Water Loss by Evaporation

November 12, 2009

From a surface of sixteen square feet, about a bucketful of water escapes every day by evaporation and transpiration of the plants. Stagnation is prevented by having a few fish and some submerged plants like Cabomba or Myriophyllum. It is therefore very easy to care for a garden up to six by twelve feet, even [...]

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Using Natural Springs for Ponds

November 8, 2009

It is doubtful whether it is easier to build a pond in a natural waterway, or to make it from the foundation up. Unless the natural water course can be easily diverted it will usually be better not to use it. For every stream at a distance of a hundred feet or more from its [...]

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The Pond Bottom

November 5, 2009

The bed of the pond may be variously made. It must be water-tight, not liable to injury by frost, and of a suitable size and depth. We know one little garden which was made by simply scooping out the earth like the bowl of a spoon and laying in a thick coat of cement – [...]

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Pond Edges

November 2, 2009

It is in the treatment of the margin that we make or mar a pond’s natural beauty. There is no one way in which native waters always meet the land, but there are some ways in which they never do. Nature never made broad borders of concrete or brick or hewn stone. Therefore avoid these [...]

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Pond Shapes

October 31, 2009

It does not offend if the small tank takes some conventional shape. A sunken tub is essentially round, and a wooden or iron box will unavoidably be square-cornered. A brick or concrete construction, if not over ten feet long, may be rectangular. But if possible avoid geometry in the garden. A bald circle with a [...]

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Make a Barrel Pond

October 30, 2009

A pond of water-lilies is a possibility for anyone who can give two square feet of water surface in a sunny spot, and it should be near at hand so that you can easily see the flowers when they are at their best. All the hardy water-lilies must be enjoyed in the morning or early [...]

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Make a Tub Pond

October 30, 2009

A very satisfactory water garden was half a kerosene barrel, sunk in the ground at the southwest corner of a house, where a rain pipe from the roof emptied into it. Here the water hyacinth (Eichhornia speciosa) grew and flowered, to the delight of all beholders. The tub was nearly full of earth in which [...]

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