The Water Hyacinth...

The water hyacinth is a beautiful, delicate-looking little plant.  Prized as an ornament, it sports six-pedaled flowers ranging from a lovely purplish blue, to lavender, to pink.  You can find it floating on the surface of ponds in warm climates around the world.

The water hyacinth is also one of the most productive plants on earth; its reproductive rate astonished botanists and ecologist.  Although a single plant can produces as many as 5,000 seeds, the method it prefers for colonizing a new area is to grow by doubling itself, sending out short runner stems that become "daughter plants."

If a ponds' surface is fairly still and undisturbed, the water hyacinth may cover the entire pond in thirty days.  On the first day, you won't even notice it.  In fact, for the first few weeks you will have to search very hard to find it.  On day 15, it will cover perhaps a single square foot of the ponds' surface...a barely significant dollop of color dotting the expanse of placid green. 

On the twentieth day (two-thirds of the way to the end of the month), you may happen to notice a dense little patch of floating foliage, about the size of a small mattress.  you would be easily forgiven if you mistook it for a boy's inflatable life raft, left behind during a family picnic. 

 On day 29, one-half of the ponds' surface will be open water.  On the thirtieth day, the entire pond will be covered by a blanket of water hyacinth.

You will not see any water at all. 

Where have my frogs gone?

They ribbit and hop in your pond all spring, summer and fall, but when the cold weather comes, your frogs seem to disappear. Don't worry - they don't croak! They simply take a long winter nap.

There are more than 5,000 described species of frogs living on just about every surface of the planet. From the frigid Arctic Circle to the hottest deserts and everywhere in between - including your back yard. These welcome additions to any pond have evolved a well-known strategy to survive environmental extremes: They hibernate. Frogs that live in temperate climates with cold winters, like those throughout much of the United States, enter into a dormant state of sleep while living off their body fat reserves.

Aquatic frogs, like the leopard frog and the American bull frog, typically hibernate underwater. Because their skin can absorb oxygen, they lie just below the surface among aquatic plants where they'll be safe from predators and frosty temperatures.

Terrestrial frogs, like American toads, will hibernate on land. The ones that can dig will create a comfortable burrow beneath the frost line and sleep all winter; the ones that can't dig will find safe hiding places, like hollowed-out logs, between rocks or beneath a pile of leaves, to protect them from weather and predators. Incredibly, these frogs won't freeze to death; though they may partially freeze in very cold climates, a high concentration of glucose in their organs prevents them from freezing completely. When spring comes, the frozen portions thaw and they're ready to get back to eating and reproducing.

Frogs are just one of dozens of critters that are drawn to water features. By providing a habitat with food, water and shelter, you can draw wildlife to your pond - which will enhance your enjoyment of it even more.

Now for a Trivia Question?

Do you know what a Group of Frogs are called?