WATER GARDENS

Milbergers Nursery as a wide variety of water gardens to choose from. Check out the options available and get one our highly skilled employees to help you set up a water garden in your yard.


Enjoying Your Summer Water Feature

KoiPond-w-BoyCompared with other types of gardens, water gardens require a minimum of attention. There is very little weeding, certainly no watering, and there are fewer insects or diseases which attack the plants.

Day-to-day care of water garden plants during the summer is mostly a matter of grooming. If there is an over-production of foliage, trimming is necessary. All discolored or torn leaves or dead blossoms should be cut and removed, stem and all, close to the roots.

Summer is a critical time for your fish in your water garden. It is possible for them to suffocate in the summer when oxygen levels are low. Be sure to check your pond early in the morning, if you observe your fish at the surface gasping for air then it’s time to take action. You can add an aeration system, build another pond or thin out your fish population. If you don’t take action under these circumstances then Mother Nature will thin your fish population for you.

Clear water is usually the primary goal of any water gardener. In a new pond, however, the water is seldom clear for very long. This can be rectified easily if the pond is of the correct depth, has a good filtration system, and correctly chosen plants and wildlife are stocked in sufficient numbers. Given enough time the new pond water will clear.
During the summer, the level of the water should be checked at regular intervals and brought up to its maximum. The plants should be washed once a week with a strong spray of water from a garden hose in order to dislodge any accumulation of aphids which may have come to the pool.

If algae has become a nuisance, much of it can be washed down the drain or over the sides of the pool by using the garden hose and a rake. During the summer one should watch that other plants such as the submerged aquatics do not grow too rampant and take over the bottom of the water feature.

The worst thing to do is change the water. Replacing the water will only delay the developing balance of the new pond’s ecosystem. only nature can correct. When fertilizing the lawn, take care not to contaminate the pond.

From the July 2105 issue of Milberger’s Gardening South Texas newsletter.