So... how are the ponds coming??
Anyone have a lily flower yet?
Hyacinths starting to mulitply?
Frogs spawning?

We are in zone 7 so we are just now starting
warm weather.
The pond is clearing up. The hornswort has
taken off.
Creeping jenny is creeping along nicely.
The island is really spectacular this year.
Must be 50 yellow iris blooms on it right now.
We've got lily pads up but haven't seen any
buds yet.

We have had a visit from the biggest blue
heron I've ever seen. Very skittish. The dogs
and I entered the kitchen and that was enough
to spook him. He took off and came straight
towards the house.

k :-)

http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

Anyone have a lily flower yet?
Red, yellow and white. I'll post em on tfa.

Hyacinths starting to mulitply?
They are now on their 3rd set of babies.

Frogs spawning?
Toad tadpoles in all ponds. Tree frogs calling. Big frogs booming.


Must be 50 yellow iris blooms on it right now.
Purple irises have finished their blooms.

We have had a visit from the biggest blue
heron I've ever seen.
Coons got into the shallow basin under our U-shaped falls. Tore up
the lily pads there.

Jim

I put the Tropical Lilies out today. I had 4 bagged, I'll have to report
later what re-sprouts. I wish I could have gotten them out last weekend,
but too much going on. Taro will go out tomorrow to harden off and get use
to real sunshine.

Tadpoles are growing quickly in the lily pond. Lots of marginals to divide
tomorrow, I'll need to pull out the kiddy pond, first time in a couple
years, to hold all the divides. I figure since our really nice pond plant
specialty store closed I better go back into business. :-( Plus I still
have a gazillion old nursery pots to use up, and lots of dirt coming out of
the new hole for the lily pond filter.... finally getting put in this year.
DS removed the sod from the area last weekend. Parts came this week.

Speaking of our closed specialty store, they had a left over pond equipment
yard sale today. After adding it up I saved over $50. I'm quite sure I got
over $60 worth of merchandise for $10.50! ~ jan
------------
Zone 7a, SE Washington State
Ponds: www.jjspond.us

pics, post pics of the new pond, etc.

Jim

I should say I am in zone 6 (formerly known as zone 5). Ingrid

1 bud so far. I am using 100 feet of clear tubing to try some solar
heating of the water, also hope the algae will colonize the tubing and
I will have an extra "filter" for winter. Ingrid

black would catch more heat, but clear will have a shot ar algae.

Jim

On May 11, 10:24 pm, kthirtya wrote:
So... how are the ponds coming??
Anyone have a lily flower yet?

Yesterday it was quite warm here in Phila, so I put on my shorts and
climbed into the puddle. I set a couple of towels and my birks next
to the rocks, and whoops! I quickly remembered how slippery it gets!
I was soaked. Not ten minutes later the guys that come and cut my
lawn showed up.......I guess they thought I had lost my
mind....Swimming in the puddle.... I scooped out about 4 inches of
bottom "stuff", mostly composed of pinecones, and needles...and goo. I
have to do this every year, but this year I didn't have an old kiddie
pond to empty the water into....it does make it easier. I have a very
old/large pinetree that spans my yard and pond. I put the stuff
under my plants, they reward me with vigourous growth. I pulled out
the winter bubbler, hooked up the main pump, set up the underwater
light, and picked out any of the rocks that had fallen down. I set
the lillies where they would get the best sun, and after climbing out
I realized I forgot to move the lotus pot.....and then my little lily
promptly floated to the top. My squatter frog is nowhere to be seen
today, I guess he took cover, and the water is still pretty cloudy,
but clearer than yesterday. I should have tested the water quality
before I started to stir things up.....darn it.

I'll keep my eye out for hyacinth here, but my local shop closed, they
helped me when I first walked in the store and said "what do I need to
set up a pond"..... I only need one or two hyacinth, maybe I'll toss
some watercress in till then. I need to pick up some fertilizer
spikes too,

I can't imagine the work involved in large setups! I applaud all of
you that manage this.
Maureen

Want some hyacinth? If I can legally send it, I could send you some
of ours for postage.

Jim