News and Coming Events

Water Gardening 101 Seminar

Saturday, July 11th at the Brookville Library, 10 am to 12 noon

Learn Water Gardening from the pros. Many topics will be discussed ranging from fish care to landscaping and aquascaping your pond. Learn how to choose the right pump. So come all for a fun time!

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Pond’ering Around - June 2009

Summer can be the most enjoyable time of the year for you and your pond. The plants are in full bloom and the fish are at their most active state as they swim eagerly to you for some small amounts of food. Feeding your fish is an important part of their development and ability to winter over during those cold months.

Most pond fish (Goldfish) can live fine without any type of food supplement. Smaller fish have the ability to adapt well to ponds, because they dont require much from the ecosystem. Larger fish, on the other hand, especially KOI, will need to have some type of food supplement to help them build body mass to remain healthy for the coming months. Nutrition plays a huge role in the overall health of fish, and one of the easiest ways to ensure that your fish stay healthy is by offering them a balanced diet. Feeding is probably one of the most overlooked aspects of taking care of fish. A quality food will provide your fish with the essential nutrients needed for proper growth and maintenance of color.

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Garden Store now open!

Our Garden Store is open for for the season, hours are 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. See our Contact page for our address and interactive map.

Pond’ering Around - May 2009

Spring is going by quickly and soon the dog days of summer will be upon us. The plants will be in full bloom and so will the algae. By May most ponds are fully awake and the eco-systems are a buzz with activity. This is the time to add bacteria to the water. Why? As the nutrient levels increase so does the possibility of green water. Small plankton algae is always present in the water, and if enough nutrients exist in the water the algae can mass produce in the pond so much that you can see them. If a bacterium is added to consume some of the nutrients, the pond water has a chance of shifting into balance far more quickly than on its own. Remember as the nutrients in the water increase so does the small green algae, but as the nutrient levels decrease then so does the algae. It simply starves itself out.

If String Algae is the problem then use S.A.B. (String Algae Buster) or Eco-Barley. These types of treatments are used to manipulate Mother Nature into a condition that does not allow large amounts of string algae to grow.

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Pond’ering Around - February 2009

Can youu believe we are thinking of spring? After the ice and snow, it is always good to have something to look forward to.

Spring cleanings will begin in March and should be done by the end of April. This is the most important cleaning for your pond. As things start to come out of hibernation, a removal of debris collected during the fall and winter months will give the pond a head start for the warmer days.

This year there are new water treatments for the pond. Liquid Barley Extract and Aquaclearer Sludge Cleaner. Barley Extract is used to combat string algae and being in liquid form can work faster than the traditional barley straw. Aquaclearer Sludge Cleaner can quickly remove unwanted sludge build up on the bottom of ponds and the filters thus reducing the maintenance of the pond.

Also this year, we are introducing the Rain Water Harvesting System. This is a water harvesting system that traps rainwater from your roof and stores and filters it for use around the home. With people becoming more aware of the environment and their impact on it, rainwater harvesting is fast becoming a mainstream choice on how to lessen our dependence on the public system and move off the grid, so to speak.

As Certified Aquascape Contractors (CACs) we were invited to participate in the Extreme Pond Build in St. Charles, Illinois last summer. Along with other CACs we helped build the largest water garden on the North American continent.

For those who wish to have a small water garden nearby, we have new small water features available. These decorative water features can be as compact as 30 inches and have small stones or statues with water bubbling from the top. They are are ideal for tight spaced areas.