Thanks!

I received a letter this past week from Google. I was a little surprised to say the least--they know What Finch Family Water Garden is? Yep, they do, it was a congratulations letter for being a favorite place on Google. It went on to tell me the number of times google users found my business and also how many times they requested additional information between July 1st and September 30th of 2009 (Seeing the statistics stacked up was shocking as I can only see the last month at any given time).

I have to Chuckle some, as I watch the statistics and what people are searching for when they find me daily, and I know this quarters statistics will blow the ones that got Finch Family Water Garden noticed by Google out of the water even now that the nursery is closed for the season.

Thanks to Google for acknowledging it, but Thank You for searching for Finch Family Water Garden. You are the ones that have made Finch Family Water Garden a favorite place on Google and your favorite place to go for all of your pond needs.

December 2009

After several days of lows hitting 11 degrees the pond is masked by a heavy layer of ice. I tried to check the thickness of the ice yesterday, but couldn't get a good reading. Since the water remained flowing through it the edges of the ice where the water was moving are tappered. The best I could get was about three inches, but I have a feeling in the center it is much thicker. In the preformed ponds in front of the house where there was no water flowing I can see that the ice goes all the way to the shelf, 6 to 8 inches deep.

The water in the main pond continued to flow quite nicely durning this cold snap. The waterfall gathered some ice on the sides, but kept the upper pond open where it went in, and also where it flows out into the stream.


I did worry some about the stream getting clogged with ice and running over, but the water continued to flow under the sheet of ice. That movement kept the lower pond open where the water entered it.



The fish hudled at one end of the pond and seemed to be suspended as their metabolism has slowed. I easily managed to count 26 fish in this one spot at the foot of the pond.

Winter Fish Care.

About a week ago while shopping at a local store a regular customer of Finch Family Water Garden stopped me to ask if it was time to stop feeding their fish. "YES" I exclaimed "Let me tell you why." I continued to tell them that as the temperatures drop their fishes metabolism slowed and their ability to digest food decreases. As the food rots in their stomach it can create infections and death.

A good rule of thumb is to stop feeding your fish when the water temperature reaches 60 degrees. A warm day may come along, and your fish may act like they want to eat, but if the temperatures are dropping down at night don't be fooled into thinking they need fed. Your fish won't starve, they can pick at the algae in the pond and the bugs that land on the surface, both of which will be easier to digest if they chose to do so.

You may not be out enjoying your pond, but it is still important to keep your pump running. The flow of water adds oxygen to your pond which helps with the exchange of gases such as methane (from rotting debris) and ammonia (Secreted by your fish).

Should your waterfall or stream be prone to freezing you might consider unhooking your pump and allowing it to just bubble in the pond. The water movement will help to keep the water from freezing solid.

Should it be necessary to unplug your pump for a short period leave it in the water, this will help to keep the rubber seals in it from drying out and cracking. If you have more than one pump and choose to disconnect one for the winter again leave it in the water and plug it in from time to time to keep it lubricated.

Should your pond freeze over don't break the ice as the sound and pressure can stress and shock your fish. A few simple tricks to keep an opening in your pond are to float a kids ball on it that can then be easily removed should the pond freeze over. you can also set a pan of hot water on the ice and allow it to melt through the ice.

If you haven't already, now would be a good time to remove leaves that have accumulated in the bottom of the pond and cut back any dead plant material so it won't be deteriorating in your pond.

Dreaming of Spring!

The last few days we have had a repreive from the rain but the temperatures have been bitterly cold, at least to me who lives for summer. The next few nights lows are expected to be 17 degrees, but still no snow in the forcast.

However my mind keeps going to spring....Warmer days mowing, and flowers blooming. To console myself I spend the winter months planning for Finch Family Water Garden. Doing inventory, getting orders ready to send, and dreaming of projects to be done in the spring.

This week I placed my Water Lily order. We generally carry 24 hardy varieties of lilies and this coming year will be no different. We will have lilies in Whites, Pinks, Reds, Yellows and Sunset colors including the ever popular changeables which change colors each day starting out yellow and going to reds and oranges.

This year I am very excited that we will be able to carry Perry's Almost Black. It is a hybrid created by Perry Slocum. This lily is considered a small lily, but the flower is astounding. A deep dark red with a center that is truly almost black. I was able to get it several years ago and it flew out the door before it even began blooming, and I didn't get a chance to add one to my own collection.

