The Perfect Pond Recipe Book

How To Choose Aquatic Plants and Plant Your Garden Pond

The pond needs to be planted with a complete cross section of plants in order to help the biological filter keep your pond clear.

It will need:

16 bunches of oxygenating weed
one water lily
7 marginal plants
4 floating plants and
possibly one more deep-water plant a small lily or perhaps a water hawthorn.
See below for range of plants

For these you will need 25 medium aquatic baskets with very fine mesh sides and a large 25kilo bag of pea-gravel. Also you will need 3 large bags of pond soil or some good chemical free garden loam (not silty).

Fill one basket to the top with pea-gravel and push in all of the bunches of oxygenating weed into it. Slowly submerge the basket to the bottom of the pond.

Fill all of the other medium baskets with the soil to within 10cm from the top. Remove the marginals, deep-water plant and lily from their small baskets and plant each one into an indentation in the soil of each basket; backfill with the soil to the surface of the soil at which each plant was planted; firm into place. Top off the surface of the soil with pea-gravel. This prevents the soil from drifting out of the basket or being dug out by fish.

Place the baskets in the pond. The lilies and deep-water plants can be placed on the bottom and the marginal plants can be placed on the shelf around the edge. The floating plants can be dropped in to find their own level. If the lily you have chosen is not very vigorous, it will be wise to place it on some bricks, piled up 2 high, until the plant seems to have settled in.

Choose from these plants ...

Oxygenators

Elodea crispa or Myriophyllum spicata or Callitriche autumnalis

Water Lilies

Nymphaea ‘Attraction’(red), N. ‘Aurora’(yellow changing to red), N. ‘Fabiola’(pink), N. ‘Formosa’(rose), N. ‘Froebelii’(red), N. ‘Indiana’(orange-red with spotted lvs), N. ‘James Brydon’(red), N. ‘Laydekeri Fulgens’(red), N. ‘Laydekeri Lilacea’(pink), N. ‘Laydeckeri Lucida’(pink), N. ‘Laydeckeri Purpurata’(red), N. ‘Laydeckeri Rosea’(rose), N. ‘Madame Wilfron Gonnêre’(double pink), N. ‘Marlicea Chromatella’(yellow, mottled lvs), N. ‘Moorei’(yellow), N. odorata (white), N. odorata ‘Firecrest’(deep pink), N. odorata minor, N. odorata ‘Rosea’(rose-pink), N. odorata ‘Sulphurea’(yellow), N. odorata ‘Turicensis’(soft rose), N. odorata ‘William B. Shaw’(pink), N. ‘Paul Harriot’(copper fls –maroon spotted foliage), N. ‘Rene Gerard’(deep pink), N. ‘Rose Arey’(rose-pink), N. ‘Rosennymphe’(deep rose), N. ‘Sioux’(yellow/copper), N. Solfatare’ (rose/yellow), N. ‘Vesuve’(red), N. ‘William Falconer’(red).

Deep water plants

Aponogeton distachyos (Water Hawthorn)

Marginal Plants (keep to the precise varieties)

Acorus gramineus ‘Variegatus’, Acorus intermedius, Alisma parviflorum, Butomus umbellatus- flowering rush, Calla palustris- bog arum, Caltha palustris- marsh marigold (all varieties except C. p. var. polypetala), Carex riparia ‘Bowles Golden’, Carex riparia ‘Variegata’, Dichromena colorata, Houttuynia cordata ‘Chamaeleon’, Houttynia cordata ‘Plena’, Iris ensata (Iris kaempferi), Iris laevigata (all varieties), Iris sibirica, Iris versicolor ‘Kermisina’, Juncus effusus var. spiralis, Lobelia fulgens, Lobelia siphilitica, Lysichiton americanus, Lysichiton camtschatcensis, Lysimachia nummularia, L. n. ‘Aurea’, L. thyrsiflora, Lythrum salicaria- purple loosetrife, Menyanthes trifoliate- bog bean, Mimulus- all varieties and species, Myosostis scorpiodes- water forget-me-not, Nymphoides peltata- water fringe lily, Sagittaria sagittifolia- arrowhead (all varieties), Saururus cernuus- lizards tale, Scirpus angustifolius (Eriophorum angustifolium)- cotton grass, Scrophula auriculata ‘Variegata’, Sisyrinchium californicum, Typha minima- miniature bulrush, Veronica beccabunga- brooklime, Zantedeschia aethiopica ‘Crowborough’- Arum Lily.

Floating Plants

Eichornia crassipes ‘Major’- floating water hyacinth, Hydrocharis morsus-ranae, Pistia stratiotes- water lettuce, Salvinia natans, Stratiotes aloides- water soldier, Trapa natans- water chestnut, Utricularia vulgaris- bladderwort.

The Water Itself

Add the water treatment as prescribed on the side of the bottle. This will age the water in a matter of hours. However it is better to leave the pond and plants for a further three to four weeks before adding any fish in quantity. This will be the time it takes for the filter to acquire an active bacterial colony.

Turn on the pump, check the filter is operational and check for leaks at the hose unions. For the filter to be properly effective as a bio-filter it must be run 24/7. Turning it off for more than 2hours at any one stretch will mean the death of the valuable bacteria.

After 3 weeks begin to add fish up to a maximum total length of 70inches (1.8metres). It would be recommended to keep the population well below this especially in the first year.

Fish species and varieties: any species of goldfish, shubunkins, red comets (sarasas), possibly one tench. No koi carp or orfe.

Caring for Your garden Fish Pond

Begin feeding the fish 2 to 3 days after arrival. Ensure the water temperature is above 10c. Only feed as much as they can eat in 5minutes. Net off any uneaten food.

If you have to top up with tap water use the dechlorinator as instructed on the bottle.

If you have problems with blanket weed or algae, use the Blanket weed and Algae control according to the instructions with the bottle. Wait for at least six weeks after the pond is established before you use any algicide. If and when you do, turn off the bio-filter for one week after treatment.

Check the pump and its pre-filter each week. There is no need to run it when temperatures are close to freezing.

Check the filter every month.

Rinse out the filter every six months with pond water or rainwater.

In winter, raise the pump to the marginal shelf level. Turn off the pump if the temperature threatens to drop below 5c. When the temperature rises permanently above 7c in spring, rinse out the filter medium with rainwater and start the system again.

Instructions by PeterJ.May2006-03-16. To learn a lot more about how to create the perfect pond. Your whole family will suddenly find a new exciting interest in the garden as a whole. Peter May also has sites showing previous water feature plan sketches as well as a site about solving pond problems

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