I just went out and took a picture of my pond to show how lovely and clear the water is, but doesn't look that way in the photo. It is a cloudy day, so maybe the clouds are reflecting on the water. The pond is 30 inches deep and you can see the new leaves of the waterlilies, but just doesn't look clear. DonnaS
It's a nice photo anyway, Donna. Must be because of the reflection of the clouds that the water looks greyish. Can I ask what type of pots you have your waterlilies in and how far from the surface the top of those pots are? This will be my first year grwong lilies in my pond, and I am curious about them. Thanks. :Donna in Castlegar.
Hi Donna in C. I was in your area a couple of years ago. My daughter and i drove to Nelson for the 4th of July holiday. Would love to go back to Nelson again, such nice interesting Arts & Crafts shops.
Actually I use what ever pot i can find.. They don't have to have drainage holes. Usually when i need something for my pools I buy from Van Ness Water Garden ins Calif. They have a pretty complete supply of pool needs, including plants.
I have three levels of depth in my largest pool, the deepest is 30" then a step about 8 or so inches higher and another step 6 or so inches higher. the largest pots of lilies are on the bottom level. There are a couple on next level and one or two on shallow end. To prevent the string algea developement you need to have lily pad or some other shade over about 75% of your pool surface. Of course that won't happen for a while as the lilies have to have time to develop their leaves. I try to divide my lilies every 2 years. there are really pretty water loving cannas and iris too. Good Luck and have fun. If I can help in any way let me know. DonnaS
Hey OFG (old flower girl)
Does your pond have fish in it?
Just hoping to save you some money. I originally made my pond so that I could grow water lillies. I pu my koi in, before the plants (wrong time of the year for the plants)
Well, I spent the money and put the lillies in the following spring, and they didn't last long. My koi refuse to leave them alone. The uproot them, they eat them, etc. I have tried everything. Replaced the plants many times, tried putting netting around them, didn't work.
My pond is not big enough to close off a section for the plants, so now I have a nice Koi pond, without lillies......
Just something to think about.....
Jeff
Donna
a UV filter on the front of your lens would help rid the reflection
they're sometimes called haze filters
Dick
Thanks Donna & Jeff.
Jeff, I had planned on only having Goldfish in my pond, and at that, only 2 or 3. My pond is pretty small. I have a waterfall setup to drain into one end of the pond and had hoped that I could grow waterlilies since the water is not disturbed too much even with the water circulating and filtering for a few Goldfish.
So Donna, you say you don't really need the fancy pond plant containers thay have holes in the sides. One other question, please. What kind of material do you grow yours in? Kitty Litter has been suggested, and they have special water lily clay material for planting at our local Pond Dealer. What do you recommend? Thanks so much for any advice.
:Donna form Castlegar.
P.S. Glad you enjoyed Nelson. It is kinda of a unigue little city. A little on the "Hippie" side isn't it? They have some pretty cool shops.
OFG, It is very simple the way I grow waterlilies. As I said any pot large enough, that usually means at least a two gal. size. I just go with my trusty wheelbarrow out to the back of my garden and dig some soil out of the bank where nothing has been added. One thing not to do is add manure or compost. I do buy the recommended fertilizer granules and tablets. I mix the recommended amount of granules with the soil either in the container or if I am doing quite a bit dividing, I mix in the wheelbarrow
If I am using a container that has holes in the bottom I use a couple of thinknesses of newpaper in the bottom over the holes then fill about 13 full with the fertilizer amended soil and put it a piece of waterlily near one side and add more soil. Then i usually put in 2 or 3 of the fert. pellets and finish filling to within an inch or so of top of container. I cover the top of the soil with turkey grit (from local feed store) about 1/2 to 1/3 inches deep. Then slowly lower into lily pond.
The Van Ness catalog has very good instructions. Hope that helps. My lilies bloom all summer long. I have about 40 or so goldfish and 1 Koi that I bought last summer. Two of the goldfish are about 12 or so years old. i brought 3 with me when i moved 10 years ago. One vanished this winter. The two are probably 10-11 inches long. Good Luck DonnaS
Thanks so much for your helpful hints, Donna. I can use all the help I can get, Good luck with your pond this summer. :D
I have had good luck photographing pond water on very bright days when the sun is shining right down into the water. Also, I have gotten okay shots by photographing through shadows on the water's surface, like when you don't pay attention and get your own shadow in a photo? Position your shadow on the water. Seems to work for me.
I am kinda late to this thread but I have lots of thoughts. You see the reflection of the sky on your pond surface, Ruth. Your water looks wonderfully clear. As Strever suggested, a uv filter will do the trick or watch where you stand and at what angle. That will help somewhat.
To keep the koi from digging up your lilies, use rocks bigger than their mouths. I even use pieces of slate to keep mine out but that could be a problem depending on which direction the rhizome decides to grow..
