Unforseen Benifits of Pond Rebuild

[Gordo33]

Last year one of the facilities I was working at was upgrading their electrical system and dug up tons of stone. They allowed me to haul as much as I wanted and 4 truck loads later I was planning to rebuild my pond.. The rebiuld started mid April and 3 weeks ago was completed enough to have a fuctioning waterfall ,stream and pond. My backyard boarders one of the neighborhood streets and there are always people passing by walking their dogs , kids or just passing by. In the past there was little to no conversation with these people.

The new pond and stream extends back an additional 15 feet towards the edge of my property boardering the street . During the rebuild and currently people are coming up to check out the progress. This allows me to meet the people who until recently were just strangers passing by.. In addition to meeting some really nice people I've learned there are several people with ponds or have neighbors who have ponds. Last night a man who I've never seen before stopped to admire the pond and we talked for 10 minutes about the pond and how he would like to build a pond in his yard .

In addition to personal joy and satisfaction the pond brings the unforseen benifit for me is meeting people from the neighborhood and sharing the passion i have developed the last 4 years for water gardening.

 

[sissy]

Calms people and makes them slow down and take a look .

 

[Lisak1]

Our pond is more secluded - in our backyard so from the street you would never know it was here. But our back yard and next door neighbors spend some time hanging over the fence chatting on a regular basis.

Funny story - there are two little girls who live behind us who love to watch the fish through the fence. Today I was in the pond grooming lilies and in general puttering around and the younger girl was at the fence. Of course she was fascinated that I was actually IN the pond. I heard her dad calling her and asking "what are you doing?" She replied "I'm watching the lady swim in the pond!" He said "What have we told you about telling the truth?? THERE IS NO LADY IN THE PON... oh, hi lady in the pond!" haha!

 

[Gordo33]

Today I was in the pond grooming lilies

thats a great story and good timing because I was getting ready to start a thread asking how to get the lillies from the 2 foot deep section down to three feet. The 2 foot section is a narrow shelf that is crowded and I need to spread the pots out.

 

[Lisak1]

Climb in @Gordo33 ! The water is fine!

 

[Gordo33]

Calms people and makes them slow down and take a look .

Yeah its amazing and its been fun getting to meet everyone.

 

[Gordo33]

Climb in @Gordo33 ! The water is fine!

Will be in there this weekend. The lilies will appreciate the calmer water. Right now they are next to the water flowing in from the stream

 

[addy1]

I wander in the pond all of the time, well once the water is warm, the fish nibble on your legs.

 

[Lisak1]

The lilies will appreciate the calmer water

I don't know that the lilies mind the moving water so much, but I do like them where it's more still as the pads tend to spread out over the water more rather than all bunching up in the flow.

 

[Gordo33]

I don't know that the lilies mind the moving water so much, but I do like them where it's more still as the pads tend to spread out over the water more rather than all bunching up in the flow.

I remember reading water lilies prefer calm water and should be kept away from waterfalls and rapid water . Don't know the source because this was several years ago when I first put them in the pond. I have noticed pads and stems breaking off at a greater rate then when they were in calmer water. I built 16 and 22 inch deep steps that lead to the deep portion of the pond which is 3 feet. I had the lilies in the temporary pond during the rebuild and the water was only several inches above the pots so I didnt want to start them in the deep end. The water flow out of the stream into the pond pushes the pads with a good amount of force.

 

[Lisak1]

FWIW - you can drop a water lily directly to the recommended depth. The pads will reach the surface in record time.

 

[Gordo33]

FWIW - you can drop a water lily directly to the recommended depth. The pads will reach the surface in record time.

ok thanks... my experience with the hardies some did well keeping them in the deep end after over wintering and some needed to come closer to the surfaace to jump start them. I wasnt smart enough to lable the pots so after rebuild I put them all on shelves. This pond is a foot deeper.

I noticed something interesting this morning . One of the flowers was at least 3 inches above the water. This one was directly in front of and closest to the stream. Yesterday the bud was just above the water. I wonder if that is because of the water smashing into it from the stream. In the past the flowers were always just on the waters surface or less than an inch above

 

[Lisak1]

All lilies benefit from being brought closer to the surface in the spring - the warmer water helps get them growing faster. I generally pull all of mine up for a few weeks and then drop them once they start producing pads.

I think how far the flower stands up from the water is more dependent on the variety than anything. I've seen some types advertised with that trait as the selling point.