Image via Wikipedia

Author: Christopher Byrnes When homeowners decide to install a water garden on their property, they often expect a beautiful area where they can relax in peaceful contemplation.

However, once you’ve had a water garden in your yard for a few weeks, you will start to notice that you are not the only one who is enjoying the beauty of your new landscaping feature.

A water garden can be an attractive draw for all kinds of wildlife. When you have a water garden, you are rolling out the red carpet for some of nature’s most beautiful creatures from delicate butterflies to quirky tree frogs in bright, eye-catching colors.

A water garden brings the unique wildlife of your region out of the shadows so that you can get to know them, and you just might be surprised at what you discover.

Some of the Earth’s most beautiful insects are likely to be drawn to your water garden. Many water garden owners are delighted to start each day by discovering a few energetic dragonflies hovering over the water’s surface, or skimming through the air with their bright blue and green bodies flashing in the sun.

GPQJVNRQZEXH

Dragonflies lay their eggs in water, which makes them common visitors to water ponds. In addition to dragonflies, you are likely to see a host of butterflies who will likely be drawn to your water garden in order to drink. The cool, clean moving water of your tended water garden looks very attractive to these tiny creatures who are constantly in search of a few droplets of crisp water to sip on.

In addition to creatures that are lovely to look at, you will also notice that your water garden draws animals who create an enchanting live soundscape. Birds of all shapes and sizes will want to spend time visiting your water garden where they can bathe and drink to their hearts’ content. This will leave your yard filled with the pleasant, beautiful tones of all manner of bird song. At night, when the birds have flown off to sleep in safer areas, your water garden will likely play host to a bevy of frogs that will croak you a lullaby in deep bass tones.

One of the most exciting things about the fact that a water garden attracts wildlife of all shapes and sizes is that getting up close and personal with all of these types of animals enables you to observe them at all stages of life. A water garden often provides you with an opportunity to see frogs develop from tadpoles, and to watch different kinds of butterflies come and go with the seasons.

Chances are, if you spend enough time watching the different visitors to your water garden, you are bound to learn a few things about nature that you never knew, and that is the very best kind of surprise.

About the Author: Find out how to build your dream water garden, even on a tight budget. Click here now for full info! Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – The Hidden Benefit Of Water Gardens

Related articles by Zemanta

• Backyard Ponds – All You Need to Know About Wildlife Ponds (hbb2obm.com)
• The Importance of Filtering Your Pond (hbb2obm.com)
• Bogs, Ponds and Waterfalls – Oh My! (hedbergrocks.blogspot.com)

Related posts

• Ponds & Waterfalls: Layout & Excavation (0)

Image by massdistraction via Flickr

Author: Doug Hoover

First of all: know what you want. If you need some ideas, visit the library or your local book store and browse through landscape books, garden and pond magazines. You can also search the web and read and study as much as possible.

Layout is the most important phase of the entire project. I have heard many complaints from disappointed clients after they had a chance to get used to their new addition to the landscape. “I only wish we had made it bigger … made it deeper … added an island … made it longer and constructed a bridge … built it closer to the house … installed a larger water pump for the waterfall … or … built the waterfall higher or wider.”

Most of these wishes could have been granted for a reasonable cost before or during construction. But waiting until afterward means incurring a major expense that may be cost prohibitive. If your choice is to omit the item or feature because of its cost, then make structural preparations to allow for adding it on later. You can plan and design the landscape to allow for easy additions to the koi pond later just by the strategic placement of trees, sprinklers, drain lines, and much more.

When you decide exactly where you want to place the koi pond, take your time laying it out. A garden hose is popular for this job because it can easily be moved around until the desired shape is achieved. Once that is accomplished, you can use construction paint and spray the ground in the outline of the hose.

If there is any doubt about where to locate the koi pond, give it a couple of days and ask for outside opinions. Then walk around the yard while you observe the proposed spot from various angles, especially views from inside your house, from the room where you spend most of your time.

