Water Gardening
Marsha Croner
June 14th 2007
On a perfect evening, weather-wise, we met at Marsha's lovely paradise for a program on her magnificent water garden. Due to the drought, there were no mosquitoes and a nice breeze made for a pleasant night. Unexplainably, it did rain briefly for the first time in weeks as the meeting began.
Marsha spent 3 years and rejected several plans before settling on the design her water garden. For those considering a pond she suggests to go BIGGER than you plan. Marsha tries to maintain an ecological balance in her pond between fish and plants to create a natural biological filtration process. To combat algae Marsha doesn't fertilizer her plants, probably doesn't feed the fish, and uses a blue dye in early spring to prevent algae bloom before the plants cover the surface to provide natural shade. Marsha's pond is a favorite fishing spot for Blue Herons and one year she had Green Herons nesting by her waterfall too. [more hi-res pics]
MGC members begin to arrive for the meeting
Members seek the cover of a Tiki Umbrella as a gentle rain appears from nowhere
Attendees view the pond while keeping a nervous lookout for Marsha's snake!
As you can see the aquatic plants are thriving without fertilizer
The Tri-Color Beech tree drew plenty of interest.