Water Garden

We built a waterfall and a pond in our backyard ten years ago and it continues to delight us. 

We had a pond in our old house and I brought this water lilly with us when we moved here.

I re-pot it every couple of years and it continues to give us beautiful flowers.  I have shared pieces of it with friends and family and now it grows in their ponds too. 

Our fish are "rescues" from pet shops selling them as feeder fish and from the Del Mar Fair. We call our pond "Fishtopia" because they seem very happy.  They have reproduced many times and now we have many generations from our first fish.  We even have tadpoles.  Can you see the baby tadpoles?  They are very small and black.

We do throw some fish food in there.

It's impossible for me to sit next to our pond and feel anything but relaxed.  Listening to the trickling water and watching our fish glide smoothly by always makes me breath a little deeper.

The Water Hyacinth is blooming right now.

It floats along the top of the pond and keeps the water shaded from the hot sun. 

The fish are happy.

Here's what it looks like when it's not blooming.  The pond is very easy to maintain.  Mother nature does most of the work.  The plants create shade on the pond which keeps the algae growth down.  The plants also create oxygen, hiding places, and food for the fish.  The fish provide fertilizer for the plants.  We have a pump that recirculates the water and has a filter on it.  This keeps the water clear.  We have another pump that runs the waterfall.  We only use the waterfall pump for a few hours a day. 

Here's the proud papa or mama?  How do tell a boy frog from a girl?

Do you have a pond or water garden? 

I would love to see it.

Breath deeper, smile more, stop and sniff the flowers.

Thanks for checking it out.