Sizing Your Outdoor Pond

Pond size is not a simple matter. On your pond plan, it may be as simple as drawing a few lines, but in reality, the size of your outdoor pond will affect its every aspect. Think about it: a small pond is easy and cheap to build but in the long run, it will limit the amount of pond ideas you can try. Large ponds are more flexible, but you should be prepared for the time and money you have to invest in making, and eventually, maintaining the pond.

But that's only the practical side of pond sizing. Obviously, you also want to size your pond to make it look good. Scale your pond to match your property. The pond is a part of your garden and should blend in. You don't want it to be overwhelming large or negligibly small. The size should also match its purpose. If you want a formal pond, keep it small and neat. For the natural look, you want a large, sprawling pond.

Make Space for your Pond Life

Living things need space to grow. This holds true for plant and fish, alike. Build your outdoor pond large enough so that every organism living in it has a chance to live and breed.

Small ponds tend to get over-stocked which threatens your pond with stagnation and possibly even death. On the other hands, large ponds require a lot of plant and aquatic life; otherwise it looks ugly and bare.

Also size your pond according to your budget. Stocking your pond with fish and plants can be expensive. Don't let yourself fall into the trap of making a pond that you can't afford to finish.

Good Size Makes for a Healthy Pond

While equipment is often used to help maintain a pond, try to size your pond so that it can survive on its own. A properly sized pond should be able to maintain good circulation, temperature, and aeration for all the organisms in it.

If you have a small yard, you've got no choice but to build a small outdoor pond. The perks are that it requires less to build and maintain. But if you do have the space to spare, it's better to build a large pond, even if it's your first time. Large ponds are less vulnerable to problems, giving you time to handle them before they cause damage. A large pond also gives your room to grow as a pond builder.

In the long run, maintenance is made easier if you know more about how the pond's size affects it.

Pond Sizing Advice

You can save yourself a lot of hardship and frustration by choosing the right size for your outdoor pond. Ensure that you consider the size of your property, the amount of fish and plants you plan to have, your equipment and other such things. You could also take a few tips from your neighbors. What works for them will most likely work as well for you.

Learn more about Pond Building. Visit Michael W.'s site where you can find out all about building an outdoor pond, with practical tips, tutorials and inspiration.

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Tags: backyard design, backyard ideas, backyard pond, building a pond, fish pond, garden, gardening, Home Improvement, outdoor pond, pond, pond building, pond design, water garden, water gardening, wildlife

January 03 2010 | Home Improvement | No Comments »

Annual Pre-Winter Clean Up

The same kinds and amount of mulching materials should be applied over garden perennials to give them the protection they need for winter survival. It is best not to apply mulch until after the surface inch or so of the ground is frozen because it then serves the important purpose of stabilizing soil temperatures, preventing rapid and sharp fluctuations that would cause "heaving" of plants and exposure to lethal temperatures.

Tidying Up

Another late garden activity that comes some time in November, if not earlier or later depending upon location and the weather, is the annual pre-winter clean up. This is important in connection with the controlling of insects and diseases as well as from the standpoint of good appearance.

Dead tops of perennials should be removed after they have been blackened by killing frosts. Annuals should be dug up and removed from the garden scene, root and all, because the larvae and eggs of most of the common garden insects winter over on the dead tops of plants.

Their removal and destruction will go a long way in reducing the annual threat from this source. Diseases, too, over-winter as spores on plant remains making it doubly important to remove all dead tops of plants.

Home growers of raspberries will find it worthwhile to lay the canes down and cover them with soil before the ground freezes. Just covering the tips, which is the method of winter protection usually provided by commercial growers, will be sufficient where a snow cover can be expected.

Strawberries must be "hardened" before covering them with a two-inch layer of marsh hay or straw. Plants like red emerald philodendron should be exposed to freezing temperatures before being covered but they should not be exposed to temperatures below 20 degrees.

Obviously, everything cannot be mentioned in this column, but one more comment is so important that it should be made: "Don't burn tree leaves." Save them for mulches under evergreens, trees and shrubs or for the garden, and put the surplus in a compost pile.

For a greater understanding on the subject of red emerald philodendron. Drop by today at http://www.plant-care.com/philodendron-red-emerald-i809.html. You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own unique content version here.

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Tags: garden, gardening, Home Improvement, plant care

December 17 2009 | Home Improvement | No Comments »