Kol Koi Pondscapes

When building a pond we get excited about all the wonderful things that it brings- peace, relaxation, beautiful fish and colorful plants. We don’t however, think of the potential hassles some visitors may bring. Fortunately most ponds don’t experience unwelcome visitors, and for those that do, many simple solutions can be found. Pond pests run from the neighbors cat (or yours!) to turtles and birds. The most often complained about visitor is the Great Blue Heron. This is a very large bird that often stands over three feet tall, and has a wingspan of five feet. This bird loves fish. It is designed to catch and eat fish, and is very effective. If you have a small pond and a hungry heron, you might be left with no fish in a few hours. Herons are wading birds, and like to fish in shallow ponds usually under two feet in depth. They don’t swim, they just ‘stab’ at the fish after standing incredibly still for quite a while. These birds often go for fish larger than they can swallow, le...

As you might expect, a beautiful pond with clean aerated water attracts an amazing amount of wildlife. Some are just passing through, some are regular visitors, and some take up permanent residence! We will discuss what can be done to entice even more wildlife to visit your pond, and provide some interesting background information on lots of animals. However, sometimes wildlife is not what people are after. If you are looking for ways to keep a few pesky critters out of your pond see our other article – Unwelcome Visitors. The word spreads fast in the animal kingdom. Put in a pond, and you’ll agree. Within days, a whole array of creatures find their way into, next to, and around your pond. As you settle into your new pond so do countless insects, amphibians, birds, and reptiles. The reason your pond attracts so many creatures is because a steady supply of clean water can be hard to find. While some creatures spend part of their life cycle in the water, some are just looking for a dr...

One of the highlights of a water feature is the anticipation of watching that first water lily bloom open up in spring. The excitement of seeing nature stretch its wings after a cold winter is perhaps best seen in the water garden. Plants love to grow, and we love to watch them, but often things can go wrong. Here are a few tips to help. Water plants are just like any other plant; they need nutrients, water and light to survive. Water and light are easy to provide, but the nutrients can be more difficult. Fertilizing the aquatic vegetation is accomplished several different ways. Most commonly fertilizer tablets are pushed into the soil surrounding the plant, and are taken up by the roots. Some fertilizers are added directly to the water. The main difference in the liquid and tablet fertilizers is which plants they help. The fertilizer tabs are great for the plants whose roots are in the soil (lilies, bog plants), the liquid helps plants with roots suspended in the water (hyaci...

The water gardening industry is like most others, constantly evolving and adapting to client needs and demands. Perhaps the most exciting thing to hit water gardening in the past ten years is the advent of pondless water features. A pondless waterfall is simply a waterfall that has no standing water. These types of water features are great for so many reasons but are not for everyone, we will discuss those reasons, and you can decide if a pondless water feature is for you. Lots of people have been interested in a water feature for their yard, but thought differently once they realize that the pond will need maintenance. Ponds just don’t fit the lifestyle of some people. Some folks just have limited space, and quite a few don’t want a pond, they just want the waterfall, and that sound of splashing water. Well, we are happy to tell you that many pond product manufacturers have listened and developed a system to eliminate the need for a pond with your waterfall. (A major contributor to...

Green water is green because of the millions of algae cells floating around in the water. This is actually called phytoplankton. Phytoplankton needs nutrients and light to live, the more the better. When the algae get really out of control it is often called an algae bloom. In the natural environment, this phytoplankton is the base of the food chain, so more algae is better. However, in our pond, the food chain is derived from our hands in the form of fish food. The food chain stops with the fish with no room for anything else. Algae is not a significant part of the food chain in ornamental ponds. So how do we keep the algae out of our pond? It starts with limiting what they need, nutrients and light, the two growth factors of algae. Limiting light is easy in theory, more shade from plants and trees, etc. In practice, this is not easily accomplished. In early spring the pond starts to wake up, and we see the plants start to bud. But the algae gets started at a slightly cooler temper...