lClearwater Ponds
THE FROGGER!!
   August 2008 Newsletter
The Frogger! August 2008
IN THIS ISSUE OF THE FROGGER
Just 4 Fun!
XTREME Pond Build
Water Plants 101
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"The Pond Squad" Happenings! 

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Just 4 Fun!
 duckweed and frog
Five  Froggy Facts:
1.     Frogs can only see in black and white.
2.     A group of frogs is called an army, while a group of toads is called a knot.
3.     Although frogs are excellent swimmers, most will eventually drown if they don't have access to some form of land. They actually prefer living in moist matter like leaves.
4.     Some frogs in Central America and Southeast Asia have heavily webbed feet that they can spread widely to help them glide or parachute away from predators. 
5.     Most frogs breathe through their skin, mouth, and lungs, while tadpoles breathe through their skin and gills.
 
CRAZY WEATHER!!  Wow, hope your ponds and landscape are surviving after all the wild weather this summer.  Our ponds in Grimsby have certainly taken a hit with not one hail storm but two!!  Lotus and lily leaves have certainly had better years and overflow drains are working over time! 
 
Hope you are still having a great summer by your pond despite the crazy weather, enjoy the August heat!
 
World's Most Extreme Pond Build!
 
 At Clearwater we are always up for a water garden challenge and when we were invited to help build the "World's Most Extreme Pond" we jumped at the chance.  Here are some of the awsome details:xtreme construction 
Clearwater Ponds participated in the construction of Aquascape's 250'x90' signature water feature known as the "World's Most Extreme Pond Build" from July 12th to 16th, 2008.  The extreme water feature was constructed at Aqualand, the company's LEEDŽ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified headquarters.
"By inviting a select group of our customers to participate in the creation of our signature water feature, we'll be able to provide hands-on education that incorporates both traditional and non-traditional construction methods using the Aquascape product line," stated Ed Beaulieu, Chief Sustainability Officer at Aquascape. "Our goal with this incredible feature was to replicate the Illinois watershed."
Some of the construction features include several waterfalls up to 10' in height, a grotto for behind-the-scenes viewing of the falls (that K.Downes helped build), rain water storage areas, a cypress swamp that represents southern Illinois, walking paths, and a patio created with permeable pavers to capture stormwater runoff. Over 1500 tons of stone were used to construct the feature, including rocks topping out at 50,000 pounds. 
    the grotto
Additional features of the World's Most Extreme Pond Build include:
ˇ         300,000 gallons of water with multiple pumps that produce 150,000 gallons per hour running through 10-inch lines.
ˇ         Waterfalls ranging in height from 24 inches to 10 feet, one with grotto for behind-the-scenes viewing.
ˇ         Twenty-foot wide vanishing edge skimmer spilling into overflow basin capable of holding over 20,000 gallons of water
ˇ         Wetland filtration areas and underwater jets for additional circulation
ˇ         Fire pit area with outdoor kitchen area
ˇ         Aquatic plant area fashioned after Monet water lily garden
ˇ         Underwater swimming tunnel and fish cave
ˇ         "Floating" island deck steppers
ˇ         20' x 20' TourLinks putting green
 
our cave
 And...Waterfalls ranging in height from 24 inches to 10 feet, one with grotto for behind-the-scenes viewing.  This is where Kevin from Clearwater Ponds put his design skills to work.  Check out the results! 
 "It was exciting to work on this project.  I can't wait to start incorporating the design ideals in our clients water features, they might not have the space for such a large pond, but the design potential is huge!" says Kevin.  So if anyone wants an "Extreme" water feature you know who to call!!

"Deep Summer is when laziness finds respectability." 
 
                                         ~Sam Keen
Water Plants 101- Plant of the Month
August Plant of the Month - Yellow Floating Hearts  (Nymphoides peltata)

This month not only am I enjoying the many blooms on my water lilies, I am also enjoying the yellow blooms of my floating heart plant.  It has naturalized nicely in my pond these past 5 years and the yellow flowers dot the pond surface amongst the green leaves.
Yellow floating heart is a bottom-rooted perennial that produces branched stolons (A stem that creeps along the surface of the sediment or ground) just below the water surface. Each rooted stem supports a loosely branched group of several leaves. The leaves are nearly round to heart-shaped (thus the common name floating heart). The leaves are typically wavy (shallowly scalloped) along the outer edges and have purplish undersides. Leaves average 3 to10 cm in diameter. The flowers are showy (3 to 4 cm in diameter), bright yellow with five distinctly fringed petals. They are held above the water surface on long stalks with 1 to 5 flowers per stalk. floating heart
Yellow floating heart is found within the floating-leaved plant community. It can grow from a minimum of 10 cm to water depths of 4 meters. One established, yellow floating heart may occur in dense patches.  I find now that it is established in my pond I have to thin the plant out in the spring during the pond's annual spring clean out and then once again in late summer.  Many people confuse Floating Heart with Small Yellow Pond Lily and Water Poppy but they are all different plants.
Yellow floating heart flowers between June and August and if warm enough right on through September. Many floating leaved plants lack the ability to propagate by stem fragmentation, but in the case of yellow floating heart, broken leaves with attached stem parts will form new plants.   If you don't already have floating heart growing in your water garden, consider it as an addition for your pond.
Until next month,
 
Amber
Clearwater Ponds

As always...Happy Pondering!!
 
Sincerely,
 
Clearwater Ponds 
"The Pond Squad"