Wanted to make sure everyone had heard the big news.
"Pond Stars" the Reality TV Show featuring Aquascape and Aquascape products will be on Tuesday evening on Nat Geo Wild. Check your local listing for the time.
Pond Stars follows the wild world of pond building, as this talented team transforms uninspired spaces into water feature wonderland's, bringing wildlife into backyards and public areas all across America.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Nature's Beauty
Watergardens Newsletter
Fantail Goldfish
Many pond owners enjoy the look of fantail goldfish. With their split tail fins and bulbous round abdomens they swim a dance all their own.
SALE Now 3" Fantails
Buy One Get One FREE
While Supplies Last
Plant of Choice: Water Hyacinth
(scientific name- Eichhornia crassipes)
Plants are critical to the balance of each water feature. Several times a week customers ask what they can do to help clean their pond's green water. When we ask about their pond plants--there aren't any. For this reason the plant choice in this newsletter is the water hyacinth. This floating plant provides quick shade and protection for ponds. The dangling roots draw nutrients out of the water that are otherwise sustaining the green algae. Increase the plants, decrease the green algae.
SUMMER TIME SALE
Buy One Hyacinth or Lettuce
Get Two FREE
Water Garden Filtration
For good water quality, your water garden should be filtered. Debris blown in by trees, mowing, or otherwise can cause a issue, it can even cause the death of your fish. It is important to have the proper pumps circulating the water, as well as mechanical and biological filtration. Please check out our website for Aquascape Ecosystem ponds and diagrams to see how this can work. Come by the store and see our demo pond with crystal clear water. If you would like us to see what one would do for your yard, call us for a consultation.
Come see how a water garden can bring peace and tranquility to your life.
FREE butterfly koi or
marginal water plant
Limit one per family
Goldfish and Koi at Shop
Water Plants at Shop
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Autumn
Fall Changes
We hope you have enjoyed your water features this summer. Hopefully it has provided a place to relax, gather with friends and family and a place to learn.
Cooler weather means changes in the water garden. Gradually, most marginal and lilies will be heading toward winter dormancy. Simply cut these back when the foliage browns. Be careful with your lotus not to cut stems back below water level while still green as this can lead to fungal and bacterial damage to the root tubers. Tropical lilies and tropical marginals are grown like annuals--they can't handle the cold winters and almost always die before spring. After frost simply remove them from the garden. This is the case with floaters like hyacinths and water lettuce as well. These floaters provide great filtration and shade through their growing season so they are valuable. Watch as they spread, that they don't create dams in your falls and cause you to loose water.
Your fish will slow down to hibernation by the time the water reaches 50 degrees. Feeding food with lower protein, like Aquascape's Premium Cold Water Fish Food Pellets is healthier for your fish's digestion up until that time. Then they will do best with out feeding until the water temperature rises again in spring.
With the ever changing color and movement of our water gardens, there is still plenty of time to enjoy your water gardens.
This video has excellent reminders for both fall and winter water garden maintenance.
Fall Maintenance
Fall is a great time to add a few improvements to your water garden area. Will adding underwater lighting (like this Aquascape photo illustrates) allow you to enjoy your water feature longer with the shorter days ahead? A new patio built up close to your feature may be in order, or a fire pit.
After working with your water feature all summer, you may have in mind a few adjustments to your water garden itself--more falls, a larger pond, better filtration. Call Nature's Beauty Watergardens if you live in our area for help. It is way easier to find Steve and the crew available in the fall rather than in spring during clean outs.
Netting the water garden before leaves start falling will cut down on spring maintenance and keep water healthier. To help maintain water quality through the cold season, don't forget Cold Water Beneficial Bacteria as well.
Fish
Now that the heat has subsided and the water temperature is still moderate, it is a good time to add fish to your water pond. Nature's Beauty Watergardens shop has a variety of fish to choose from--koi, butterfly koi, yellow, orange and white comets, we have two Chinese shubunkins left, several apricot blushings and American shubunkins.