PERRY'S ALMOST BLACK


In addition to the lilies I also order two varieties of Lotus. The ever popular Mrs. Perry Slocum and First Lady.

Mrs. Perry Slocum was one of the first lotus I ever purchased personally and has graced my pond for years. It is a large plant with leaves the size of dinner plates or bigger. It blooms saucer sized flowers of creamy yellow tipped in pink.

MRS. PERRY SLOCUM


In addition I ordered I ordered First Lady, also a large variety that has lavender pink blooms. While I have never seen this variety in person, the pictures I have seen convinced me it will a spectacular specimin plant for any pond or water feature.

FIRST LADY


It is a hurry up and wait thing, now I am all excited about lilies and lotus, I have placed the order but have to wait until early spring for their arrival.

Giving Thanks.

Myspace Graphics, Thanksgiving Graphics at WishAFriend.com

At times it is easy to find the blessings in your life, at others it seems to be more of a struggle. But every day, and no matter what is going on, if we take the time to focus we can find the good in our lives. Thanksgiving is a day that is brought to the forefront for many. Thanksgiving isn't the only day that we can look for the things we are grateful for. I have a rock that a friend sent me four years ago, it is my gratitude stone, and was sent to me specifically for that reason. The instructions I got with it were simple.....Think of something each morning that you are grateful for and then place the stone in your pocket. Yeah right your thinking......but let me tell you what I found, my attitude became more positive. When the weight of a day got too much and I felt I was on my knees and no one knew what I was feeling or going through, (you know that feeling) I could could reach in my pocket and feel the stone--and it gently reminded me of the things I was grateful for. I started a thread on a message board and the momentum of that empowerment grew....soon people all over the world were speaking their gratitude--some for huge things some simple things, I would like to think it made their lives better, and I hear from many of them still, and it did make a difference. Why do I tell you this story? Because not a day goes by that I don't look for the things I am grateful for.

Through out the nursery season I am grateful for your friendships and support. And now with the season over I can take the time to reflect on it.....

My customers are really my friends. So many of you ask about my mother, Many bring people from out of state to share the pond and nursery. Many of you come out and your kind words encourage me to keep striving to make the the yard and nursery a better place. Other nursery owners come to see what's happening......We have become a community, and I am grateful for that and each and everyone of you.

Time to Winterize!

Getting your pond winterized in the cold can make you wonder why you have it, next spring and summer will reassure you it is all worth it. Taking care of things now can make your spring a lot easier and increase the chance of your fish surviving the winter.

Here at Finch Family Water Garden there is a lot to winterize.....which makes for some long cold weekends. I have spent most of my weekends since the nursery closed for the season on October 31 working to put things down for the winter.

THE DISPLAY POND:
At the first sign of leaves dropping (in late October) from the massive Walnut Tree in the back yard I put fencing up on the South end of it. While this doesn't stop all the leaves from entering the pond it does catch a large number of them and keeps the ones on the ground from blowing into the pond. Each weekend since then I have spent time removing leaves from the pond, cleaning the filters, pump and Skimmer. I have removed all the hyacinths and discarded them in the compost pile. I moved my tropical plants to the Greenhouse and removed the leaves from my waterlilies. Because the Bog pond is only gravity fed and has narrow outlets I have stopped the flow of water to it. Once the leaves have stopped falling and all is cleaned up I will turn the pump off in the skimmer and only run it occasionally. The main and largest pump will continue to run all winter.

THE NURSERY:
I have been busy cleaning the greenhouse ponds and moving the Tropical plants into them for the extra protection. As I move them in I remove excess roots and cut back the dying plants, cutting them back will be an ongoing process as I want them to glean as much energy as they can for the winter. The Hyacinths and lettuce have been discarded to the compost pile. The Hardy plants will get cut back and stay outside, and I will bring my parent stock up to get the different types of plants consolidated. For the upcoming planting season.

The remaining fish in the retail area were consolidated into one pond so I could unplug as many pumps as I can and only have one pond to clean over the cold winter months.

THE YARD:
The Tropical Plants on the patio have been moved into the house, The Gunnera have been cut back and covered to keep any frost Damage from occurring to their crowns, Sadly the cushions from the patio furniture have been put away for the winter. The leaves have been raked more than once, but still seem to be a ongoing battle but will be done falling soon.

