Entretien et conseils
suivant les saisons

The pond's evolution over the years   Year 1999 (Construction), 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 End of July 1999  Beginning of its construction and that of the waterfall at the far right end. September 1999 The pond is completed and some plants (water irises, water lilies and golden rods) have been brought in. The water’s edge has been temporarily set-up…. The four basins which will form the waterfall have been cemented. The first dragonflies appear as well as several aquatic insects such as the mosquito, the hydrometra, gerri.   October 1999 A protective net to catch the leaves has been installed.   January 2000 This is the pond’s first winter. It is frozen over… Spring 2000 Once again the sky is blue and the sun is shining. Nature is back to life…..The first thread-like algae reappear …..we will need to remove these regularly . The waterfall and the gravel path are completed. April 9, 2000 journal entry : The newts came to settle in the pond….Since when? We can count more than ten of them up to date. They come to the surface to breath and show their orange belly. What a beautiful sight!  The water fall is almost finished. It fits-in well with the surrounding wilderness……   End of Spring 2000 Start-up of the waterfall and new plants such as lobelias and bog arums (calla palustris) are added. The water irises, up-front in the picture, are growing very well! The first water lilies’ leaves are peaking out.  The threadlike algae have disappeared completely.  The little toad, found before winter, is still there but it turns out it is a frog! Can’t see any egg clusters …its prince charming has not come by yet!  Summer 2000 The frog has found her prince charming. Indeed, the male was on her back and they took a few dives together. The fish brought in this spring are full of life. The ides often come to bathe in the sun at the water’s surface.  The Shunbunkins, which we didn’t see much of at the beginning, get along well with the Sarasas. Mainly for child safety, we installed a fence around the pond. We can still see the pond really well from the house.   Through the open gate we enter the “aquatic world”! Year 2001 Since the start of the water garden, the pond has evolved to offer us a richer and richer fauna and flora. This is the first year that both the frogs and the toads have laid their eggs in our plants ( Japanese iris, rush and oxygenating plants). It is also the year that our Sarasa and Shubunkin have had little ones. The population is getting bigger: a bunch of 6 golden ides, about twenty shubunkins and sarasas. The water quality has remained perfect and the algae hardly developed. Even without a filter and with only the water movement resulting from the waterfall, the water remained clear! Animals sighted: Dragonflies, damselflies, geris, great “aeschenes”, pond snails ( lymnea stagnalis), notonectas, dytiscus beetles, dragon fly larvae, common frog, toads, newts and a common kingfisher. All these animals came in of their own will, and we could never have seen them without our pond.  Winter 2001- 2002   Year 2002 On a beautiful January morning in 2002, Master Grey Heron came to visit. He appeared starved and went directly to the middle of the half frozen pond after standing on the edges for only an instant. Luckily for our aquatic friends, but unluckily for him the net was still in place from November 2001! We had to clap our hands to make him fly off. After that, he came back daily to try his luck … in vain. After on week of worry for our fish, we hung-up two shiny compact disks, and miracle of miracles, the heron began his approach to land, but aborted his landing on the spot and took off. We never saw it since! Around March 10, the frogs and toads came to mate in the pond. A real show to observe with our binoculars! Year 2003 The heron came back during the winter. The net and the ice discouraged him though. The plants are growing each year. After 4 years, the water lilies are superb and are in bloom from the month of May to October! Below are some pictures taken during the warm season: May 2003: plants are sprouting and the azaleas are in bloom. July 2003: Aquatic lushness! In the foreground: the waterplantain. Year 2004 Just as in the previous years, the heron came by from January 1st and continued to come for the next 2 or 3 weeks. We had to put back the netting used in the fall to discourage him. We notice that this bird, for the last few years, generally comes when the plants are at rest and the ground is well cleared, that is in the winter. During the other seasons, the ground is not as accessible because the vegetation is much thicker (shrubs, hedges and trees).