The other thread went a tiny bit over so I'm starting a new one.
Yesterday, I went to a "new to me" perennial nursery which I'll write about later in Gardener's Chat, but I just had to mention here that I got one of the plants that Carol had suggested! I'm not sure I'll put it by the pond though, because I only got one smallish pot since they were $10 each!
It's the blue eyed grass! I was so excited to see that they actually had something that had been recommended here and that I liked - of COURSE I had to get one since it does flower blue!
But... according to what Carol copied for me...
Quote
[color:#000000]Sisyrinchium Angustifolium--(blue-eyed grass) 16 inches high--blue green narrowe leaves appear to be a grass--but is not a true grass. has clusters of blue flowers with yellow eyes--needs to be in a group for best effect.--blooms late spring.--sun
It's a shame that I couldn't buy a "group" at that price though... So it might have to go into my "blue" garden instead. (which for now is being taken over by all the new orange annuals I've planted there already - gazanias and zinnias for a start. But blue and orange are on opposite sides of the color wheel so it should work out just fine!)
Thanks for letting me know about this plant, Carol! [/color]
Welllllllll there's good news and bad news to report tonight...
First the bad... The past 2 days or so, I've been seeing one of the new baby koi that I bought last Monday hanging out about 5 inches from the left side of the waterfall. Initially I thought he was dead and floating, so when I went to feed the fish 2 mornings ago I took the net with me. As soon as I got near, he swam down into the water. But he remained in this spot for about 2 days. Sometimes the other baby koi hung out with him there - weird!
But... yesterday morning Don told me that there was a dead fish in the skimmer part of the waterfall pump. How did he get in there??? Don said he must have gone through the bottom drain! I didn't have time to look until this morning, as we had a very busy day yesterday. There were then TWO dead koi in the skimmer! I can't believe they went down the very small slit of the drain edge - it's just too strange!
And... I haven't seen any of the 3 medium sized feeder goldfish that I put in the pond last Sunday, since the day I put them in. I turned over the pot shelter this morning but there was no site of them. So where could they be if not with the other dead ones? Late this afternoon, Don checked the regular skimmer for me, and there were all 3 of them swimming around and thankfully all healthy! He threw them back into the pond and they went directly under the pot.
BUT... and here's the best of the good part... He also noticed a toad in the skimmer just sitting there as happy as could be! I ran in to get my camera and he was still sitting perfectly still. Here are the best of the pictures - he would not leave the skimmer as Don put it back together after cleaning it out - I hope he comes out on his own one of these days so we can enjoy him in plain site!
Don cannot do anything about the bottom drain, but he did turn down a bit both the skimmer and the waterfall, so hopefully the other fish won't end up in there again!
Did you see my first post here Carol - what I wrote to you?
The other thread went a tiny bit over so I'm starting a new one.
Yesterday, I went to a "new to me" perennial nursery which I'll write about later in Gardener's Chat, but I just had to mention here that I got one of the plants that Carol had suggested! I'm not sure I'll put it by the pond though, because I only got one smallish pot since they were $10 each!
It's the blue eyed grass! I was so excited to see that they actually had something that had been recommended here and that I liked - of COURSE I had to get one since it does flower blue!
But... according to what Carol copied for me...
Quote
[color:#000000]Sisyrinchium Angustifolium--(blue-eyed grass) 16 inches high--blue green narrowe leaves appear to be a grass--but is not a true grass. has clusters of blue flowers with yellow eyes--needs to be in a group for best effect.--blooms late spring.--sun
It's a shame that I couldn't buy a "group" at that price though... So it might have to go into my "blue" garden instead. (which for now is being taken over by all the new orange annuals I've planted there already - gazanias and zinnias for a start. But blue and orange are on opposite sides of the color wheel so it should work out just fine!)
Thanks for letting me know about this plant, Carol! [/color]
Your welcome, Lynne---and I cannot wait to see how it grows for you---I may buy some for my new flower bed as well---
________
Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!! .....
Awwwwwwwwww I'm soo sorry for the loss of your two koi Can the skimmer be adjusted somehow so this doesn't happen again???
You're right,, Mr. Toad needs a name since he appears he may take up permanent residency!
Einstein?? For being smart enough to found a great new place,and even smarter not to leave even while Don was working on the skimmer?? He knew he found paradise ~ a far cry from where he had come from I'm sure! :wink:
"Grace without perfection is more to be desired than perfection without grace."
Diane - you are too sweet! I'm not sure how much of a paradise it is, but if he sticks around, I actually have a container of frog food I can feed to him.
