It was a garden club presentation on small pools that fanned the glowing coal of a dream into a blaze of reality. I’ve always been a gardening enthusiast, the type who surrounds themselves with flowers indoors and out. Twenty-five years ago we moved to the country, and I am proud of every tree, shrub and flower – because we planted them ourselves.
After I attended that lecture, given by a leading water garden specialist. My desire for a pool in the garden burst into full bloom. I HAD to have a water garden!
Our first effort was nothing to brag about, only a tub sunk in the ground near the back porch – but it gave us delight far exceeding its size. A single light blue Dauben lily bloomed in it all summer.
Fate and the water tank conspired to give us a bigger and better pool. That cranky container sprang a leak, and in order to get it out of the basement, it had to be cut in half lengthwise. “A perfect Lily pool!” my husband declared, so we sank the two halves in the ground in “T” formation, one foot below the surface, and bordered them with rocks.
For three years the lilies, goldfish and snails that stocked the pool gave us pleasure, but we were not completely satisfied. Ambition decreed still a bigger and better pool, as well as a potting shed and a patio.
The manpower for our project came unexpectedly, when my son and his family came home to live with us for a while. They certainly earned their keep, building “Granny’s potting shed,” a slate slab patio and our dream pool – no tub or water tank this one! It was time to build our own lily pond.
We outlined it with a garden hose, and shaped its 9 x 15 free form with large rocks, gravel fill, heavy mesh wire and concrete. The sand we dug from a pit in our back lot to add to ten bags of cement. A coat of sealing, harmless to goldfish, insured the pool’s water-tightness. Across the shallow end we built a wall, its top 4 inches below the proposed water line, to mark off a shallow water bog garden.
Four boxes, 15 inches square and 10 inches deep, were placed in the pool for the lilies. We used a mixture of three parts best top soil and one part well rotted cow manure. Our water garden friend – whose lecture started it all – said the soil should be in and the pool almost filled with water several days before planting, so we followed instructions. The reason? If the water has a chance to warm up, the shock to the plants will be eased.
We boned up on lilies at a nearby water garden, and decided on the tropical varieties. Though they must be replaced each year, their larger (in size and number) blooms swayed us. The first year we planted Emily Grant Hutchings, a gorgeous red which blooms at night, and three day blooming varieties – Blue Beauty, Golden West (pink) and Director Moore (purple). Since then we have also tried St. Louis, a yellow, and pure white Alice Tricker. All are just wonderful, daubing the water with their lovely blooms from early June till heavy frost.
Every two or three weeks our lilies get a feeding via fertilizer “bombs” – a tablespoonful of special water lily fertilizer wrapped in paper. Sharp aim and a fast hand get two of these “bombs” into each box before they can become pulpy.
Our friend, always willing to help, suggested goldfish and trapdoor snails. The fish are doubly attractive as they flash about, intent on destroying mosquito wigglers, and the snails are adept scavengers. To the delight of our grandchildren several polywogs waved their tails through the pool, and the inevitable frogs have become quite tame.
Floating plants like shell flower, water hyacinth and fern complete the decor in the main part of the pool. In the shallow section, filled with the same soil mixture as the lily boxes, we planted water forget-me-not, water snowflake, arrowhead, umbrella palm, primrose, taro – never more than six at a time.
Summer care is a snap. We remove too exuberant foliage and occasionally add water lost through evaporation. Winter care entails draining the pool, emptying the boxes and housing the goldfish.
by A Sutscher
