One of the easiest ways to attract wildlife to a garden is to include water features, especially those with running water. The sound of running water adds a pleasant dimension to a garden that is hard to duplicate with any other source. We were lucky enough to have running water features in both of our homes when we bought them and I can't imagine living without them. We have spent many happy hours sitting and watching the life around the fountains and ponds in our yards. Even at night the croaking of frogs is a pleasant melody from deep in the Laguna garden.
As it turns out, it is not only the wildlife and people that appreciate the running water, but overzealous pets get in the act too!
I don't use too many tropical plants in the garden, but every once in a while I lose focus while at the nursery and end up bringing home something that is way out of the plan. That is what happened with this taro (colocasia esculenta) plant. But I must say I am intrigued with these beautiful black stems and the contrast they add to the garden.
Taro is used in many regions of the world as a food, the root being the edible portion. I have grown it around my pond in Laguna and it loves the water and actually moved right into the waterfall causing all kinds of problems. It is also called elephant ears for obvious reasons. I know it is out of place in this bed with the scabiosa and roses, but it has my attention for now.
It has been quite a few years since we have had the amount of rain we are getting this year. Our typical weather pattern in the rainy season is one day of rain and six days of sunshine. Easy to handle. Week before last we had four big storms come in, one after the other. Everything was saturated. People are always asking me how this will effect my gardens. For the most part they will handle it fine. The large trees will greatly appreciate the deep flushing of the surface salts that accumulate during the low water years near their roots. The deep penetration of water will encourage roots to go deep for moisture during the upcoming months when the rains are finished for six or more months. Most of the drought tolerant plants will be fine as long as there is adequate drainage. The Laguna garden is on a hillside and the excess water is no problem. We'll see how SJC does. We are expecting more rain this week. At least everything is clean and fresh!
In Laguna we have two ponds. One is in the front of the house, above ground with four or five waterfalls spilling out of the rocks that surround it. I used to have koi in it but it became too big of a battle to keep the varmints that wanted to eat them for dinner at bay so now it is just for looks. There is a huge pump, two filters and UV light that work the whole system and a guy that comes every couple weeks to make sure everything is operating as it should. Then there is this little pond that is basically a hole we dug in the ground and covered with a liner and filled with water about 12 years ago. It has no mechanics and uses the plants for a filter system and the goldfish keep it clean. It is hard to see in this picture, but the water is sparkling clear. We dredge it out every four or five years and that's it. Varmints are welcome!
This is what the little pond in Laguna looks like this time of year before it becomes engulfed in water hyacinths. It is a just a hole in the ground with a pond liner and rocks around the perimeter. It has cheap goldfish to control the mosquitoes and is very clear water with no form of artificial filtration. Once we had a very large frog living in there, but I'm not sure he is still there. It is a mystery to me how frogs get into ponds because there is no other water anywhere near this tiny pond!
Somewhere under all these water hyacinths is my little pond in Laguna. I have had it over twelve years, originally built by myself and my son, it is mostly a natural pond with the only filtration coming from the water plants and fish. At this time of year the water hyacinths take over and grow faster than I can keep them thinned out and unless you knew it, you would think it is just a patch of plants under a tree.
One of the easiest ways to attract wildlife to a garden is to include water features, especially those with running water. The sound of running water adds a pleasant dimension to a garden that is hard to duplicate with any other source. We were lucky enough to have running water features in both of our homes when we bought them and I can't imagine living without them. We have spent many happy hours sitting and watching the life around the fountains and ponds in our yards. Even at night the croaking of frogs is a pleasant melody from deep in the Laguna garden.
As it turns out, it is not only the wildlife and people that appreciate the running water, but overzealous pets get in the act too!