I was thinking of naming him Walt? Came from thinking of warts - ya know... from frogs? Couldn't call him Wart, so Walt is close?
I'm sorry you lost 2 fish. I wonder how other people with your pond set up manage to not lose fish? I hope you can figure out a way around it all so it doesn't keep happening Lynne.
I did read the other day that new koi fish added to a pond will be very skittish and hide for a good while until they get used to their pond environment. My goldfish were the same way at first. They hid forever.
The 2 koi are gone, but the 3 goldfish are hopefully still in there. I haven't seen them all day, but Don checked both skimmers when he came home and I also checked the big one earlier - the were not there. I just hope they are getting some of the food before it gets into the skimmer since they don't ever seem to come out and eat it!
I have used 3 applications of the Algae Fix and my pond is still green. I'm wondering if my pond was just so bad that it will take longer to fix it? Tomorrow will be another application so we'll see how it goes.
I hope your fish are getting the food too....when I first put my fish in the new pond it took them a long time before they'd actually come up to eat. I guess they just weren't used to it.
Actually, our pond has gotten green again since the sun was on it last week. I imagine it's going to take a while for the algae to be controlled while the pond heats up for summer.
Don wants to try and vacuum it out again - there really is too much dirt in it, but none of the vacuums he's tried is working very well, and the real pond vacs are just too expensive. I wish they would rent them, like they rent carpet cleaners in supermarkets!
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!! Another fish is dead in the waterfall skimmer - the first of the 3 nice sized goldfish to go...
What is going on? I emailed Don hoping he can call the pond store and find out. I'm thinking that the drain is sucking them down, but I don't know anything at all about how it all works. Hopefully Don can get it fixed - there are only 2 more goldfish left in the pond now - at least I think they are still there!
Don just got home and said it's the drain that runs to the waterfall - it's how the water is circulated around and up to the waterfall, so it has to run. He said he'd turn it down, and that I should try and get bigger fish so they don't fit into the slit of the drain, but I don't want to lose bigger MORE EXPENSIVE fish too, you know?
Diane - you are too sweet! I'm not sure how much of a paradise it is, but if he sticks around, I actually have a container of frog food I can feed to him.
I was thinking of naming him Walt? Came from thinking of warts - ya know... from frogs? Couldn't call him Wart, so Walt is close?
hope you didn't name him Walt because of warts. That makes me think of HPV. (guess cause I do pap smears all day long not because of the name Walt. I have a good friend named Walt and he doesn't look a bit like a wart)
I like Einstein. He does look like a statue. Are toads good for the ponds?
Could you get a water plant basket---you know---the kind that is full of holes...or heck, even a colander--and then line it with mesh and then turn it upside down over the drain---and maybe put a small rock on it to weigh it down?
Now to find a basket that will fit over the drain and have just the right sized holes... not too big for the fish to go through, but big enough for the water to flow smoothly through! A strainer would not have large enough holes. And I don't really want to have to spend on a water plant basket because the only place around here that might even have one is the expensive pond store. HMMMMMMM...Any suggestions?
Yes, Sheri - I did name him Walt instead of Wart. Sorry about your connections to that.
I heard a loud, long song a little while ago and am thinking it was him, or another frog. I didn't see him yesterday when I looked in the skimmer, but he's probably around somewhere.
I have a brilliant idea about 3 times a year , glad I could help and that I had one for you Lynne.
I hope it works out. I'm not sure what your drain looks like on the bottom, is it round? I'm just trying to picture it in my head. But it would be an inexpensive fix.
I NEED a froggy! Last year my neighbor caught me a few at her daughters pool. But she moved, the daughter, so if it comes down to it maybe I'll see if Mark can catch me one at the river.
Don said that the mesh strainers would not be good because it wouldn't allow the water to flow as much as it needs to. He also said it's about 12 inches in diameter and the basket can't have a thick top to it because it would block the space where the water flows into when it's inverted.
This is going to be an interesting expedition to find just the right thing!
i have a colander with square holes that is about 12" in diameter. water just flows through it. the holes are about 1/8 inch or maybe larger, too small for a fish, but large enough it doesn't hold water at all. not even a little bit. spaghetti flows through it (i had to buy a different colander for spaghetti).
it came from a dollar store. i think it was $1.88.
being on the lookout for one of those sounds perfect.
That was my thought too, Jiffy. Unfortunately there are only 2 dollar stores anywhere near here anymore, but I will hit them just as I get rid of this awful cold. I have no idea where this came from, but boy oh boy did it hit me over the head yesterday and is worse today...
Carol - you are too funny! For those of you who don't know what she means, we were IMing on Monday when she wasn't feeling well, and then Tuesday I came down with this cold - weird!