Remember to take into consideration everything around it. How close is the nearest tree? Will its roots pose a problem later? Is there going to be sufficient sun throughout the day? Some water plants require more sun exposure than others, such as lilies. Make sure you know where the main power, water and sewer lines are routed to the house. It is not so good to find out after the fact that the gas or water line runs right through the center, 36 inches below the surface of a 48 inch deep koi pond.

Do not land-lock a section of your yard that may later need drains, sprinklers or heavy construction material. Place in advance or remove such items and install necessary drains and sprinklers. If it is not convenient to run the sprinklers at this time, run 4 inch drainpipe sleeves under the stream or section of pond to enable running low voltage wire and sprinkler lines later.

When it comes to the koi pond depth, if you plan to have it more than 18″ deep, you will need to check with the local building codes to determine if a 6 foot perimeter fence is required. You may also need door alarms and self-closing gates at the side of the house.

If the koi pond site is not level, do not worry about it; you will have all the excavated dirt from the pond to level out uneven terrain and get creative with terracing for an upper koi pond and waterfall or a sloped portion of the yard for a stream or creek.

A pond can be placed on the side of a hill by constructing a retaining wall to hold back portions of the hill. Drive a stake in the ground until the top of it represents the water surface of the koi pond. Continue with additional stakes in the shape of the proposed pond using a level as you go.

Keep in mind how deep the koi pond should be and begin to remove the dirt. As you do so, note the condition of the soil and determine if you will need only shovels and a pick, or if you will have to rent a jackhammer. Also, if the soil is sandy and unstable, you may need to shore up the sides with plywood forms and supports prior to pouring concrete.

Most often the soil from a pond excavation can be used to create berms in the landscape plus mounding for a waterfall. If the koi pond is large the excavated dirt can be used to terrace a level back yard, facilitating a second, elevated koi pond. If there is no access to the back yard for a bobcat or excavator, additional soil will need to be removed by wheelbarrow and can be dumped into a rented trash bin or dumpster.

The most important stage of the water feature project is planning, not layout and excavation. If you have not planned and predesigned your waterfall and koi pond by now, file this article away until you do.

It has been a pleasure sharing with you. Until next time. Happy Koi, Peace & Joy.

About the Author:
Douglas C. Hoover; Master Waterfall Builder, CEO of Aquamedia Corp, freelance writer, author, architect, inventor, engineer, designer and builder of over 1900 waterfall and ponds in California or the past 26 years.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Ponds & Waterfalls: Layout & Excavation

Related articles by Zemanta

• Your Ideal Landscaped Garden (hbb2obm.com)
• The Importance of Filtering Your Pond (hbb2obm.com)

Related posts

• The Hidden Benefit of Water Gardens (0)

Image via Wikipedia

Author: Kirk Rogers

Koi Pond Heating

There are many reasons for heating your koi pond, maybe you just want to see your enjoy your pond in all seasons. Whatever your reason we just want to give you some insight to make it easy to accomplish.

There is now new technology, energy efficient heaters being developed for pond heating. Therefore we recommend electric koi pond heaters, submersible heaters, heat exchangers and floating pond heaters.

Pond Heating Considerations

First you must determine whether you want to de-ice or actually heat your pond to a specific temperature. Deicers melt the ice to provide an opening for harmful gas exchange only.

Heating your pond to obtain a specific temperature can be a bit technical, so if your not sure about the heater sizing we recommend that you contact our koi pond heating specialists. The outside low temperature is the key to your kilowatt requirements and unfortunately it can vary.

