Yes, the frogs really do sit on the lily pads

I celebrated my second year of blogging this past week and the day came and went without a soul remembering--mainly me. Criminy, I can hardly remember things like my kids' birthdays, how am I supposed to remember my blogoversary? Sheesh.

Oh well, so Happy 2 Years to me and Sherrie over at Boogers, Screams, Headaches, and Dreams who also started blogging on the exact same day!

So, while I was busy having my insides cleaned out this week, Grace asked about the lilies in the pond. And while they are lovely and useful (yes, the frogs really do sit on them), they also bloom--lovely white flowers.

Water lilies are plants that are submerged in a pot at the deepest part of the pond. They stay there year round, but we clip all of the greenery away for the winter. Come spring, they wake up with the longer days of daylight and soon little red shoots come up to reach the water's surface. These "leaves" form the lily pads that the frogs are so fond of. They turn from red to green in a matter of days.

In order to keep the water cool and clear of algae, you must have the water's surface covered about 60-70% by plants. I do this by using the lily pads, 3 other potted water plants, and by floating plants such as water hyacinths. The lily pads are great for this, but they don't like moving water and they won't go anywhere near the waterfall. That's where the other plants are more useful.

My water plants are potted and they just rest on the inside ledge that is built into the pond. They love the warm weather, so it is a hassle come winter to bring them all in to sit in tubs of water in our family room. This is the only water my cats drink all winter long--don't ask me why. They have a perfectly good water bowl in the kitchen, but they would rather drink out of these pots instead. It's funny, but the water always remains clear and clean in these pots--the plants somehow filter out any scum that may form from sitting water. I just add water to replace what the cats drank.

A lot of people ask me if the pond requires a lot of work and I typically say "no" but Joe will correct me. I guess initially it takes a huge learning curve, but once you get the routine down, you don't think about it anymore.

If you are considering a pond in your yard, you'll need a good garden store to refer to and some good pond buddies to discuss the status of your ponds regularly. If my pond is a cesspool for most of the summer, it is consoling to learn that my friend's pond is the same or the dude at the garden store will confirm that everyone is complaining about the same thing. There are fabulous summers of crystal clear water and then there are whole summers where I don't see my fish because the water has gone green.

I do not use chemicals, but I do use barley pellets to fight algae, Microlift bacteria products, and water changes to fight problems I encounter. I will sometimes resort to Algaefix and a lot of scooping if I am having a string algae problem that is gunking up my filter, but that is a rare occurrence and that doesn't harm the fish or frogs.

It's all trial and error, but the rewards are incredible. Everyone, without exception, walks up to the pond first when they come in my yard. It adds life to our garden and you never know what you are going to find in there. I get the opossum drinking out of there in the winter and dragonflies laying their eggs on the rocks. There are frogs coming and going all the time and the fish are now spawning in spite of me telling them not to. It is beautiful to see and relaxing to listen to.

And in case you are wondering--I've only had one cat fall in--Ruth. And she got out really fast.