Mother Nature creates the most elegant ecosystems, and perhaps one of her most enchanting is the pond. This is where rock, soil and water join forces to support life in extraordinary ways. A pond is productive, efficient and for some unknown reason, can magically mesmerize one into a state of bliss. Naturally, I’ve always wanted one.
But I’ve also wondered, would I just be creating a summer spa for raccoons and a mini swamp to breed more mosquitoes? I really needed more info on ponds.
Back in June, on a perfect sunny Saturday, the Leaside Garden Society showcased nine beautiful gardens. And that’s where I saw two spectacular garden ponds.
This was my chance to get the real scoop on ponds, because these beauties were in the gardens of two prominent LGS members.
The Barry Schneider pond
Barry has been a dedicated and extremely active member of the LGS for a very long time. This year he received a well-deserved volunteer award from the Ontario Horticultural Society.
In the late 1990s, Barry decided to make better use of his backyard, and hired a well-known Leaside landscape company to create a patio surrounded by an enlarged garden that included a pond and waterfall.
But soon, Barry’s dream became a nightmare when the raccoons ate the fish, destroyed the plants, and the waterfall deteriorated.
So, with all of his gardening know-how, Barry decided to do the work himself. He turned the waterfall into a raised garden, then dug out the pond, and installed a moulded one that included a sprinkler. Now, there is always moving water and because there are no plants or fish, raccoons are no longer a problem.
“The sound of water is so relaxing,” Barry says, and “I enjoy the splatters of rain on the surface and the glistening of the fountain when the sun shines on it.”
His pond requires draining in the fall and after the snow melts in the spring, along with a weekly cleaning (using a scoop net) to remove fallen leaves and other debris.
Sounds like a lot of work to me, but not for Barry, who says, “It’s really not much work for the five to six-month season when I get to enjoy it.”
The Joanna Blanchard pond
Joanna, who has been co-president of the Leaside Garden Society for many years, knows a lot about horticulture. Both her parents were botanists and she grew up learning the Latin names of plants.
Around 20 years ago, Joanna had her pond installed, and says, “I envisioned sitting on the patio sipping coffee and hearing the gentle sound of running water.”
But over the years, surrounding trees grew to block the sun, and so her pond can no longer support the water-lilies it once did. Now she stocks it with water hyacinths every year. “I know they are considered an invasive species in some U.S. states, but they are not frost-hardy, and end up in the compost in the fall and rot down nicely,” she adds.
Her pond is deep enough to accommodate goldfish, and some have managed to survive for the last three years. And if they don’t, Joanna simply buys more at the pet store. “I know it sounds mean, but in a way, I consider them to be like annuals.”
Her pond is covered most of the time, to keep raccoons and herons out, and only uncovered when entertaining special ‘human’ guests.
According to Joanna, the biggest challenges now are finding pond supplies. “We used to be able to get water hyacinths at several plant nurseries and even big-box stores, but over the years this has ceased to be the case.”
Do I still want a garden pond? The answer is more complicated than I had thought.
Yes, I will always be drawn to the beauty and serenity of a pond. And I will always be fascinated by the intricate harmonies of life energies that nature blends so perfectly. But unless I can make one like Mother Nature, I think I’ll just enjoy my simple water fountain for now.
