Water Garden Journal
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International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society WATER GARDEN JOURNAL SUMMER Vol. 33, No. 2 2018 P. 2 International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society Vol. 33, No. 2 Water Garden Journal IN THIS ISSUE 03 President’s Letter President Susan Davis requests your submissions of non-aquatic plants grown in water gardens. 04 Home Gardening Corner Healthy summer pond tips. Preview of the 2018 Chenshan 05 Book Review International Waterlily Festival A new edition of The Tub Pond and Symposium. Zijun Li shares an excellent Handbook reviewed. example of a vibrant red flowering intersubgeneric 06 Event Preview hybrid. 2018 Chenshan International Waterlily Symposium in Shanghai. 07 Online Community Hashtags decoded. 08 Expert Corner Mike Gannon describes how to con- trol string algae. 09 Scholarship Second recipient announced. 10 Container Lotus Tips for container-grown lotus. 12 From the Vaults The story of the great Crystal Palace, its creator, Sir Joseph Paxton, and his inspi- ration, Victoria regia. 14 Symposium Preview Rolf Nelson tells us what to expect at the 2018 IWGS meeting in Texas. 16 Trends Demi Fortuna analyzes Gordon T. Fig 1. Layout of Partition Active Bog Filter Ledbetter’s prescient “Profile of the See the “how-to“ steps on page 19 of this issue. Modern Water Garden.” 18 Event Calendar Submissions On the Cover 19 How-To If you would like to submit water Lotus and bee at Kenilworth Anita Nelson details building an ac- garden content for the next edition Aquatic Gardens, Washington, tive bog filtration system. of the Journal, please send your DC, USA. 22 Plant Research submissions before September 1 Photo by Mar Acevedo. Zijun Li describes breeding to [email protected]. waterlilies on a rooftop. International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society P. 3 Water Garden Journal Vol. 33, No. 2 President’s Letter “You grew WHAT?!?” This is the name of a panel discussion moderated by Anita Nelson coming up at our annual IWGS Symposium in September. At Water’s Edge, we have an old-style water garden display with an upper pool biofilter. Built in 1993, it has endured for many years, and we introduce new plants each year to see how they perform in our area. Today, we installed lots of non-aquatic plants to experiment with: tomatoes, peppers, herbs, ground cover, se- dum, and more. We are planting them in our mesh pots, using calcined clay as the growing medium. They will reside in our up-flow bio-filter, where the nutrient-rich water runs through them. Using the mesh pots will allow us to pull those who do not transition well into this aquatic environment, and highlight those who do. I invite all of you, my water garden friends, to grow with us. Moving water settings are best. Try something dif- ferent in your upper pools and streams. Share your experiments with us! It would be such great fun to put up a bulletin board for photos for “You grew WHAT?!?” for us all to take a look this fall. Meet you by the pond, Susan Davis, IWGS President, [email protected] Our newly planted bio-filter Our planted strawberry pot fountain P. 4 International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society Vol. 33, No. 2 Water Garden Journal Home Gardening Corner Tips for a Healthy Summertime Pond The beauty and joy of a pond makes summer more memorable and relaxing! To fully enjoy the water garden, you want to make sure your water feature is healthy and functioning optimally throughout the warmer months. When water temperature rises above 80 degrees (27° C) this summer, it’s important to keep a few things in mind. Health of Your Pond Fish Keep an eye on your fish. Do your finned friends ap- pear stressed out, gasping for air close to the water’s surface or especially close to a fountain or waterfall? Warm water has a low capacity for holding oxygen, while cooler water can hold very large amounts of oxygen. Warm pond water and increased activity go hand and hand, and that increased activity also means your fish require more oxygen when less oxygen is available, thus creating a vicious cycle. Stressed fish often begin to develop diseases, and soon enough you’ll have a domino effect. Add oxygen to your pond by placing an aerator or pump in your pond. You can also install a fountain with a pump if your pond doesn’t have a waterfall or your biological filter and pump strainer across the stream. Make sure all areas of the pond are skimmed pond from each other, so that your pond receives opti- and the water circulated. And keep in mind that wa- mal circulation. terfalls, streams, and fountains play a huge part in the Additional