My goldfish pond

[cas]

Your pond looks great!

 

[CometKeith]

Looks good, Keith. I have a strange (maybe!!) question; are you allowed to take pics from pond-side? I don't think I've seen one yet from that pov! Jus' sayin'!

I think since you cut down the yellow flag, the whole pond looks more balanced. I sort of had a similar experience in that when I first built my pond I too put in some yellow flag in a pot. It grew (of course) and started to overflow the pot. Now, I didn't realize how tall they could get and I'd originally put the iris fairly near the front of the pond. It too looked out of place in that the height just didn't jell with the other plants and landscaping. It dominated too much. Moving it back out of the way and thinning went a long way to making my pond look nicer, just like yours.

And you thought you were 'done' tweaking the pond, didn'tcha? Told you there was more for you to find to do! I'm glad this hobby has such teases as it might get boring day after day just sitting by the side and throwing fish food out every now and then!

Great observation about not taking pics right next to the pond. For some reason I like to take pics from higher above because there is less reflected light and the pics come out better Here are a few pics next to the pond I took today. I also took one of the 2nd floor deck and stairs I usually take pics from. My water is super clear now since I upgraded my bog pump. I guess it’s time to get some more fish Thanks for the comment about the yellow flag. This was a pet peeve of my wife because she thought it was out of balance with it being so large and I hated cutting it down because I liked it, but I guess she was right! There is a smaller one in front she wants me to get rid of too. I hacked half of it off a few weeks ago, but she wants it all gone now. We went on a pond tour the other day together. It was interesting seeing them and getting a clearer picture of what to do and what not to do! Lol.

 

[brokensword]

Great observation about not taking pics right next to the pond. For some reason I like to take pics from higher above because there is less reflected light and the pics come out better Here are a few pics next to the pond I took today. I also took one of the 2nd floor deck and stairs I usually take pics from. My water is super clear now since I upgraded my bog pump. I guess it’s time to get some more fish Thanks for the comment about the yellow flag. This was a pet peeve of my wife because she thought it was out of balance with it being so large and I hated cutting it down because I liked it, but I guess she was right! There is a smaller one in front she wants me to get rid of too. I hacked half of it off a few weeks ago, but she wants it all gone now. We went on a pond tour the other day together. It was interesting seeing them and getting a clearer picture of what to do and what not to do! Lol. View attachment 141256View attachment 141257View attachment 141258View attachment 141259View attachment 141260

heh, okay now, I'm going to prod you just a lil bit further! I now see you can take pics from pond side, but how about this; how about laying down at ground level and put the new falls on the right, have our waterlilies on the left. The idea is to look for a very different pov!

Just and idea!

And I don't promote losing ALL your yellow flag, I was just thinking your pond looked more balanced without such a large, tall cluster. I'd definitely have a small clump, but put it to one side, whichever you think the 'back' of the pond is. The yellow flowers are great and of course, they are great filters on their own.

Hold your ground on the debated iris you still have! As a matter of fact, just got a shipment of 5 different Japanese iris. Take a look at the Anne Chowning variety--red with yellow insets. And it doesn't grow very fast nor that tall, either. Would easily look nice along your pond edge.

And when it gets a bit to large as a clump, cut it in half and take the discarded portion and plant it in your garden proper! I've started doing this and have 2 other sections now of yellow flag iris. It doesn't grow nearly as fast/high out of water as it does in!

 

[addy1]

Whew I am so glad my dear hubby never complains about anything with the pond. He made suggestions while building, ie deck ponds, stream etc. Which I happily added, but never about the plants placement etc.

The variegated Japaneses iris stays in the 12-18 inch size with beautiful violet flowers. I have it in the small side of my deck pond, survives freezing.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

The variegated Japaneses iris stays in the 12-18 inch size with beautiful violet flowers. I have it in the small side of my deck pond, survives freezing.

I LOVE my variegated iris!! It's probably my favorite one that I have. Beautiful clump former, doesn't get out of hand, divides easily & yes! Tons of beautiful purple flowers.