Sept and Oct FISH SALE!
Buy 1 select koi or comet and get 1 FREE!
The Shop
Nature's Beauty Watergarden shop carries all of the products discussed in this newsletter. We have been building water gardens for over 20 years and can help you with all your fall maintenance.
We are open through fall Friday 9-5 and Saturday 11-5
372 College St
Marshall MO
660-886-4449
CAC?
You may have noticed we often include our CAC logo in our ads and headings. This video explains why this is so important to us and why it is important to you.
Check out our web site at www.nbwatergardens.com At the bottom of our home page watch a short video to see why so many have chosen the water garden life style.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Summer
Plants in the Water Garden
No water garden is complete without plants. Plants play an important role in creating a healthy ecosystem. Submerged plants live completely under water. They pull excess nutrients from the water, add oxygen, and provide habitat for baby fish. Submerged plants include hornwort and anacharis.
Floaters pull all their nutrients from the water. They float at the surface with roots dangling freely in the water--no planting necessary. Floaters include water hyacinths and water lettuce.
Marginals grow in soil or gravel along the edge of the water gardens. They too pull nutrients from the water but they also naturalize the feature. They do this by softening the edge between rock and water and blending them into our lawns and landscaping.
Perhaps the hallmark for water gardens are the water lilies and lotus. They root near the bottom of ponds and produce their signature round leaves on the surface. Lilies come in many colors and sizes and can be hardy or tropical. Hardy water lilies bloom during the day while tropical lilies bloom day or night depending on the variety.
Each type of water plant plays an important role in the garden. Together they help create a naturally balanced water feature that is both healthier and more beautiful. Nature's Beauty Watergarden's has a nice selection of all the types of water plants. Our tropical water lilies include 'Director T Moore' an intense violet blue with a yellow center; 'Evelyn Randig' leaves are splashed with purple and has hot pink blooms; 'Green Smoke' chartreuse blooms with smoky blue tips and speckled leaves; 'Red Cup' a night bloomer with a red rose flower; 'Alice Tricker' white blooms with green leaves with red flecks; 'King of Siam' a double dark purple bloom.
Watch this short video to see what water plants can do for your water garden!
Water Garden Myth No.1
None of us want to invite mosquitos into our yard and with 150 species in the United States there are plenty to go around. We know we don't want any containers left out that accumulate rain water, but what about water gardens? A properly built water garden, with or without a pond, should have plenty of water movement as the water falls and is recirculated. Ponds should have a turn over rate of 100% water volume going through your filter system per hour. Mosquitos are attracted to stagnant, still water to lay their eggs. If a mosquito forgets her place, your fish view mosquito larvae as a delicacy. If you have areas in your water feature that concern you Mosquito Dunks or Bits are safe and effective.
Go to nbwatergardens.com to learn how Nature's Beauty Watergardens build water features that have constant current and skimming action that do not attract mosquitos.
Mosquito heaven-time for a new pond!
"Ponds done right, oh what a beautiful sight!"
June Sale
Come into Nature's Beauty Watergarden's shop where all 'select koi' are 1/2 price! Any size during the month of June. See you here.
Nature's Beauty Watergardens is located at
372 W College
Marshall MO
Shop hours are MWFSat 9-5 in June
Call Steve at 660-229-3777 with any shop or construction questions.
For a fresh, clean start, its time for that once a year cleanout. There are several videos available for diys. Here's the procedure we recommend.
Every Spring Nature's Beauty Watergardens preform many watergarden clean outs. Contact us if you are in our service area, near Marshall Missouri, to schedule your Spring clean out. 660-229-3777
Reminder: Hibernating fish don't start digesting well till the water temperature reaches 50 degrees. Then begin feeding a low protein food that is designed for fish in cold water.
New Demo Pondless
Nature's Beauty Watergardens has teamed up with our local Orscheln Farm and Home store to demonstrate what water can bring to the landscaping. The store is located at 818 W. College St. in Marshall MO behind McDonald's. The beautiful new demonstration pondless is inside the front of the store.
