LANDSCAPES : Pond Turns a Garden Into an Oasis
Henry David Thoreau--naturalist and philosopher--eloquently sang the praises of the natural pond. Ponds, he said, were “the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature.”
Thoreau may well be the spiritual patron of every American gardener since who has enjoyed the oasis of a pond in his or her garden--more than 18 million of them this year, according to Karla Sperling, president of the National Pond Society. She says that the number of water gardeners in this country has increased dramatically in the past few years.
Part of the popularity of ponds is due to the fact that a pond is a balanced ecosystem. Properly stocked and established, a water garden will flourish without fencing, weeding, watering, cultivating or extensive fertilizing.
“Water gardens are an extremely low-maintenance landscaping option,” says William Uber, a third-generation water gardener and owner of Van Ness Water Gardens in Upland. “They require just a few minutes of maintenance a week.”
Sperling agrees. “I spend more time maintaining the garden around my pond than I do the pond itself,” she says.
The trick is knowing what elements compose a natural balance. The recipe for a pond can vary to accommodate different climates, settings and the aesthetic tastes of the water gardener, but Uber recommends a simple formula: “For each square yard of surface area,” he says, “you should have one medium to large water lily, two bunches of oxygenating grasses, a dozen water snails and two four- to five-inch fish.”
Each element plays a role. Water lilies shade the water with their pads and provide a dry sunning spot and some camouflage for resident frogs. Lilies are available in a rainbow of colors in both hardy and tropical varieties. Hardies are day bloomers that die back in the fall; tropicals need to be indoors during winter and some varieties bloom at night.
Fish provide movement and color and act as pond gardeners, trimming excess foliage from plants and eating algae and insects. Once balanced, the pond provides all of the food fish need.
The interaction of elements means pumps and filters aren’t required by the basic pond. If you are interested in powering a fountain or waterfall or in maintaining crystal-clear water, such devices are readily available.
Although the biggest investment you’ll make in a pond is still the initial installation, even that need not be large. A weekend of time and about $300 will build and stock a five-foot-diameter pond from plants and materials available from local garden centers and specialty mail-order companies.
Small ponds can be made from such creatively adapted containers as barrels, wine casks, wheelbarrows, planters or any other watertight vessel. The smallest pond offers the advantage of some degree of portability, but siting a large pond is a decision you won’t want to revise. Avoid overhanging foliage that will drop sticks, leaves and other debris in the water and ensure that the site receives at least four to six hours of direct sunlight per day.
Once the pond is built and stocked, the main ingredient to its success is patience and restraint on the part of the gardener. That’s because it generally takes six to eight weeks of cloudy water and on-and-off algae bloom before a balance is established and the pond is capable of maintaining itself.
Once that happens, spraying down the plants once a day or so (to wash insects into the water where fish can eat them), removing dead leaves, feeding the fish and occasionally pruning excess foliage is all that’s required.
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The National Pond Society (P.O. Box 449, Acworth, Ga. 30101; (404) 975-0277) produces water garden publications and Van Ness Water Gardens (2460 N. Euclid Ave., Upland, Calif. 91784-1199; (909) 982-2425) offers publications and supplies.