 

[Tula]

Water looks crystal clear !! We run a 2500 on our tiny bog, so thinking you really did need a bigger pump. When you say you cut some water willow....do you pull up it's roots of just cut. I'm currently out of town, but when I get back I've got to thin out the water willow too !

 

[addy1]

When you say you cut some water willow....do you pull up it's roots of just cut. I'm currently out of town, but when I get back I've got to thin out the water willow too !

Just pull it out, comes out easy

 

[CometKeith]

heh, okay now, I'm going to prod you just a lil bit further! I now see you can take pics from pond side, but how about this; how about laying down at ground level and put the new falls on the right, have our waterlilies on the left. The idea is to look for a very different pov!

Just and idea!

And I don't promote losing ALL your yellow flag, I was just thinking your pond looked more balanced without such a large, tall cluster. I'd definitely have a small clump, but put it to one side, whichever you think the 'back' of the pond is. The yellow flowers are great and of course, they are great filters on their own.

Hold your ground on the debated iris you still have! As a matter of fact, just got a shipment of 5 different Japanese iris. Take a look at the Anne Chowning variety--red with yellow insets. And it doesn't grow very fast nor that tall, either. Would easily look nice along your pond edge.

And when it gets a bit to large as a clump, cut it in half and take the discarded portion and plant it in your garden proper! I've started doing this and have 2 other sections now of yellow flag iris. It doesn't grow nearly as fast/high out of water as it does in!

Thanks. Yes there are still some small clumps of the yellow flag. I’m just going to remove one that’s smack dab in the middle of the best viewing area of the fish. So where did you get the Japanese iris? I think it would go well with the other Japanese items in the yard. My Japanese cherry tree and my Japanese Koi! I went to Japan a few years ago and really enjoyed the trip. So I tried taking a few pics right next to it on the ground. The problem is there are a lot of water ripples from the mini waterfall and also when the fish see me they alway go crazy because they assume I’m going to give them food!

 

[CometKeith]

Water looks crystal clear !! We run a 2500 on our tiny bog, so thinking you really did need a bigger pump. When you say you cut some water willow....do you pull up it's roots of just cut. I'm currently out of town, but when I get back I've got to thin out the water willow too !

Thanks Addy. I cut it because I had a few concerns. One I didn’t want to disturb the gravel too much and make the water dirty and 2nd I wasn’t sure if there were enough other plants in the bog. My second question was answered already as there are still lots of plants there. I just didn’t want to change things too much and run into problems. I think as the water willow starts to grow back I’ll just yank it out where I don’t want it. Thanks!

 

[CometKeith]

Water looks crystal clear !! We run a 2500 on our tiny bog, so thinking you really did need a bigger pump. When you say you cut some water willow....do you pull up it's roots of just cut. I'm currently out of town, but when I get back I've got to thin out the water willow too !

Thanks Tula. Yes the water is really clear but the other morning it was a little murky. There were lots of goldfish chasing each other! We had a week with cooler weather and they must have got confused thinking it was spring and they started spawning! I don’t think I’ll get any babies though because where the goldfish were causing the biggest disruption a bunch of koi went there to snack on the eggs the goldfish dropped!

 

[brokensword]

Thanks. Yes there are still some small clumps of the yellow flag. I’m just going to remove one that’s smack dab in the middle of the best viewing area of the fish. So where did you get the Japanese iris? I think it would go well with the other Japanese items in the yard. My Japanese cherry tree and my Japanese Koi! I went to Japan a few years ago and really enjoyed the trip. So I tried taking a few pics right next to it on the ground. The problem is there are a lot of water ripples from the mini waterfall and also when the fish see me they alway go crazy because they assume I’m going to give them food!View attachment 141345View attachment 141346

Keith; I got them from Sonoran Water Gardens. They were a bit small but priced better than some other places (which were actually out of the Anne Chowning version I wanted). One note; I had to actually prod them via Paypal as they did not send a confirmation email nor respond to a phone call or email inquiry. Rather disappointing but the iris did come. They have a nice selection of different colors.

