Friday, March 16, 2012

Cedar Wax Wings and Tip to Keep Pond Algae-Free

Pond plants such as water lilies with their large floating leaves provide the shade a pond needs to help prevent green algae and a murky pond.  In our cold  zone 4 area the pond freezes over and the plants die.  After the pond thaws there are a few weeks when the pond is plant-free.  Last year I made up this idea. I floated plastic plant coasters on the pond to simulate the shade of plants. The small birds can land of the coasters.
IMG_2758
IMG_2741
The dove is on a bit of ice.  A week later the pond is totally thawed. I cleaned the pond and pulled out my 4 baskets of water lilies, fertilizing them.
 IMG_2778
The same morning this flicker took his turn at the pond.
IMG_2734
The cedar waxwings are so social. You usually hear them before you see them. I have junipers loaded with blue juniper berries that these birds love. We have had 2 unusually warm weeks. Later I’ll show you what we have been up to.  Enjoy spring!
IMG_2770

3 comments:

  1. What a clever idea, and the birds seem to think your faux lily pads are fun too! I used to hate all the early season algae that would build up before the lilies leafed out in our last pond. I'll have to remember that tip if we build a pond here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great photos of the birds Gloria. I must clean my birdbath and get it set up by the feeders.

    Eileen

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOVE your post! What wonderful photos. The idea of floating plant coasters on the water is brilliant, and obviously the birds are very happy with it as well! :)

    ReplyDelete