Summer Pond Tips oxygenation of the water in your pond. During the hot summer months, you can use some of Beat the Heat these tips to help keep your pond performing opti- There are some preventative measures you can take mally: in order to keep your pond from becoming a warm, • If you feed your fish, feed them in the morning and unhealthy mess. It all starts with a well-designed water be careful not to overfeed. Uneaten food decays faster feature. Depth, plant coverage, shade, and circulation in warmer water and can pollute the pond. should all be considered when designing and building • Be sure to remove dying leaves and flowers before a pond. A minimum depth of two feet is suggested; the they have a chance to decay in the warmer water. bottom of the pond will remain cooler. The bottom line is that you need to keep an eye on You’ll also want to stock your pond with a lot of your pond and let your fish and plants do the talking. plants to provide shade for the fish. A good rule of If you have a balanced ecosystem, you’ll find it much thumb is to provide plant coverage of approximately easier to maintain the health of your pond, fish, and 1/3 to 1/2 of the pond’s surface area. plants. Perhaps one of the most important parts of pond Article Source design is circulation. If possible, you’ll want to place Aquascape, St. Charles, IL, USA. www.aquascapeinc.com. International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society P. 5 Water Garden Journal Vol. 33, No. 2 Book Review The Tub Pond Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Creating and Maintaining Patio Ponds, Container Water Gardens, and Tropical Fish Breeding Tubs By Ted Coletti Publisher: Wagtail Imprints, Inc. List Price: $19.89 Reviewer: Rosie Kean The Tub Pond Handbook is a thorough guide to setting up and maintaining your own container water gardens. In less than 150 pages, the author presents plenty of information, tips, and tricks to creating your own tub pond filled with aquatic life. As someone who had never even heard of “tub ponds,” I was immediately drawn in to the hobby simply because of all the possibilities it holds. Grow- ing waterlilies in a container outside my apartment? I would have thought that impossible before reading this book. Now, I am seriously considering buying materi- als to start a water garden next spring. The author had another major selling point for me by including this quote from the late water plant expert Greg Speichert: “Water gardening is for the gardening impaired. You cannot fail.” The book progresses in an organized, easy-to-fol- low manner, beginning with where to place your add fish, you will have to make sure the fish you plan container pond and what type of container to use. The on getting can tolerate the water temperatures in the importance of striking a balance in the pond’s water is container. discussed. The book points out what you should look The author packs a ton of information into relatively out for in your tap water before you fill your container, few pages. Some of that information may not pertain as well as how to neutralize unwanted chemicals like to what you want out of a pond or garden, so it can chlorine. be overwhelming at times. For instance, I am not as Pictures, both of beautiful container ponds and more inclined to keep fish in a pond. I am more interested instructional photos of various container styles and in just growing water plants. I suggest taking breaks pond products, can be found on nearly every page, in-between chapters, and keeping a pen and note- making reading visually enjoyable. book handy to jot down notes. Overall, The Tub Pond Many plants are discussed in great detail, includ- Handbook is an educational read that offers great ing their ideal climate zones, benefits, and potential insight into creating your own patio ponds. problems, as well as how to store them over winter. The author provides the same details for various types About the Reviewer of fish before sharing how to breed and feed your fish, Rosie Kean is a senior multiplatform journalism and in addition to how to eliminate any pond pests. English major at the University of Maryland, College The author emphasizes the importance of location, Park. She is from Macungie, PA. This summer, she is as it can affect the amount of sun the pond is exposed an editorial intern at Washington Gardener Magazine, to and the temperature of the pond. If you want to where this review originally appeared. P. 6 International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society Vol. 33, No. 2 Water Garden Journal Event Preview Chenshan International Waterlily Festival and Symposium by FENG Jia The waterlily has high ornamental and applied value.