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Well, after spending the weekend knee-deep in the pond, things seem to have gotten back to normal in my underwater kingdom.
All it took was a thorough vacuuming, restructuring of the waterfall, plant rinsing, a multi-gallon water change, adding some new microbes to break down leaves, flushing the hosing from pump to filter and trimming back the waterlillies so I can actually see the fish again.
Sounds like a bit much, huh? Fortunately the weather was warm -- a little too warm on Sunday. August usually wreaks havoc on my pond's eco system, but my being away for two whole weeks was the primary reason for such a sludge build-up. Pond maintenance is usually a lot easier when there's a little done every other day.
Despite all the work, I even had a little leftover time on Sunday to sit by the tinkling waters for some reading and watching the dogs trying to catch the frogs (they never do, the frogs are too fast). So once again, the water is crystal clear, the fish are swimming thru the bubbler with glee and the frogs are sunning themselves on lillypads. Tranquility has been restored in my backyard oasis.
While sitting by the pond, I noticed that the zebra grasses are tufting, a sure sign that fall's around the corner. My zebra grasses are having a great season, most of them are over seven feet tall (without the tufts). The tufts are the closest thing to blooming the grass does. Feather-like fronds protrude from the tall blades standing usually at least a foot taller than the grass. It's a beautiful sight, further signalling the end of my favorite season.
My Ravena grasses have been tufting since about mid-August. Their fronds are different from the zebra's. Long, strong stems emerge from the soft grass and stand anywhere from 3 to 8 feet above the blades, with feathery puffs at the top. My Ravenas are easily over 10-ft. tall this season as you can see here with the lighthouse in the foreground for comparison.
It's a sharp contrast to the fountain grass, which has much softer cattail-like tufts that hover atop the mounds of grass. Now's a good time to buy some grasses for your garden. Many varieties are available at your local nurseries and a lot of them are discounted this late in the season. There's plenty of time to get them in the ground and established before the weather turns cold!
Soon it'll be time to get out those grass trimmings from last spring, which will adorn the front of my house for autumn decoration. I can't bring myself to do it yet, that's the final nail in the coffin of summer and I'm just not ready. Especially with the weather still so nice.Enjoy!
Next up: Fall garden planning
All it took was a thorough vacuuming, restructuring of the waterfall, plant rinsing, a multi-gallon water change, adding some new microbes to break down leaves, flushing the hosing from pump to filter and trimming back the waterlillies so I can actually see the fish again.
Sounds like a bit much, huh? Fortunately the weather was warm -- a little too warm on Sunday. August usually wreaks havoc on my pond's eco system, but my being away for two whole weeks was the primary reason for such a sludge build-up. Pond maintenance is usually a lot easier when there's a little done every other day.
Despite all the work, I even had a little leftover time on Sunday to sit by the tinkling waters for some reading and watching the dogs trying to catch the frogs (they never do, the frogs are too fast). So once again, the water is crystal clear, the fish are swimming thru the bubbler with glee and the frogs are sunning themselves on lillypads. Tranquility has been restored in my backyard oasis.
While sitting by the pond, I noticed that the zebra grasses are tufting, a sure sign that fall's around the corner. My zebra grasses are having a great season, most of them are over seven feet tall (without the tufts). The tufts are the closest thing to blooming the grass does. Feather-like fronds protrude from the tall blades standing usually at least a foot taller than the grass. It's a beautiful sight, further signalling the end of my favorite season.
My Ravena grasses have been tufting since about mid-August. Their fronds are different from the zebra's. Long, strong stems emerge from the soft grass and stand anywhere from 3 to 8 feet above the blades, with feathery puffs at the top. My Ravenas are easily over 10-ft. tall this season as you can see here with the lighthouse in the foreground for comparison.
It's a sharp contrast to the fountain grass, which has much softer cattail-like tufts that hover atop the mounds of grass. Now's a good time to buy some grasses for your garden. Many varieties are available at your local nurseries and a lot of them are discounted this late in the season. There's plenty of time to get them in the ground and established before the weather turns cold!
Soon it'll be time to get out those grass trimmings from last spring, which will adorn the front of my house for autumn decoration. I can't bring myself to do it yet, that's the final nail in the coffin of summer and I'm just not ready. Especially with the weather still so nice.Enjoy!
Next up: Fall garden planning
Labels: backyard ponds, fountain grass, ravena grass, water gardening, zebra grass
posted by Garden Gal at
12:04 PM
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