May 2010
Greetings!
Can you believe it Summer is Coming Fast....
 
Memorial Day is approaching fast and most of your ponds are flourishing with life. There are several things that you need to be focusing on this late spring in Central Kentucky. The first of which is remember do not OVER FEED  your fish. This is the number one cause of spring/early summer algae blooms. Until your plants take a good hold on your pond you should only be feeding your fish once a day and only what they will eat in 2-3 minutes time. Additionally, you should remove any excess food that is not eaten so that it does not add to your ponds nutrient load.
If you are experiencing some late spring/early summer string algae don't panic. You simply need to be patient and ensure that your pond is getting the proper attention in the form of a balanced ecosystem. These components include a sufficient plant content (I personally recommend 1 plant for every 10 sq foot of pond surface area and 1 plant for every 5sq foot of stream area. Keep in mind that shaded ponds will require less plants and full sun ponds will require more. Additionally our Eco~Clearer Pond Care Powder and Stream & Waterfall Care Powder is a great supplement to help keep your pond under control until the plants and mother nature can take over. You may contact us  at our Garden Center for more information.
 
 
Regular Pond Maintenance: Many of you already take advantage of our regular maintenance services. Our packages include Twice a Month onsite visits, Free Water Treatments, and Free off schedule emergency visits. Basically put, once you sign up for monthly maintenance with us you do not have any additional costs for maintaining your pond all year long. Contact us if you would like more information on our Pond Maintenance Packages..

 
 
Sincerely
Jeff Duggins
In This Issue
Garden Center News
Hydrogen Peroxide & Ponds?
Hanah's Charity "KOIner"
Austin's Pond Life Lesson
Upcoming Events
 
Join Our Mailing List!
 
Garden Center News
Do you Know Lotus? 
Loyus In Bloom
Lotus Picure
Water lilies are the most common plant know to the backyard pond, however the lotus is a beautiful addition to your backyard ponds.  Most lotus are between 18 to 60 inches with leaves from 2 to 3 inches in diameter, however some varieties can grow 6 to 8 feet tall with leaves 18 to 36 inches in diameter.  The flowers can be up to 1 foot wide.  The lotus bloom comes in a different shades of pink and white.  Lotus are look tropical, but they are perennials.  Lotus need sun and heat to reach their fullest potential.  Five to six hours of sunlight a day and water temperature of 75 to 87 degrees produce the best results.  Therefore in our climate they generally bloom in late June or early July and continue to bloom until late fall.  Lotus require lots of nutrients, so they need to be fertilized every 2 to 3 weeks. 
 
Fish
Don't forget to stop by our fish tanks and look for that special friend to take home. We still have some beautiful KOI and goldfish available.
 
Plant of the Month- Yellow Taro 
Yellow TaroA new plant came in last week it is the yellow taro and it is gorgeous.   It has leaves like the black taro but a little bigger and a they are yellow.  It is truly a unique plant to add to your water features.
 
Sincerely
Rachel Duggins
Construction News..
We have been absolutely swamped with cleanouts and New installations this Spring. Thank you to everyone that had to wait to have your pond serviced. We are dedicated to servicing everyone in a timely manner and hope that everyone understands we have been working many long hours to ensure we get to everyone's pond ASAP.
  
If you need anything from us we are almost caught up on our Spring Maintenance. However, we only have a couple of dates available between now and August for new construction/reworks. If you are thinking of having a water feature installed or are needing a Pond Makeover please contact us ASAP.
 
I Hope you enjoy this Month's Photos From the Field.
 
Parkey Pondless WaterfallDual Pondless Issel RWH 
 

Hanah's Charity "KOIner"

"Silent Auction"
I am excited to announce that in addition to the Central Kentucky Pond Tour 2010, my mom and dad are letting me host the Silent Auction this year. Proceeds from the Silent Auction are also sent to Camp Horsin Around.  Anyone interested in donating an item or gift certificate please contact the store at 888-297-6637.  
 
"Lucky Ducks"
For the second year we will have the Lucky Duck game for customers who are shopping in our store. The proceeds from this game will also go to help Camp Horsin' Around.  The Lucky Ducks will be in the display pond in the store between now and the pond tour in July.  Don't forget to stop in and pick your Lucky Duck.
 
Game Rules:
Purchase a chance to pick a Duck for $2.00. There will be 36 ducks floating in our indoor pond. Each Duck will have an amount in KOIn's written on the bottom. 
 
  • 30 - 1 KOIn Ducks
  • 4 - 5 KOIn Ducks
  • 1 - 10 KOIn Duck
  • 1 - 25 KOIn Duck
                                                       Hanah Duggins

Austin's Pond Life Lesson

What is your favorite part of having a pond in your backyard? Why?

Austin's Answer: "Frogs, because they are cool".
 
There is no right or wrong answer to this question.  Austin does love the fact that the pond brings fun animals to look for and catch.  We had hundreds of tad poles in our pond this year and Austin had a blast trying to catch them.  They were also very helpful in cleaning the algae of the rocks in the pond.   We also had a box turtle find it's way to our pond.
 
Now it's your turn.  What is your favorite part of having a pond in your backyard? Why?  Send your responses to info@h2odesignsinc.com or respond by posting a message on our Facebook Page.