Your heater output kilowatts are calculated based on your low ambient temperature and if your geographical area drops far below that normal low temperature a safety factor should be included in the calculations. We recommend submersible pond heaters for small to medium size ponds and energy efficient heat exchangers for large ponds

Koi Pond Information

One period when koi keepers traditionally have their most difficult time with health problems is during the transition from winter to spring. As waters begin to warm up, pathogens are able to multiply at a more rapid rate than koi can defend themselves leading to an increase in the likelihood of disease. If a pond is heated over winter, then this risky period is removed from the koi owners. View info Pond Heaters

The Major Reasons for Pond Heater Failures

Pond water is usually high in calcium chloride and other minerals,this causes build up on heaters. In time the build up prevents heat transfer and the heater internally burns out. Our new technology completely eliminates any build up.

Salt additives to pond water eventually corrodes the heater surface. We have developed heaters that can’t be attacked chemically. The most popular cause of pond heater failure is low liquid burnout. Our new pond heaters don’t burn from lack of liquid, they can run in air and will shut themselves down before burnout. Visit our web site Heating Your Pond

About the Author:

Kirk rogers: a thermodynamics engineer with 25 years experience, designing and developing heating systems. Heating Your Pond, Pond Calculators, Pond Heaters

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Pond Heaters

Related articles by Zemanta

• Bogs, Ponds and Waterfalls – Oh My! (hedbergrocks.blogspot.com)

Related posts

• No related posts.

Image via Wikipedia

Author: Michael C. Harris

Japanese Koi carp are known throughout the world as beautiful fish comprising of vivid colors and markings. Anyone who owns them can tell you how wonderful it is to have them as part of their lives. But there as is mysterious past surrounding these marvelous fish as to where their journey of time and transformation truly began.

Over the centuries Koi have gone through many remarkable stages of migration, evolution and breeding. Still today, historical gaps in their timeline have many toiling over where they originated and how they truly came to be the revered Koi that grace the ponds of so many gardens the world over.

The word Koi is a Japanese name meaning carp, but the original name comes from the Latin word Cyprinus carpio also meaning carp. Though many believe that Koi are a product of the Japanese, it is understood that Japanese Koi carp are actually believed to have originated in the waters of the Caspian Sea and areas surrounding China.

In fact, there are records of carp fossils found in China dating back 20 million years, along with early accounts of the very first color mutations of Koi being bred in China. It was here where selective breeding of the Prussian carp led to the development of the goldfish. Now goldfish were not introduced to Japan until the 16th century. Later goldfish were brought to Europe in the 17th century.

With ongoing research and investigation, it is still unclear as to when Koi were actually introduced to Japan, but the mystery mounts as stories are told of Koi having been brought to Japan as a result of early Chinese invasions of Japan. Others tell stories of a Japanese emperor keeping Koi back in 200 AD. The history of Japanese Koi carp is sketchy at best. As to what really happed between the 2nd and the 17th century is an ongoing exploration still today.

What is understood is that Ojiya agricultural farmers in the province of Niigata were simply breeding Koi as a food source for sale. Then between the 1820s and the 1840s these farmers began to notice colorful pigmentation irregularities in some Koi stock. These particular Koi were separated from the others and kept as pets. Soon to follow, the farmers began breeding these color mutations with neighboring farmers and the Japanese Koi carp hobby began.

Still it was a hobby shared only by the local farmers of Ojiya. It was not until the early 1920s, during the Tokyo Taisho Exhibition, that these farmers shared their newfound Koi joy with the rest of the Japanese public. These first presentations of Koi, with their vibrant majestic colors and patterns, were an immediate hit among the Japanese population.

Over night, the Koi hobby went from a working mans leisurely past time to an upper class means of status. Before long Koi owners were breeding their fish throughout the country, and new exciting color mutations began to emerge, giving us largely what we see today in the magnificent Japanese Koi carp.

About the Author:
Get your FREE 10 day Koi Carp Fish Care mini course, today. Michael C. Harris is a Koi fish specialist. Get more great tips on Japanese Koi Carp today. His successful Koi care secrets e-Book “Koi Fish School”, is an inspiring guide of easy follow techniques for every Koi fish enthusiast.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Japanese Koi Carp – A Remarkable Journey of Time and Transformation

Related posts

• No related posts.