I tried to bake the cold out a bit on the deck this afternoon - it was 80 degrees there - always warmer than the real temperature, but I couldn't sit still. I did constantly hear a noise that sounded like a frog or toad! I hope he's still hanging around. I think he's an American toad, from what I saw in a google search. I need to find a site that has frog/toad sounds now.
Edit: OK - found a site quickly, and YES - that was him!!! This time it sounded like it was coming from somewhere by the waterfall. Hope he's getting comfy here.
I really have no idea, Sheri, but he won't eat the fish, and I do love most critters, so long as they are not doing harm. I do imagine he'll eat some bugs for me?
Edit again...
Just found this interesting info, but while it does say they can secrete a poisonous substance which can irritae human skin, it also says they make good pets!!!
Quote
This species can be difficult to identify. It never has a spotted belly and both cranial crests touch the parotoid glands. In the Eastern American toad these crests almost never touch the parotoid glands, which secrete bufotoxin, a poisonous substance. The poison the toad excretes is mild, but can irritate human skin.
American toads require a semi-permanent freshwater pond or pool for their early development. They also require dense patches of vegetation, for cover and hunting grounds. Given these two things and a supply of insects for food, American toads can live almost everywhere, ranging from forests to backyards. They are common in gardens and agricultural fields. During daylight hours they seek cover beneath porches, under boardwalks, flat stones, boards, logs, wood piles, or other cover. They are easy to find and make good pets. When cold weather comes, these toads dig backwards into their summer homes or may choose another site in which to hibernate
Last edited by plants 'n pots; May 14th, 2008 at 03:15 PM. Reason: found info about the toad
Thought I'd update with a few pictures today. I've been moving some sedums over to the hills of the pond, that have been growing in assorted gardens around the house. I'm hoping that they take off and grow into each other making a nice thick ground cover, so the soil stays put and doesn't keep raining down when it gets wet.
Here are both sides of the hill - the other plant you see there is a lambs ear on each side. I'm so disappointed though - the woman at the nursery told me it would get purple blooms, but I got a catalogue yesterday from another nursery with that same variety in it, and it says it's non-flowering. Oh, well...
And 1 of 2 pots of waterlillies starting to grow leaves out finally! (the red dots you see is food for the 2 fish that are hopefully left - haven't seen them in days!)
I asked Don to assemble the adirondack chair that I bought last summer, so I could see how much room it would take up in the pond garden - it also has a matching ottoman and side table. It actually takes up quite a bit of the space I marked out for the garden, but I don't really want to make it bigger and use up most of the flat land we have up by the house, before the yard slopes down away from the house.
Here is the chair and the pond...
And here is a close-up of the chair and ottoman, and also showing the area that Don started digging up for me today. Poor thing - his back has been hurting him a lot, but he keeps on going like the energizer bunny!
Now that I look at the pictures here, I think I might have to ask him to enlarge it, because I do have some larger sized plants to move into these gardens. Hmmmm...
I'm liking the chair Lynne! and I'm soooooooo glad you made sure there was an area for sitting at the pond,, the plants are looking good too!,, have you seen your fishes yet??
"Grace without perfection is more to be desired than perfection without grace."
No sign of any fish yet! There are only 2 left in the pond - that is... if they are still in there! Don is going to try and vacuum it out again tomorrow - it got a lot of dirt in the when he had to turn the waterfall off to get the dead fish out of that skimmer. I'm hoping the weather cooperates and he can do that tomorrow. Then I will look for a basket again tomorrow and Monday.
Thanks Loz! Haven't sat in it because we only placed it there to get an idea of the size of the garden. It's raining today, so the work that Don started earlier this morning out there has been put on hold.
Yep - blue chair! When I saw it I just had to have it. By the way... I've been wearing the gardening gloves that you sent me, and I just realized that they were blue! Thanks again for sending them - they are being used well!
I like those gloves because they aren't the really cheap ones---they have that rubber stuff so your hands get grip and don't get all wet, but they aren't really expensive either....I go through a lot of pairs in a year. And I'm glad you're using them.
It has rained her forever. Today is rained all morning, but now it's blue skies with lots of clouds and sunny(ish).
Still noooooooooooo sight of fish! And Don didn't get to vacuum the pond out today, so I don't know when I'll get some more and try again. I haven't found a basket yet either - didn't go out today like I was going to - this cold just will not go away!
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I didn't have time to look until this morning, as we had a very busy day yesterday. There were then TWO dead koi in the skimmer! 
I can't believe they went down the very small slit of the drain edge - it's just too strange!
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