First water garden... 5 months later

It's been over five months since the first water garden was constructed. Let's see how it's doing now.

From the looks of it, the aquatic plants are loving their new home. Much of the water surface is now covered with foliage. In a few areas not covered with leaves you will catch a glimpse of the fishes swimming. The adult Tilapias have been removed from the pond. They found their new home too cozy for reproduction that they started to make baby Tilapias. Now only Kois and Tilapia fingerlings inhabit the pond.

Our first water garden

Our tubs, buckets and pails of Lotus plants are getting to be like cry babies, always looking for attention. Not that they make shrieking noises when they need something, they just look sad and limp when they need more water.

Since their roots are confined to small and shallow containers, their water requirements need to be checked often especially during hot and sunny days. This situation was brought to my attention months ago and we had to come up with a quick solution if our Lotuses are to survive in the garden.

Ideally I would have opted for a ground level pond complete with water features and landscaping for a more  natural look. Eventually this is what I'll shoot for, but for now the well-being of the Lotus plants must be addressed as soon as possible.

Thus, we decided to build a bigger container in the form of an above ground pond. This is cheaper, easier to build and easier to maintain than an elaborate, natural-looking pond. So, Dad and his crew went to work and built the pond adjacent to the "mother" garden.

The Lotuses are now happily residing in the pond. Since there are room for more aquatic plants, a Horsetail (Equisetum hyemale) and another yet unidentified plant were added. There are also Duckweeds (Lemna minor) which hitchhiked with Lotuses and began to float only after the Lotus containers were submerged in the pond.

We have Umbrella Papyrus (Cyperus involucratus) growing in a place where they don't get any attention so I asked Mom to put some in the pond too, but that's after they've been quarantined to make sure they don't harbor snail eggs. Currently they're in isolation at the back porch. It will be a disaster if aquatic snails get into the pond as I mentioned in my older post "What lies beneath..."

To solve the potential problem of the pond becoming a breeding ground for blood-sucking, virus-carrying mosquitoes, we added some fishes as well. There are a few Tilapias, young Kois and Comets contently living in the pond.

To keep the color of the pond from turning completely green due to algal bloom and the water healthy for the fishes, fresh water is added daily delivered by a hose connected to a spring-fed source.

A pond can be classified as a fishpond, koi pond, wildlife pond or a water garden. So, is this structure a fishpond or a water garden? Definitely a water garden. Although fishes can be added in a water garden they are not the main attraction of the pond but rather the various species of aquatic plants. The plants take the center stage while the fishes are just extras.

Someday, if the forces from above are willing, there will be more ponds and water gardens in different parts of the farm.

Not my Iris

I was told it's an Iris but it sure doesn't look like the Iris I had in mind.

The flowers of our Walking Irises (Neomarica gracilis).

It all started when I asked Mom a year or so ago to buy some Iris plants so we could start propagating them. My plan was to use these Irises as bog or marginal plants in the future Koi pond and water garden. That way when the pond and water garden are built there would be plenty of Irises ready to use without the need to buy more.

Our Walking Irises in bloom in the nursery.

So that's how these Irises came to exist in the farm. But the flowers don't resemble the ones I've seen in some online pictures growing near bodies of water so my only conclusion is that this is not the Iris I wanted. However, since they look good just the same they are a very welcome addition in the garden.

The flower of our Giant Apostle's Iris (Neomarica caerulea).

But once again I was at a loss as to what type of Iris these are. I've been wanting to write about them but I don't exactly know their actual names. But the wonders of the internet never cease to amaze. I wasn't even googling for this type of plant when lo and behold there it was staring at me on my monitor, a flower that looks exactly like the blooms of our no-name Irises.

Our Giant Apostle's Irises temporarily placed in front of the front porch of our humble house.

Now I know. Our mysterious Iris is called the "Walking Iris" or the "Apostle's Iris" from the genus Neomarica with sixteen different species. It is native to Central and South America as well as the tropical regions of western Africa. This plant belongs to the family Iridaceae so technically it's still an Iris but quite different from its true Iris cousin which is from the genus Iris. To be specific ours is the Neomarica gracilis and the other is the Neomarica caerulea.

More young Walking Irises in the nursery.

I could only blame myself for not getting the plant I was looking for. It could have helped a lot if I had been more specific when I asked Mom to buy some Irises. I should have said 'Water Iris', now that would have been clearer. The ones we have don't even like wet soil so they'll definitely feel miserable in the future Koi pond and water garden. Anyway, there are plenty of spaces waiting for them in the upper garden where they can thrive in peace and multiply as they desire.

And so the search for the Water Iris is still on. But wait! I have no budget left for more plants.....grrrr!tropical garden Tropical Garden tropical garden Tropical Garden