Just have to share...

I am just so excited, I have to share! On a Valentine's Day morning outing to Lowe's to get potting soil, DH and I went outside to the otherwise empty gardening section and found some awesome deals on pond stuff! I got this waterfall set up to add to my pond this year for $27 on sale from $70. They had a 200 gal preform for $32 and several other things. I couldn't buy it all so I stuck with the waterfall which I've been wanting for a while.

They also had a pressurized biological filter for $15, but I wanted to come home and do some research about it before I purchased. It was something like this, would that be worth buying? http://cgi.ebay.com/Garden-Treasures-Pressurized-Biological-Filter-w%2f-UV-_W0QQitemZ120356472261QQcmdZViewItem

I would have grabbed it. Save your receipt. You could always take it back if it didn't work out for you.

Go Get It !

Lol, that's kinda what I was thinking...
Can I just hook it up to the pump I already have or will I have to buy other stuff? Money's tight so I don't want to make it into a bigger production than it needs to be. (Oh wait we're talking about PONDS here...)

The filter should say what maximum pump pressure it can take. If your current pump is anywhere under that rating you'll be fine. It'll say something like " For pumps up to 400 gph" or whatever. Just look for that.

What's the deal. Lowes seems to have ponding stuff on sale everywhere except by me. . . sad Mole!

Same here, I don't like my local Lowes at all. They never seem to have any good deals.

My Lowes hardy carry any pond stuff. Oh well, I still love their plant sales rack hidden away in a far corner of the garden area. Anything out of bloom goes pretty cheap and quick at my store. Love IT!

Well I haven't gone back to buy the bio filter, but I'm still considering it. That stinks your Lowe's and HDs don't have good sales. Mine usually don't, it's kind of hit or miss.
I did have a warm Saturday afternoon so I worked on putting in the waterfall. I bought a barrel liner on sale (4.50!) to replace the 9 gallon trough the kit came with so it could have a spillway into the pond. I sunk it into the ground today at the corner of the pond. I'm super excited to see it running when it warms up more!
The smaller parts are obviously not in place yet, I just wanted to see what it looked like. Look how curious the fish were! They enjoyed the unseasonable weather too :)

That looks nice. It feels good to be able to do anything in the garden doesn't it?

That looks so nice. I would give anything to be out there right now, sitting by my pond. On the 26th it was warm enough for DH and I to sit out there for a bit after I got home from work. I put it into my 2009 pond journal - I don't remember being out that early before, but now the itch is worse and it will be awhile before we can sit out there again.

Grrrrrrrrrr. It's 25°. I'm going to prune the weeping pussy willow of dead limbs today. That's it for outdoor chores. It will be the end of this week before it will be above freezing again. I'm located 10 miles away from a huge frozen body of water called Lake Erie. It acts like a giant ice cube that keeps it colder longer here in the spring. The upside is that it has the opposite effect in the fall. We stay warmer longer. I think I would prefer it the other way round.

Snapple

do you experience lake effect snows from Lake Erie? I know when I was living in Rochester NY, it was the same thing where we were protected because of the lake, but we paid with lake effect snows. This year, we have been experiencing quite a bit of lake effect snow from the Finger Lakes. That doesn't normally happen for us - I think the jet stream has been just right or something.

No - Thank heaven we don't. Cleveland Ohio, further east is notorious for lake effect snows. Here, being at the western most tip of the lake keeps the lake moisture out of the picture. East winds, which happen from time to time, cause the lake to push into the rivers and streams and can sometimes cause serious flooding along the western shore. Our heavy snows always come with a low front from either the west or the south. I've learned to dread 'L's on the weather map or a forecast of strong east winds. Both mean trouble!

I'm sorry that you won't get to be outside for a while! We've had a really warm and dry winter...this is definitely the earliest I've been outside working. I was in the garden at the end of January, though bundled. I can't believe the ground is thawed, but thank goodness. I'll send some warm your way!

I had plastic covering my pond all winter and I took it off yesterday. The forecast has us in the 60s all week (verrrry unheard of) so I'm going to give the fishies and lilies some sun.

I am worried about the plants waking up too early though. It's been known to snow in May here and freeze in June, so I'm hoping they don't jump the gun.

Ah, I just got a Sunday call form the head horticulturist at our local botanical garden where I volunteer (Master Gardener). It seems I'm to be pruning outdoors in the shade garden Tuesday ( they wanted Monday too but I'm busy) . It will be a high of 29°! Oh boy. How fun. Not.

Eeew yikes! Take some ear muffs!

Obviously I have a LOT of work left on it yet, but there is water a flowin'! :-D

View from the deck. Ahh to hear the sound of running water again. I took the pump out after I could see that it would work... I won't put it in for good for a while. Sigh.

