In the world of gardening and outdoor design, more and more people are opting to use what are called garden ponds in their yards. These are usually found in the backyard of the house and are there simply for decoration. These ponds can be man-made or for those who are lucky enough, they can be natural. The more natural the ponds looks the better then garden will look overall.
Ponds are not without their troubles and hassles however. If you do have a pond in your yard then you must take every effort to ensure that the pond is cleaned and well kept. For each season of the year there are different things that you can do to ensure that your pond is looking great.
In the spring most people are preparing for summer so they must prepare their ponds as well. If the pond is a man made pond then you should increase the circulation of water in the pond. If you have fish in the pond, then you should start feeding the fish when the water temperature reaches fifty degrees or higher. When the water temperature rises, the fish will begin surfacing again. Any unwanted weeds and leaves should also be removed from the ponds as soon as possible in the spring season.
Backyard ponds look great when they have flowers and plant life growing in them. Therefore when the summer season begins you need to begin taking care of your plants. You should begin feeding your plants. This means fertilizing them. During the summer you need to remove dead foliage from the bottom of the pond. If you pond contains any fish then you should remove any dead and rotting fish from the bottom.
The fall of the year is the worst season of the year for having ponds in the yard. This is the time of the year when the leaves begin to fall of the trees. These leaves will surely fall into your ponds and will cover the top of the water. IF the leaves are left in the pond then you could cause damage the water and the plant and animal life that live in the water. When leaves decay they can disturb the ecological balance of the pond, whether it be man made or natural. You should always make every effort to remove all leaves from the water.
Usually during the winter ponds are frozen over. If the pond is man made then you might want to remove the water from the pond if you do not wish it to freeze. In most cases ponds are usually left alone and they freeze during the winter months. Therefore people do not need to do anything to care for them.
A garden pond is not too difficult to install – in its simplest form, it’s just a big hole that you’ve dug out and then filled with water. One you’ve got a pond, though, you can put all sorts of things in it, such as all kinds of aquatic plants and ornamental rocks.
If you put in a simple filtration system to keep the water clean and oxygenated, you can even keep some kinds of fish in your pond. Goldfish are a popular choice, but any fish will do as long as it is nice-looking and can survive in a wide variety of climates – most fish that can survive in a non-temperature-controlled tank will be just fine, but do check. You may also find that other wildlife starts to turn up on its own after a while, especially frogs and small turtles, although this is much more likely to happen if there are already ponds nearby.
One thing to beware of, though, is larger wildlife that might turn up uninvited and spoil your fun. Fish in garden ponds can attract all sorts of animals, especially fish-eating birds like herons. Even domestic cats can sometimes be a danger to your pond fish!
Apart from animals, you can lots of other interesting features to your pond, particularly if it is a large one – waterfalls are very popular, as are fountains. You should consider, however, what effect these features could potentially have on your pond wildlife, and check that they are safe before you install them.
Both James Hunt & John Gibb are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
James Hunt has sinced written about articles on various topics from History, Virtual Private Network and Mobile Phone Reviews. James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest.Read more at