Are you needing Sedum or wanting sedum to cover areas other than the pump area?? Could a removeable lattuce '"Box" be built around/over it to set container plants on or grow blooming short vines on???
"Grace without perfection is more to be desired than perfection without grace."
Thanks for opening this, Diane! I had written a post just before yours in the old thread, but it seems to have gotten lost in lalaland!!!
I, too, was wondering if that was a sedum, Dodge? I have one that looks similar, and does get yellow flowers.
Yet another GREAT idea, Diane. I will talk that one over with Don - about the lattice box. I know he needs to be able to access the pump, so it would't be able to have vines growing from the ground, but it could help cover it a bit.
The lattice box with potted draping plants would be a helpful cover. They actually make fake rocks to cover pool/spa pumps out of fiber glass that lift off easily. I've never found any that really look like our indigenous rock though. They might look like yours.
~Tina
Drama Free Zone. What every gardener loves the most, Begins and ends in rich compost. (Tina)
please go save my posts, i did not realize the other was closing, so i have 2 posts in there about a plant for lynne....can someone move them to here...i don't know how
Those "rocks" are waaaaaaaaay expensive, Tina, and since Don is a geologist, he doesn't really care for that look anyway...
The nice thing about the way our property is sloped down away from the house, is that unless you go around to the back of the pond, or look out a 2nd story window, you won't really see the pump area anyway, so I have time to think about what to do there. I'm more concerned with stabilizing the dirt on the hill before we get snow and ice.
Ooops - Wendy - I must have missed your post about a plant - I will go back and try and save the whole post in a file, so I can access it later on - thanks!
Well, it was too long to save in my file, but I did see the pictures - thanks, Wendy - what a great, healthy plant you have there!!! I'm not sure I want a vine on the hill, and I do believe that clematis needs cool roots, and this area is in full hot all day long sun! But yours is terrific!
I hope they let us keep the last thread here for a little while longer at least, since I wasn't able to copy and save it. What is the easiest way to do that?
Don worked all day on the pond once again - he is very tired and can't figure out why!!! DUH!!!
We've had this broken large clay pot behind the shed for quite a few years now, just waiting for just the right purpose. Well... the pond is it! Don cut it in half the long way, and then smoothed out the edges, so the fish will have some place to hide in the bottom of the pond - from predators, and sun, and cold. I think he did a great job once again!
In my pond I have a "sunken ship" sitting on top of a cinder block in the shallow end of the pond. The fish love swimming thru there and hiding under there.
There really hasn't been anything to update. Don hasn't had much time to work on things lately, and the pond is a beautiful shade of [color:#009900] GREEN right now, which I know is to be expected. But in addition to the green is all the dirt that flowed in there recently. His shop vac wasn't powerful enough to get any dirt out, and he tried another concoction that also didn't work. A pond vac just isn't in the budget right now!
We haven't had time to work on the gardens surrounding it yet either - we are getting caught up in the college visits for Amy - she is a senior and time is getting short for that!
The pond has been losing a lot of water lately, and we don't know if it is evaperation, or if it sprang a leak in the liner when all the rocks caved in! Don is trying to see how much it loses each day, but has been very busy with work, so we'll have to see...
(oooops - Diane - didn't see your post until I posted mine - you couldn't even see that fish in the pea soup out there right now! Will definitely put him in when it clears up a bit!) [/color]
I just saw my first froggie sunbathing on a rock in the pond by the skimmer (right front corner) and grabbed my camera and quietly approached him, but he was too scared and jumped into the water as soon as he saw me coming.
While I was out there, I figured I'd take some pictures of the lovely "PEA SOUP" that the pond has become!
Here's the view from 1/2 way down the deck stairs...
From the front right side where I had seen the frog...
And from this gargoyle's view on the left back side...
It really turned out great Lynne. Even in green. Thats cool a frog has moved in. I went to my dollar tree and they had 1 gargoyle like yours, with its foot broken off. Then some littler ones that werent as nice.
Thanks so much, Wrennie, tamara, Diane and Carol Jean!
The pea soup is to be expected actually, though Don is not at ALL happy about it! It's called algae bloom, and most every pond gets it in the beginning of the season. However... ponds that are in full sun all day long get it the worst and it takes longer for it to subside. Oh, well... this too shall pass!
Don has filled the pond up once again, as it is definitely losing water somewhere. He's not sure how to check it, without draining ALL the water out and carefully inspecting the liner. He's going to ask the people at the pond store when he gets a chance - won't be this weekend for sure.
Wrennie - I am going to my Dollar Tree this morning - did you want one of those gargoyles if they have them? And did you know they were made from concrete??? Those suckers are HEAVVVVVVVVVVVVVY for being so small! I can pick one up for you if they have any, and bring it up next time I'm up your way.
Looks very good Lynne! I have the problem of mine being in full sun....it never did clear up once it went green! Next season I'll add an adams filter to it....but my actual water isn't so bad....it's the algae growing on the liner that makes it all look so green.
