| Book Your Winterization Now! |
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Clearwater Ponds is again offering our fall shutdown service. We will be starting mid October and going into November. We can however start earlier if necessary for those of you who are traveling or would just like to have everything done as soon as possible. Please fill out the form located here and we will be in contact with you closer to the date. Please add any notes or instructions for us.
**Remember we book on a first come first serve basis, for those of you who have already contacted us thank you and we will be in touch soon. |
" Spring comes with flowers, autumn with the moon, summer with the breeze, winter with snow. When idle concerns don't fill your thoughts, that's your best season. "
Wu-Men
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| Water Plants 101- Plant of the Month |
September Plant of the Month - Plants for naturalizing Stream Edges
A lot of focus over the past few months has been on pond plants. This month, by request, we will focus on plants that soften the edges of streams and waterfalls.
We all love the wonderful streams and waterfalls of our ponds and Pondless waterfalls. Here are a few of the tried and true plants that naturalize well and make the transition from stream edge to garden bed lush and green.
Water forget-me-not (Myosotis palustris). Just like the forget-me-nots that grow in your garden, water forget-me-not has fragrant, dense clusters of small, bright blue flowers with yellow eyes appearing in early spring. The green foliage grows in sun to shade. It has a maximum water depth of 6". I like mine planted along the stream edges. To plants shake off excess soil around roots, and tuck under rocks of the stream edges or pond edges. Roots should be in the water. Hardy to zone 4 water-forget-me-not is perennial and divides easily. Also known as a "poor man's lotus" it can grow 2 to 5' tall. This looks lovely when planted directly in the stream. A mat of circular, crinkle-edged waxy leaves will form. You may even have tufts of white flowers blooming in July through August. This plant is a real winner because it does well in both full sun and partial shade. Hardy to zone 7. When established you will have to divide or thin out during the spring clean out.
Creeping Jenny or Moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia). Creeping Jenny is also a wonderful plant for stream edges. I especially love Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'). As I have said before my pond has allot of shade and Golden Creeping Jenny makes the stream look bright, as if the sun is continually shining along my stream edges. It also will grow in mats about 3" tall. Flowers in summer with vibrant yellow cup shaped flowers. Plant the same as Water forget-me-not by tucking roots under rocks around the stream edges. Creeping Jenny is hardy to zones 5-6, perennial and does well in full sun to partial shade.
Houttuynia 'Chameleon' (Houttuynia cordata variegate). I think most of us refer to this as simply Chameleon plant. I actually didn't know it was called Houttuynia till I did some research for this article. Put regardless of its name, Houttuynia 'Chameleon' is a wonderful groundcover that tolerates wet roots and softens stream edges with its variegated red, cream and green foliage. It's leaves are quite sturdy and stiff providing a different textural element around the stream edge if you are using one or more of the above water plants. Houttuynia 'Chameleon' can grow up to 12" in a mat like formation and is hardy to zone 6.
I hope you get a chance to add a new hardy shallow water plants to your stream edge this fall. Now is still a good time to make a few additions to your water garden. You'll love the changes especially next spring! Until next month! Amber
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| Winterization Questions? |
How will my fish be over winter? more
What should I do with my plants? more
Can I leave my pump running? more
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As always...Happy Autumn Pondering!!
Sincerely,
Clearwater Ponds
"The Pond Squad" |
Clearwater Ponds
Welcome to Autumn! Since fall is here I know many of you are starting to think about preparing your gardens for colder times to come. Therefore this newsletter and the following will be dedicated to preparing your water garden for winter. If you have any questions you would like covered email me and we will add them to the newsletter :