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Water gardening in January?

© Vicki Paull

For most folks January elicits images of freezing rain swirling snow and wind chill factors. Not me. I see sunsets reflected in the calm water of my pool, I hear the tinkle of the waterfall and buzz of the hummingbirds. No, I don't live in the tropics, I am a gardener! Yes, it's that time of year, time to visualize what this spring will bring time to get a plan. If you don't have a pond built, or a suitable container for your garden now is the time to put your garden in order! You will find, unless your ground is in a deep freeze, that late winter to early spring is the best time to start developing your water garden. That way all will be ready to go after the last frost in your area. I started my first pond on a pleasant day in December and worked on it every warm day that winter.By spring the excavating was done and I was ready to install the liner. Like many of you I have a typical small yard so designing and building my pond was a challenge. The choices I had to make were the most difficult part of the project. For some excellent advice on planning and building that garden, visit this well thought out guide to water gardening. "The Very Small Pond or The Large Puddle" http://wkweb4.cableinet.co.uk/JohnRogers... Actually that title describes my pond perfectly!

Now that you have picked a spot, you have, haven't you? It is a tough decision but don't get too distressed if you don't have the "perfect" spot. Mine is in a big no-no, under a tree, and leaves are a problem. I find though, I enjoy relaxing in the shade much more than the sun so it's a trade off. Go ahead, pick out the location and lay out your design, here you can get very detailed advice on how to do that. "Hughes Water Gardens Home Page" http://www.waterplant.com/

I was very uncertain about water gardening at first, so I tried a container garden, moving it to various locations in my yard until I finally decided where I wanted a permanent pond. If you are a bit nervous about the commitment of a pond, you might want to try a small container garden first, like I did. Garden supply centers will be getting in their stock of containers soon, plan now and you will be ready for spring. Learn how set up your container at this site.