Water lilies don't need special soil. Anything will do, including cat litter as long as it doesn't have additives and is pure clay. The cheapest stuff is usually pure. Be sure to fertilize as lilies are heavy feeders. I like soil that doesn't have alot of organic matter in it and is high in clay. The organic matter rots in an anerobic environment and turns the soil black and smelly. Which doesn't bother the lily, it just bothers me (but may be a problem for koi if it produces surfuric acid.)
There is controversey about pots with or without holes. That is a decision you have to make for yourself. I use dish pans from dollar store. If I am lucky I can find them in black. If you prefer holes use a drill and put a few in them. Or, as Ruth suggests, use newspaper or coffee filters to keep the dirt in.
And OFG, most hardy lilies do well in 18 to 20 inches of water. The larger ones can stand water up to 3 or 4 feet deep. The smaller ones, less. The important thing is that they get light until their leaves reach the surface. If the water is too turbid for the light to reach them they will not know that it is time to grow.
I enjoyed reading all the comments and thoughts. Thanks for letting me put my 2 cents worth in.
Patti Rose
Thanks Patti Rose. I will have to try to find a filter to use with the cameral.. I am not planning to replant my water lilies this year, did it last year. Have to send for some fert. for them tho. DonnaS
Donna--a polarizing lens will do a much better job of cutting through the glare to show off your clear pond. It is what fishermen use to see fish below the surface of water while fishing. They are sold fur use on manual cameras. I am not sure if they are available for digital cameras.
Andre
Andre, I have a polarizing lens for my old Olympus, do you suppose I could just hold it up in front of my Cool Pix. Maybe tomorrow if the weather is decent I will try that. Thanks, Donna
Sorry, I have not answered your question sooner. I hav been without a computer due to a lightning strike which fried my machine. I do not know of a reason holding a lens in front of your camera will not work. Try looking through the viewfinder without the filter and then while still looking through the camera hold up the filter. If there is a difference, then move the filter to the opening where the camera acutally takes the picture and give it a try. The only limitations that I can think of wourd be holding the lens at the proper angle and keeping it close enough to the camera to limit reflections from light to the inside of the filter.
thanks for your help, mcdonaga. I just haven't had time to try the filter and a good share of the time I have been having computer problems. Hope you got yours fixed. Did you not have a good surge protector of wouldn't that have helped. DonnaS
rutholive, I can never get clear water pictures either, even with my polarizing filter. I recently read an article on photographing fish and it says to take the picture at dusk with a bright flash. It elimates the glare and reflections. I haven't tried it yet, but I plan too!
Thanks branka, I willl try that also. I have gotten good clear photos of the goldfish. DonnaS
Hello Donna,
I did have my computer on a surge protector. I guess the lightning is just faster. From here on, I will be certain to check the weather and unplug my computer during storms and also unplug the computer when leaving town. Just in case!!!! Thanks for the concern.
Andre
Now look at this photo of the clear water, and i don't know what is different except the other photo was on a cloudy day. Donna
Here is another shot. the water is 30" deep in center of pool. Donna
Donna
The difference is in the angle of incidence of the sun's light. On cloudy days the sun's light is diffused and strikes the water at all angles. You can still see reflection near the top of the first picture. A polarizing lens would eliminate virtually all the glare. The thing about a polarizing lens is, they have to be adjusted for the proper effect, which means rotating the lens to get rid of the glare. To explain how the polarizing lens works would require a physics lesson and not that much space here. Take your 35mm polarizing filter and hold it in front of your digital and look through it while rotating the lens to see if there is a difference. I haven't experimented with this as of yet, but I just might today and post some results. Good luck!
(silverfluter's DH... Tom)
Thankyou Tom, today is another cloudy day, but if it clears up and I can find time away from the gh I will follow your suggestion DonnaS
Here is a pic facing SE, cloudy skies, the polarizing filter is in front of the lense, but not adjusted properly. The time is about 10 am.
By rotating the lens 90 degrees, you can see how the reflection on the water surface disappears in this pic taken 5 seconds later.
This is an example of what "angle of incidence" can do to the reflection. I walked to the other side of the pond and took this pic facing NW, the polarizing filter in front of the lens but not adjusted properly. You can see much less reflection as compared to when facing SE.
Finally, with the filter rotated 90 degrees from the previous shot, you can see how the reflection is all but gone completely.
The white balance from the stones on the edge of the pond make viewing the pond itsself less than desirable. These shots were designed to show the affect of the polarizing lens and "angle of incidence". Zooming up to remove the white stones from the border would make the pond contents more visible.
ok... here is a shot of pond objects blocked out by glare.
same shot with filter rotated properly, the pic says it all
Tom, what a help your photos are, Never did get time to go out to the pool at all today. Well there is still tomorrow. Thanks again. DonnaS
