My Favorite Pond

Much like bougainvillea on Maui, fish ponds are best appreciated in someone else's garden. Such pretty little fishies.

I did not build the first koi pond. I rescued it with an out of pond filter system and aquatic plants. It leaks badly and has algae issues for three months in the spring, but it is much better than before.

I built the Babbling Brook and it turned out pretty good for my first pond. The space was so narrow and tight, the pond part ended up with very steep sides to get a good depth. That made covering the liner with rock impossible. The liner shows and that is not the best look. It has stood up to a considerable amount of abuse, the main culprit being Esther the swimming bear dog. The in pond filter systems and plants keep the water very clear.

With a lot more experience in my galoshes, I rebuilt and enlarged Twin Falls Pond. It has three filters and plenty pond plants. It is also in shade to half shade for a good part of the year. That cuts down on algae growth immensely.

Other than a couple of episodes of unattended children throwing rocks into the pond, this one has been the easiest to maintain. It is my favorite pond. It is also the pond where I moved up to the much prettier and more expensive butterfly koi. I had enough confidence that they would survive. Now they need to breed.

The fish are growing and the garden is growing at The Inn.

I'm getting much closer to perennial beds without large expanses of mulch.

The shrubberies that form the backbone of the garden have grown beautifully this year. I expect them to cover a lot of mulch by next year.

Such pretty little fishies. I'm glad I get to enjoy them in someone else's garden.