Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Tropical Garden #103, 0 by dyzzypyxxy

dyzzypyxxy wrote:
Rachel and Mj, love those peppermint candy Caladiums! Yes, the Virginia creeper is a nuisance, but it has a long way to go to win the 'most annoying weedy vine' award in my garden. I have air potato battles, a rampant trumpet vine invading from the neighbor, and would you believe the red Passiflora coccinea that was quietly rambling around the back 40 has popped up with a lovely red flower at the very top of a 50ft. live oak tree?

I'm going to indulge myself here and tell my water garden story:

Mj, the answer to keeping raccoons from 'fishing' in water gardens is just to make them deep, with steep sides. Mine is about 18" deep but another 6 or 7in. down to the water level from the walkway.The raccoons occasionally go for a swim in my little pond, but they haven't dined on any of my fish in 3 years. That being said, you also have to keep fast, smart fish. Big dumb koi are magnets for the herons and ospreys. When we moved in here, there were six gorgeous big orandas in my pond. They are the pretty goldfish with bubbly heads and long, feathery fins. They're very slow, awkward swimmers, and had been trained to come to the surface to be fed floating food. So when the white heron visited, they went like lambs to the slaughter. I went to replace them to discover that they were not only dumb and slow, but really expensive! I then bought 10 feeder fish from Petsmart at 29 cents each. Never feed them, ever. They eat bugs and algae and some of them are 6" now. Haven't lost a fish since! My pond has a 'floating' rock - flattish rock sitting on cinderblocks - over part of it, so good cover and shade for the fish. I also have water lilies, iris and a dwarf lotus plant in there, all of which keep the water clear and also provide cover.

I was worried when we moved in here as I had no experience with water gardens. Got a good book and learned a lot. But, now that the fish issue is resolved, I have to say my pond is very low maintenance, water efficient (yes, believe it or not!) and a great source of enjoyment. Once you get a pond into balance, they're surprisingly easy to maintain.