THE PUMPKIN PATCH:
WE have a selection of gourds, and indian corn drying for seed stock next year. The remaining pumpkins are either getting cooked down to Pumpkin Puree for freezing or Broken open and fed to the livestock. While we had hoped for it to be dry enough this fall to till the ground it hasn't been yet. Leaf material and grass clippings from the yard will be added to it and we will move the compost piles into it soon. Plans are in the works for activities for next year.

Uncle Daniel's Pumpkin Patch

Weekends in October: Friday and Saturday 10am-6pm and Sundays 10am-5pm, Here at Finch Family Water Garden. In addition to Pumpkins and Gourds we also offer the full 2008 line of Lemax Spooky Town, and a selection of Woodland Scenic Products for villagers and Train enthusiasts.

October at Finch Family Water Garden

Here are a few views of the inside the nursery.

Fall is upon us

Many of you have made it out several times this summer and have watched Uncle Daniel's Pumpkin Patch grow, as the plants begin to grow they engulf the pumpkin patch. It begins to be hard to see exactly what the bounty will be as the plants soar to over three feet tall. This picture was taken in early summer before they reached there tallest point.



As our evening temperatures Have cooled the vines have began to die back revealing the bounty. The Pumpkins continue to turn orange and the gourds and turnips continue to grow.



We began decorating this week and have completed a flower bed between the pumpkin patch and parking area.

The Pumpkin patch along with Finch Family Water Garden will be open Friday and Saturdays 10am-6pm and Sundays 10am-5pm Through October. We hope to see you soon.

This word just in.....Uncle Daniel tells me you may want to visit on Saturdays and Sundays.....But I am still in the dark this year as to what he is planning, he will be here those days. I do know that part of the decore has changed.

We Survived!

We survived the wedding, but as the best man and general wedding planner, LOL, I didn't get any pictures and will have to rely on people to e-mail them to me. Most everything was cleaned up yesterday, and I believe that our focus for this weekend is preparing to reline the nusery pond (amongst a few other things we want to get done for the nursery and ourselves.

Preparing for a wedding.

Yet again Finch Family Water Garden will be hosting another wedding in September. We have been busy grooming the yard, and the display pond which will be the backdrop for the ceremony. The lawn is greening up nicely and the majority of the bark is in place in the yard.

Soon we hope to turn our focus to relining the pond in the nursery yard and be able to spend some time tidying it, we began weeding around it this weekend as after the rains the weeds ran amuck. We had almost finished the weeding before it rained, but I didn't get it sprayed.

I will try to get pictures this week and put them up this coming weekend, but if you are close enough you might drop in and see for yourself what is happening

Google Maps.

Durning the season I generally run an ad with a discount on Google Maps. If you haven't already found it, just search google maps for Finch Family Water Garden and check out the details on it.

Change of Hours.

In light of the tough Economic Climate we are all experiencing this year I am reducing the hours Finch Family Water Garden will be open. We will be open Friday and Saturdays 10 am-6 pm, and Sundays 10 am-5 pm August-October. For those of you those hours don't work for I will do my best to accomodate you with Special appointments on Wenesday and Thursday afternoons, Please call and leave a message at the nursery at 541-926-9737 to schedule an appointment.

I am sorry for any inconvience this may cause.

James

Wonderful Water Lilies

I came home yesterday to a number of blooms on the water lilies in the display pond. One of my favorites, Colorado, is shown here--it is a salmon color.

I went through and fertilized all of the plants in the pond this weekend. Some plants like Water lilies and Lotus want to be fertilized monthly during their growing season. The reason for this is they expend a great deal of energy opening and closing their flowers and putting up new leaves. Their flowers last about three days and leaves about three weeks, but they are constantly putting up more. When I fertilize I pinch off all the old growth so the debri isn't breaking down in the pond.

In addition to the Colorado we cary 23 other hardy Water Lilies at Finch Family Water Garden.

A GARDENERS LIFE

"The gardener is a solitary figure, who, like the book reader, withdraws from the real world into one of his own creation."
~Witold Rybczynski
Waiting For The Weekend

GreenClean by BioSafe Systems

GreenClean By BioSafe Systems, LLC is a Granular algaecide that works on contact to eliminate and control String Algae Cladophora in water gardens, ornamental ponds, fountains, waterfalls and rocks.

It immediately begins fighting algae blooms, releasing vital oxygen into the water body as it biodegrades. GreenClean is EPA registered and OMRI list. it begins working on contact and is approved for use in water containing live fish and plants.

