already constructing a
web on the Obedient Plant)? I think if I can get a fine line of spider
web wherever possible, the mosquitoes won't have a chance. Anything I
can do to work with nature, compensating myself for what the container
garden lacks as opposed to its real life counterpart, I think will be
benefecial. I believe the marigold can even provide some shade, as
right now I think the water garden has an O/D of afternoon sun.

3) I have a bird feeder many feet away. Is this and the container
water garden an explosive combo as far as West Nile goes? I'm not sure
if it would make much of a difference, because of the trees/shrubs I
have as well as the line of trees and shrubs across the street
frequently have a choir of birds anyway.

4) I read how-stuff-works.com articles about mosquitos. I'm going out
each day to watch the container. On the second day of having the
plants outside in water (this was Wednesday when everything was
seperate and the half whiskey barrel wasn't filled), I saw two black,
thin bugs mating in the water. Mosquitos? This evening I saw tiny
black gnat-like things congregating some feet away from the barrel,
but I think I've also seen them before near my driveway where there
was no water that I saw.

How will I know if the dunk isn't working? Can someone please tell me
what I should watch for and timetables, monitoring the water garden so
to speak? This is day two of having the barrel filled up with
water--the other two containers have had its contents scattered around
the lawn.

5) As a last resort, instead of giving up my plants I could simply
move them inside as there is a sun room, or just give them their
required sun time outside before bringing them back inside to keep the
mosquitoes at bay. If I go this route, do you think it'll work and
what schedule should I set for the plants? The lily I have is more
like a miniature lily.

6) I could of course also just drain the container weekly and refill.
Might take its toll on the water bill, but that'll be less expensive
than say, a hospital bill, lawsuit, or fine. Will this take a toll on
the plants as well? What if I want to recycle water, but filter out
harmful mosquitos?

I'm glad I feel really good and excited about doing this, despite my
mosquito concerns, because I always wanted a water garden, not to
mention the fact that I'm doing this for a college project. I just
felt like being out there all day tending to it, but of course the
money investment vs. time is very equal in this case. Building my own
pond one day in the future, I think, will give me a lot of
satisfaction as I'm sure it has you all when building your pond.

I may have to invest in a field guide of bugs. I've read that some
bugs do look like mosquitos, but aren't.

Thank you!

Daniel Phillips

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