You can flip the pump switch off for a few moments while you take pics; I do that sometimes. Also, on my camera, I have a polarizing filter which cuts the glare (not the ripples, but it's the glare that is bothersome ON the ripples). Try that and see if you like the results. I can understand now why you've always taken aerial shots! Okay, I like the closeups for sure, but see if you can lower your pov even further; ask one of your grandkids when they stop by, to actually hold the phone/camera while laying on the ground so you get more or less a frog's eye view! It can be quite intriquing. I used to just take them pondside, aiming down, then thought 'how about a water level view?' Really neat with the perspective this way; I heartily advise other camera buffs to try likewise. If your phone/camera has some sort of flippy screen so you can just lower it down and still see the screen, it's easiest that way but you can do it the old-fashioned way of lying on you stomach, too! I have a gopro type action cam and just used that. The distortion due to the wide angle actually lends the pics a different look, esp down low like that.

Another 'photog' idea; try taking pics at different times of day; for me, I find my shots just before dusk can make the whole scene look different, what with the shadows lining up in new ways, etc. In the morning, for me, the sun is heading more or less into the cam and the shots often are over-exposed in areas, but it's still interesting.

Overall though, I think your shots are just fine.

Just some ideas and whatnots!

I just got some bog bean this year; looks like yours are getting established! I'm told they can be invasive, so keep an eye on them!

 

[CometKeith]

I got rid of the yellow flag in the middle. It makes it easier to take pics of the fish now.

 

[CometKeith]

Keith; I got them from Sonoran Water Gardens. They were a bit small but priced better than some other places (which were actually out of the Anne Chowning version I wanted). One note; I had to actually prod them via Paypal as they did not send a confirmation email nor respond to a phone call or email inquiry. Rather disappointing but the iris did come. They have a nice selection of different colors.

You can flip the pump switch off for a few moments while you take pics; I do that sometimes. Also, on my camera, I have a polarizing filter which cuts the glare (not the ripples, but it's the glare that is bothersome ON the ripples). Try that and see if you like the results. I can understand now why you've always taken aerial shots! Okay, I like the closeups for sure, but see if you can lower your pov even further; ask one of your grandkids when they stop by, to actually hold the phone/camera while laying on the ground so you get more or less a frog's eye view! It can be quite intriquing. I used to just take them pondside, aiming down, then thought 'how about a water level view?' Really neat with the perspective this way; I heartily advise other camera buffs to try likewise. If your phone/camera has some sort of flippy screen so you can just lower it down and still see the screen, it's easiest that way but you can do it the old-fashioned way of lying on you stomach, too! I have a gopro type action cam and just used that. The distortion due to the wide angle actually lends the pics a different look, esp down low like that.

Another 'photog' idea; try taking pics at different times of day; for me, I find my shots just before dusk can make the whole scene look different, what with the shadows lining up in new ways, etc. In the morning, for me, the sun is heading more or less into the cam and the shots often are over-exposed in areas, but it's still interesting.

Overall though, I think your shots are just fine.

Just some ideas and whatnots!

I just got some bog bean this year; looks like yours are getting established! I'm told they can be invasive, so keep an eye on them!

Thanks Broken. I looked up the iris. It looks nice but it probably won’t work because our garage is red. My wife prefers purple and white for flower colors. I also saw a violet iris that looks nice so I may look into that. Thanks for the camera tips. My daughter actually made the camera in my phone so I may ask her what she suggests! I totally agree about evening pics or other pics not in direct sun. I like the idea about turning off the waterfall to take pics. Hmmm my grandson is only 3. Not sure if he has the attention span to take pics but I can try! He helped me feed the fish this morning. Half of the food he threw ended up in the bushes!! So the bog bean in my bog is so much nicer because the koi are not eating the roots. The leaves are a darker green and much larger. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[addy1]

This is the one I have, grows slowly, short and beautiful lilac/ purple flowers.

 

[Tula]

I have on like that and it's getting established.....hoping for blooms next year