How to use: You will see quicker results on a warm day. Turn your pump off (so the water flow doesn't push the product off the algae) and sprinkle the granular algaecide across the water, it will quickly sink, landing on the string algae. On a warm day the algae will float to the top as it dies. Be prepared to net the algae from the water as the decomposing algae will deplete oxygen from the water as will the heat. After about 45 minutes to an hour restart your pump and continue to monitor the algae rising to the pond surface. If you have an heavy bloom you may have to reapply the product because it can only kill the algae it touchs.

Comments

Wow, I am no computer Guru....Plants I am comfortable with. LOL, I enabled you to leave comments, but at the same time I converted it to Hindi Writing. I think I have that fixed.
I hope to start getting some product spotlights up soon and focus on some of the plants we carry.

Our focus has been the yard and getting ready to reline the nursery pond.

Now we have yet another wedding in the yard coming up. We hosted one last year in September , which forced the focus on the Large pond in the yard. We are hosting another this year again in September......Come out and see how things progress between now and then

James

Japanese Trapdoor Snails

The Japanese Black Trapdoor Snail (Viviparis malleatus), Viviparis meaning live bearer, are the preferred snail for water gardening. They are dark in color and grow up to 3 inches. They generally produce 3-5 young at a time.

They scour the pond eating algae off the liner, planters and even cleaning up your plants without harming them. They also eat dying plant matter and clean up left over fish food. They are cold hardy even if your pond freezes over, unlike many snails because they do not breath air (many snails have a breathing apparatus that they send to the surface to suck in air with). Japanese trapdoors stay in the water at all times unless removed. If you do take them out they will seal their trap door and wait for you to return them to the water.

The biggest question is how many do you need. "The golden rule" published in books for many years is one per square foot of surface space, this is fine for small ponds, but can get overwhelming and quite expensive to buy if you have a large pond. I suggest one for every three square feet of pond surface on larger ponds, keep in mind that they do multiple. At any rate the more snails you have the more benefit you will see in algae control, buy what you feel comfortable with, 10 at a time seems to be a magic number this year for many pond keepers--After all you can always get more net time you visit.

Want to name your snails? You can sex your Japanese Trapdoor Snails if you can view them with their antenna out. Note in the picture above that one antenna is shorter, this is a male, and the reason for the shorter blunted antenna is that is also doubles as its sex organ. The females will have antenna of equal lengths. Also note its mouth, as tiny as it he moves it from side to side as he peruses your pond cleaning an path crystal clear.

the 3/50 project

SAVING THE BRICK AND MORTARS OUR NATION IS BUILT ON

For more information, visit the350project.net

Cleaning the Pond

I put a great deal of effort into the display pond at the house this weekend between rain showers. I cleaned the filters and pumps numerous times......I did a partial water change which ended up more than I had intended. I added Algae fix (algae killer) yesterday to help with the algae and I added Accu Clear (a floculent to clump the dead algae ) today. It looks better and is getting there, but there are no easy answers when we have neglected our ponds over the winter. Pond care is a year around task, though lighter in the winter short of getting the leaves out which can be a daily task in the fall.
Today I also added salt to the pond, and tomorrrow after I clean the filters again I will add Eco Fix (beneficial Bacteria to eat up the nutrients the the algae lives on).

Thanks for taking the time to visit our blog. While you are here please vote on the survey to the right and let me know what direction you would like to see this blog go. I will try to use that as a guide to put the emphasis you need in this blog.
Tonight I was checking on how to add pictures to my posts, please hang in their with me as I learn the different options I have in creating this blog. I want it to be a meaningful resource for you to go to for your ponds needs. I have many posts planned pertaining to pond, fish and plant care as well as product descriptions and uses, do's and don'ts, I will also give you a little more history on the name, place and how I became interested in ponds and how I became the owner of Finch Family Water Garden.
Again thanks for taking the time to check in and following the blog if it is something you are interested in.

IN THE BEGINNING

Finch Family Water Garden opened to the Public on April 26, 1997. Today we celebrate our 12th Anniversary and the start of our 13th season, as well as my birthday.

For those of you who have followed our progress through the years you have seen many changes in both the nursery and the property, and this year many projects are slated to make your experience here a pleasant one.

Finch Family Water Garden began as a dream, and I have had many friends and family members help me to achieve what it has become and I am sure will become. Without their friendship, support and hard work I wouldn't have been able to create what you see today.

I would also like to take a moment to thank our loyal followers for your support and friendship and to welcome new friends and visitors.

James