What does your pond look like ... Today?

[addy1]

The lilies are going crazy, I have around 15 open right now.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I went out to Windy Oaks Aquatics today. Hadn't been out there in maybe a few years.
Picked up bog bean. I could've bought a lot more but decided to limit myself to the one plant.

@addy1 I know you have bog bean. Do you grow it in both your pond and bog? Do you pot it or just let it wander in the pond?

 

[addy1]

@addy1 I know you have bog bean. Do you grow it in both your pond and bog? Do you pot it or just let it wander in the pond?

I have it in my deck ponds. Planted in dirt then just let it grow. Takes a few years to get going real well. At least for me, now I need to cut it off and on during the summer. Love the flowers. Has nice long roots.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I really like it. I think my pond will have a more natural feel once it starts growing out.

Also, my Rocky Mountain Penstemon started blooming today. This is a first-time bloomer for me. I was hesitant about getting something else non-native, but I'm entirely happy with it so far. I grew it from seed a couple years ago. It has a real nice structure and the flowers are fantastic. Even the buds are nice and showy.

 

[addy1]

You can see it here, the flowers and the growth. I put some in my big pond but pulled it out, my lilies take over the big pond so wanted them to not be crowded.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I really like it. I think my pond will have a more natural feel once it starts growing out.
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Also, my Rocky Mountain Penstemon started blooming today. This is a first-time bloomer for me. I was hesitant about getting something else non-native, but I'm entirely happy with it so far. I grew it from seed a couple years ago. It has a real nice structure and the flowers are fantastic. Even the buds are nice and showy.
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Love that Penstemon! Such a gorgeous color & form. I have a LOT of bog bean in my pond. It took a couple years to really get going, but it definitely is a mainstay (IMO) I anchored mine on the shelves with gravel & then let it wander out & over the surface of the pond as it sees fit. When it gets a bit too rambunctious, I trim off the best runners & 'replant' them closer to the shelves (after it's done blooming, of course. Can't deny myself those beautiful, very early blossoms!)

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Love that Penstemon! Such a gorgeous color & form. I have a LOT of bog bean in my pond. It took a couple years to really get going, but it definitely is a mainstay (IMO) I anchored mine on the shelves with gravel & then let it wander out & over the surface of the pond as it sees fit. When it gets a bit too rambunctious, I trim off the best runners & 'replant' them closer to the shelves (after it's done blooming, of course. Can't deny myself those beautiful, very early blossoms!)

I'm looking forward to seeing it spread. Even the little bit I have now is nice to see. I've never really had much other than lilies and sedges, so it's nice to see a different type of plant.

 

[cas]

Did you fertilize your water lilies this year @addy1 ? I decided to skip fertilizing this year to see if it would help with the algae bloom I usually get. Boy, they are not liking it. No algae bloom yet so we will see if it really helped.

 

[Lisak1]

I went out to Windy Oaks Aquatics today

That's a little gem of a place! We haven't been there in a few years ourselves but plan to make a trip out later in June. Our first impression wasn't great, as they didn't really have a "staff" per se. Just one nice lady puttering around the ponds who was in no rush to get around to dealing with us. But once she did, her knowledge and willingness to share far surpassed anything we've experienced anywhere else.

And I love my bog bean! We saw it growing completely over a pond at a store in their display ponds and I knew right then I had to have it! The young man who was working on the pond told us to plant it directly in the margins of the pond, that it would take a year or two to get acclimated, but once it did it would be amazing - and it has been! We didn't get many blooms this year - our winter pond disaster left a lot of it exposed to the extreme cold and it died back a bit - but they are a highlight every spring. And it's a tough plant - my fish beat it up pretty good every spawning, but it just keeps bouncing back.

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Our first impression wasn't great, as they didn't really have a "staff" per se. Just one nice lady puttering around the ponds who was in no rush to get around to dealing with us.

It can be a little weird going there. I always feel like I'm walking somewhere I shouldn't be. The pamphlet they gave me the first time I visited says to walk around the grounds and check out their display ponds, but I'm always wondering "should I be here?"

The first time I went, I only knew that it was a business, but their hours weren't posted anywhere online and they don't have an "open" or "closed" sign. I went during the week thinking it would be a safe time to go, but it turned out that they were closed. She was out working with the pond plants and told me I was free to look around and if I needed any help, she'd help me. Had she not been out there, I would've been walking around her closed business for fifteen minutes without knowing it was closed. This year, they posted on facebook when they're open, which is obviously a nice thing to know. I wish they had a website or at least a stronger social media presence, but I think it's just more of a hobby for her.

Otherwise, it's a fantastic place. As you said, she definitely has experience with ponds and knows what she's talking about. Their plants and fish always look healthy, and they carry a lot of plant species that I'd never be able to find in the pond sections of local garden centers.

 

[Nanner]

1st little lilly bloom of the year. Been cool and wet here in midwest seems like the plants are finally taking off . Probably slowed down the lilly a bit with dividing them this spring. Can probably take out the fake lilly pads now

 

[addy1]

Did you fertilize your water lilies this year @addy1 ?

I think, maybe, I did in the fall, really can't remember, we were so busy between selling a rental, have renters die etc etc. I have a partially empty osmocote sitting out in the shed. They are acting like I did. I just lift the plants and pour around 1/4 cup osmocote in the bottom of the oil pan. It has never caused algae blooms in my pond. But my bog plants suck all nutrients out of the water.

 

[Lisak1]

I always feel like I'm walking somewhere I shouldn't be.

That was exactly our experience. She was there and working but didn't really acknowledge us at all. A few minutes after we got there another customer pulled in with a pick up and they loaded a bunch of GORGEOUS tropical lilies in the bed of the truck. When she was finished she greeted us and explained that she knew that customer was coming - it was a commercial account that bought a lot of lilies from them every year for ponds that they maintained in the area. She told us if we ever wanted anything special - waterlily or otherwise - to call ahead and she'd set things aside for us.

I agree about social media - it's easy, free, and accessible. I don't know why more small businesses don't take advantage of it. She told us it was just her and another lady her age that did all the planting and upkeep so maybe they have more than they can handle business wise and don't feel a need to advertise.

 

[Rach]

Here's my pond which I have actually had time for once to sit and enjoy watching the birds drink bath and eat from

 

[addy1]

Beautiful!