Are you guys positive it's leaking? I just ask because our is roofing rubber double folded so I know there's not a leak.....but it loses a good bit each day, I guess from evaporation and the spray going in the air and blowing water out when the wind blows.
It looks REALLY great though and I'm sure next spring you'll have it totally magical with plants!
Not much to update here... pond is still losing lots of water, so tonight Don turned off the waterfall and filled it up again. We'll see if it still loses water, and if not, then he has some work to do on the waterfall. If it still loses as much, then he's gonna have to see about a leak.
We now have 2 resident froggies - yippee! There were 2 sunbathing mid-day today. The one is always on the same rock near the skimmer, and today there was another one on the rocks in the front. That one jumped into the pond when he saw me from a distance. The usual "fraidy frog" sat on the rock and I was able to get this blury picture of him before he saw me move closer and joined his friend in the water. I'm so glad that some aquatic animals have found their way here - wonder if they are the same 2 frogs we had last year in the bathtub pond?
lynne, i just had to look when i saw there was recent posts....i love the gargoyle's view!!!!!!!!!!!! it looks just stunning! sorry about the water thing, i know how frustrating algae is.....hope you don't have a leak!
Wrennie - I am going to my Dollar Tree this morning - did you want one of those gargoyles if they have them? And did you know they were made from concrete??? Those suckers are HEAVVVVVVVVVVVVVY for being so small! I can pick one up for you if they have any, and bring it up next time I'm up your way.
The broken one I saw, i could tell it was concrete. They wont be blowing away. Thats for sure. I didnt see this post till now. Thats OK, I'll survive gargoyle-less. Thanks for offering though. My dollar tree had a bunch of yarn yesterday, mostly eyelash, but its the first I've seen yarn there. No gargoyles at all.
Thanks for your interest, Wendy! Not much to report right now...
YES, it's still really bad pea soup...
because... the waterfall and pump have been off for about 3 weeks now...
because... Don has been busy on weekends and hasn't had time to work on the pond.
And... the good news is that it does NOT appear to be a leak, but DOES appear to be from the waterfall, as the pond hasn't lost any water since he turned it off.
The bad news is... he thinks it's from evaporation from the waterfall and wants to connect the hose up so that it automatically refills the pond! I say that we cannot afford for water to be constantly pouring into the pond , and that the water is SPLASHING and SEEPING off the waterfall and causing the level to be lower. We are disagreeing about all this, but he did take all the rocks off the waterfall the other day, and started to rebuild it, but it got dark out too quickly. He's hoping to be able to finish it tomorrow if he can get home from work early enough. He won't have any time this weekend once again to work on it.
I need to get the fish out there - I'm tired of cleaning the tanks, and the big goldfish from Margaret is eating all the pleco's food everyday! But I need to do this very soon before it gets too cold and shocks them.
Although hey, I know how much work it is cleaning a tank with big goldfish....I can't believe how dirty they are.
Throw 'em in there Lynne.....I had a really small storage container that I put mine in, then I floated that in the pond for a few hours until the water in the container was about the same as out of the container...then I sent 'em free!
I thought maybe your water levels was from evaporation! Mine is down a LOT each day with the pump spraying....I'd say at least an inch maybe more. Luckily we don't have a water meter(don't ask me why not almost every house in town does) and we pay a flat fee each month...so YEP I run the heck out of our cold water----some days I even let the hose in the pond so it overflows....the past week or so I've done this everyday and the water quality seems to be improving.....it's not so green now.
I just wish there were a way for the liner to not turn so green......I hate that. But with full sun conditions there isn't much that can be done about it.
How many fish do you have to release into the pond?
I bought special fall/spring fish pellets a few weeks ago and a thermometer....between a certain pond temp I'm supposed to feed them the special food to get them ready for winter, and then when it hit's 40 or below it's time to quit feeding---you knew that though.
loz - I'm so jealous that you don't have a water meter!!! Our water bill for last quarter was horrendous, and that was just with Don using the inground sprinklers and Amy's ridiculously lonnnnnnnnnng showers!!! I'm afraid to see the next one after Don filled the pond!
Yep - you know me well about the fish! I currently have the VERY large goldie, three 3 inch goldies, and 1 baby koi - also about 3 inches. The other baby koi died last week all of a sudden - don't have a clue why.
I really think the splashes and seeping are causing the water loss more than simple evaporation. We were down several inches every other day before he shut the waterfall down!
I just chuck splashes in with evaporation.....when it's windy here the pump blows the water out of the pond a lot....so it's super easy to lose water and not even realize it. I hope he gets the waterfall straightened out so you aren't having to keep refill too much.
I was mad that we didn't have a meter at first, now I love it and just run the heck out of the cold water.... The year we moved in--about 5 years ago--they said they'd be around that year to install one....5 years later and still no meter so I'm not saying a word.
You're fish will LOVE the pond. When I put mine in I told Athena my niece that they thought they were in the ocean...compared to the size of the fishtank it may as well BE the ocean!
so sorry about the waterfall! did don use that black waterfall foam? i used the heck out of in in my small stream and now see places where i could have used more!
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