Snapple - I was thinking about getting out in the yard to do some pruning, but I was hoping for 40 ish weather. They are calling for that the end of this week - I just hope that it holds and the weather doens't change between now and then.

Suzanne - Yay! That is great. I have been wanting to hear the sounds of the water myself - We have had pumps running as early as mid-March some years. I'm hoping.....

art_n_garden - I plan on muffing everything. And I mean everything. I'll probably walk funny and be unrecognizable.

Lol!! Well, good on ya for donating your time in a not so fun season. I wish I lived closer to the Denver Botanic Gardens, I would volunteer there if I did. I bet you get to learn so much and maybe acquire some cool plants?

Looky what else I have! These are 2-3 weeks early this year. I'm not complaining though of course, they are so beautiful and springy looking!

Oh, beautiful-are those iris reticulitis? My spelling is probably all wrong but are these those mini irises?

They are - iris reticulata http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/669/. I was excited to see Suzanne post them. I bought some of these little bulbs last spring in a co op. Can't wait to them- mine are yellow.

Suzanne - they are so beautiful. Thank you for sharing them with us.

I had them planted at my first and second homes. I had over 100 at my first home (Illinois) and they looked great and I got a lot of compliments on them. The following year about 80 returned. I moved after that. The next home (Mass.) I planted about 500 of them and they again looked great the first year and the second year only about half returned and the third year maybe a1/5 less but overall the blooms weren't great. So i this my 4th home I haven't planted any in the past 4 years because they don't always return the following year with the same impact. Cute aren't they? I mostly grew the blue in the flower beds but remember having some yellow in a container. That picture is making rethink about planting them again. Maybe if I can get them in a co-op cheap.

"A co op cheap"...... that is the only way I buy any plants/bulbs any more. I see no point in paying full price. I bought more lilies and dahlias this year than I had planned, so I'll wait until next year for some of the other things that I want.

Yep, reticulated iris, as you all said. I adore them. They are my saving sanity right now. To see color in the garden is oh so sustaining. They are little, but so needed! I have a picture of them for my laptop background right now :) I noticed some crocus coming up this afternoon. They are so tiny, the blooms no bigger than a pea.

I fed my fish today...definitely earlier than usual. I was worried about doing it, but after watching them swim around for an hour biting at anything floating at the surface, I went for it. The temps are supposed to be in the 60s all week, so I figured it couldn't hurt too much. They ate like they've never eaten before, it was fun to watch. I'll watch them this week closer than normal though, I don't want their insides to rot. Anyone want to join me for a beverage and homemade carne asada next to the pond this evening, you're all invited! This weather is just unheard of...

I wish I could come and visit with you pond side. I know your a zone warmer than myself and that gives me a lot to look forward to at the moment. Thursday we are supposed to be nearly 60 degrees. All the way through the weekend in the 50's. I hope I see some little plants poking out of the ground as well! Take some pictures for me and post them!

Enjoy your nice weather! Here are some crocus that are just peeking through. So cute!

And because you can't really appreciate them until you see how little they are, here is for scale with my grubby garden hands!

such a wonderful sight! I checked yesterday and my R.Iris are just little leaves so far that are coming up..... You are half a zone warmer than I am too. I am so anxious for Spring. It is supposed to start warming up after today - I am hoping to get out and get my roses and clematis pruned.

My pond had thawed and now is under a layer of ice again, but I have noticed the water temps in the bottom of the pond seem to be increasing little by little. Keeping my fingers crossed that everything is ok with the pond this spring - there seems to be more algae than usual this year.

My pond had a thin sheet of ice on it this morning but now at nearly 12:00 noon the temp. says 40 degrees (floating term.). I still haven't recvd my new biofilter/UV and pump but have high hopes that it will arrive today so I can start installing tomorrow (warmer weather) and treat the bacteria in my pond with medicines.

The sun feels so good even though it says the air is 38 degrees. I was outside without a coat for 40 minutes playing fetch with my three dogs and I never felt cold. That is a good feeling!

A n G: Thanks for the pictures of the flowers. They gave me a warm fuzzy feeling and hopes that Spring will be here soon!

Yay for warmth! Only problem with our spring warmth is that - if it's warm, it's because the wind is blowing in the Shinook...so we get 20-40 mph winds w/ the warmth, which I could do without.
We have more algae than last year, too. I wonder why?

One more picture for your sanity. I put the pump in today because the water was starting to look cloudy. The fish seemed excited and were checking everything out.

It's nice to see your fish! I wish mine were out and about checking things out. Our weather was great today but very windy as well. So much junk blew into the pond today and it kept me busy with the net.