Orscheln's Demo Pondless from Nature's Beauty Watergardens
(enter the drawing for your own free pondless kit)
Brace Up Your Pond For String Algae
String algae can be very invasive any time of year. Now, before the plants can get good growth esteblished after winter (for those of us in colder areas), string algae seems to go crazy. The new Ion Gen™ from Aquascape Inc. is getting great reviews from our customers.
They now offer an IonGen™ G2 that has tool free probe installation and a digital control panel. One of our customers told us his pond was staying so clear, he didn't need to use any algeacides anymore since he had his IonGen™ installed. Just keep the setting as low as is effective in your pond or pondless system. Call us to order yours today. 660-229-3777 Or come by the shop in Marshall MO opening for Spring April 15th MWFSat 9-5.
A
well designed pond truly is very low maintenance. This time of year there are a
few things to do that can make Spring start up easier and help maintain water
quality. An excessive amount of leaf debris can be eliminated with a simple
leaf net. Nature's Beauty Watergardens has several sizes available. You can
leave your feature running all winter if you don't mind keeping an eye on the
water level and topping it off in the cold. Automatic water fill valves will
freeze up so they will need to be shut down. If you want to turn off your
waterfalls there are a few easy steps . Unplug and disconnect your pump. Store
it above freezing in a bucket of water. A bubbler pump placed in the pond will
keep an open spot in the ice to allow escape of toxic gasses. If we have a
very cold winter a pond heater is helpful as well. Continue to add cold water
bacteria to break down debris.
All of the items are
available at Nature's Beauty Watergarden shop open Friday and Saturday or call
660-229-3777. Winter preparation is a service we offer to lessen your fall chore
load.
Taking Care of Your Fish and Plants
Our fish and plants go through changes with the weather and could
use a little TLC. Nothing big deal. The hardy marginal plants will start
looking scraggly like other perennials. You can clip these back just above the
water surface in anticipation of next Spring's new growth. Tropical marginals
and lilies will usually be finished like annuals are. If you want to try to save
these, bring them in before damaging frost. Hardy lilies and lotus are fine if
they are planted in the pond or their pots are on the bottom. When you cut your
lotus back, cut just above the water's surface.
Your
koi and goldfish will be fine outside if your pond is at least two feet deep.
You'll want to keep an open spot in the ice with either a bubbler pump, a pond
heater or leave the falls running. This will prevent any build up of gases from
decaying debris. Cold weather fish food is much healthier for fish now until
they go into winter sleep mode.Nature's Beauty Watergardens carries an
excellent cold water fish food from Aquascape inc. See video above for more
reminders.
The Best Time for Change
We seem to be programmed to think garden changes should wait
till Spring. Spring is already such a busy time. For us water garden clean outs
keep us busy till June. That being so, now is actually a great time to have
Nature's Beauty Watergardens make adjustments to your water feature or add a
new water garden. Some customers have us add paver stone patios around their
water feature or add a fire pit. As an added bonus Steve is offering to provide
$250.00 worth of water plants and/or fish absolutly FREE, if you have a water
garden installed this fall. If you prefer a pondless feature you'll receive a
FREE light kit installed so you can enjoy your waterfalls at night.
Change
is in the air and it is the perfect time to bring change to your surroundings.
Call us at 660-229-3777 to get things started!
Many pond owners enjoy the look of fantail goldfish. With their split tail fins and bulbous round abdomens they swim a dance all their own.
Plant of Choice: Water Hyacinth.jpg)
Our fish and plants go through changes with the weather and could
use a little TLC. Nothing big deal. The hardy marginal plants will start
looking scraggly like other perennials. You can clip these back just above the
water surface in anticipation of next Spring's new growth. Tropical marginals
and lilies will usually be finished like annuals are. If you want to try to save
these, bring them in before damaging frost. Hardy lilies and lotus are fine if
they are planted in the pond or their pots are on the bottom. When you cut your
lotus back, cut just above the water's surface.
