Wow, I wouldn't even have recognized that as a heron. The great blues are around here all the time, and that article leaves out that they tend to be four feet tall and a bit intimidating. I have a four foot planter on the bottom of my larger pond over a curved bottom, and all of the fish hide underneath when the herons show up.

I grow the Euryale with 3-4' pads, but it's covered in thorns and tends to have no wildlife hanging out on it. It does take up too much room, but fun anyway.

psa said:Wow, I wouldn't even have recognized that as a heron. The great blues are around here all the time, and that article leaves out that they tend to be four feet tall and a bit intimidating. I have a four foot planter on the bottom of my larger pond over a curved bottom, and all of the fish hide underneath when the herons show up.

Paul, do you mean the Night Heron?
Here's a pic of one last year that didn't flinch when I took his pic.


And here's Ralph, the Great White Egret (~4ft tall) at the back of the pond
displaying his "plumage".

I grow the Euryale with 3-4' pads, but it's covered in thorns and tends to have no wildlife hanging out on it. It does take up too much room, but fun anyway.

Looks interesting, but very thorny!
https://www.google.com/search?...

BTW, do you grow lotus, too?

Yes, I hadn't heard of the Night Heron, and thought all herons were like the Great Blue. We do have lots of egrets and pelicans flying around here, but they rarely come into my yard for some reason.

My original euryale adventures are in their own thread:
The thread "Euryale" in Ponds and Water Gardening forum

They still come back from seed in the bottom of the pond every year, but it's hard to move/protect them long enough for them to size up and fend off the koi.

I have a few lotus–most recently I've posted photos of their flowers in the "What's blooming" thread:
The thread "What is blooming in your pond?" in Ponds and Water Gardening forum

Thanks for the links!

I didn't know about the "What's Blooming in Your Pond?"
thread, and will have take some time to go through it.

There are so many forums & threads here, it's
mind boggling. I need to explore more.

Have to go jump in the pond to give the lotus's a partial water change.

But first I have to feed the fish so they don't come after me like piranhas! =O
https://youtu.be/23GQ7NUpziI

psa said:My original euryale adventures are in their own thread:
The thread "Euryale" in Ponds and Water Gardening forum

They still come back from seed in the bottom of the pond every year, but it's hard to move/protect them long enough for them to size up and fend off the koi.

I have a few lotus–most recently I've posted photos of their flowers in the "What's blooming" thread:
The thread "What is blooming in your pond?" in Ponds and Water Gardening forum

Very interesting plant...... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Wish it wasn't so armored! =O

It would probably be very popular & saleable if
a hybridizer could tame it (de-thorn it) ,
and get it to bloom higher above the water.

Impressed how much experimenting you did, too. Lots of great info for the
adventurous gardener.

We only have a few ducks now, usually girls.
Plenty of food & their own spa, but they take off
after a short time.

There are 4 lotus blooms rising up.


We haven't seen the Night Heron in a week,
but this beauty spent hours yesterday afternoon on a lotus bud.


Slideshow
http://cal3d.com/Pond2019/Drag...

Videos (best watched full screen)
https://youtu.be/nKPC8tf18Es

https://youtu.be/C_rje2cUgGo

https://youtu.be/7Ln4MVRuQpY

I hope that Dragonfly laid eggs for you. Their young are very good at mosquito control.

I need to feed the lotus's later today, and am trying
Winchester Gardens Highland Rim Aquatic Fertilizer
(10-26-10 ,$12.35 for 36 tabs at Amazon).

I've fed them only once since they formed aerial leaves....
3 Pondtabbs per tub 2 weeks ago, 6/29.

Just found this excellent fact sheet on growing lotus, and
was surprised to learn they need much more than lilies.
https://iwgs.org/lotus-care-sh...

Because lotus grows vigorously, use double the amount of fertilizer per gallon of soil that the label recommends for hardy waterlilies.

So will be adding 6 tabs per tub.

The Winchester tabs are more expensive than the Pondtabbs, but are supposed to not crumble as easily,
and have more phosphorus.

Also surprising bit of info....

Standard lotus cultivars can grow 5' or taller....Most dwarf lotus cultivars are capable of getting 3' to 4' tall

We're gonna need a bigger pot! =O

You're gonna need a bigger pool!

joannakat said:You're gonna need a bigger pool!

Later......

Fed all the lilies & lotus's.
I gave the lotus's 3 Winchester tabs, as the instructions said
feed once per month, and had fed them just 2 weeks earlier.

Here's a slideshow of the little blue dragonfly that
posed on the lotus bud today.....1/2 the size of the red one.

"I can do it, too!"

re: Daffy, the duck we were worried about back in May....
https://garden.org/thread/view...

We haven't seen him in a few weeks, but last time
he was here, he was showing a girlfriend around
the pond.

I had taken the little raft (that everyone like to get on)
out of the pond as I found the Night Heron on it one night.

Daffy was looking for the raft.......he couldn't find it, so
got up on the lotus tub (3x!)......then the Night Heron
showed up later.....Daffy seemed
totally oblivious.
Here's the 18 min video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Anyway, hope he's still OK, and that we'll see him
later in the year when the ducks start coming back.

PS- I put the raft back after that, and
everyone's happy now.

The largest (lotus) bud is starting to swell,
and may bloom in the next few days.

Oh, the anticipation!

Guess what happened on Sunday???
http://cal3d.com/Pond2019/lotu...

Oh! So gorgeous! The bees seem to think so too.

Thanks, Carol!

We thought they wouldn't bloom till Wed, so
were happily surprised to see them Sunday morning.

More coming, too.

They're gorgeous! They have little birthday cakes in the center!

Congratulations!

joannakat said:They're gorgeous! They have little birthday cakes in the center!
Congratulations!

:rofl:
Thanks, Joanna!

It's been a wild ride getting here, e.g. tubs sinking 4 times,
but overall, growing lotus is much easier than growing
sunflowers.....no gophers, squirrels, snails, etc,
and need relatively little water.

Just wind'em up & let'em go.

🦆🦆🦆 to the most gorgeous pond lily I have ever seen. Great post. Not only the best pond ever....but to share the spotlight with the always intertaining 🦆🦆🦆.🌈😀

The new beauty 🌸 makes my hardy water lily look a bit plain , it finally bloomed today with some summer temps. Summer has been very mild. But the temps are warmin up finally!

bumplbea said:🦆🦆🦆 to the most gorgeous pond lily I have ever seen. Great post. Not only the best pond ever....but to share the spotlight with the always intertaining 🦆🦆🦆.🌈😀

Thanks, Bea! I'm so glad you are enjoying our pond.
Please let me know if you're ever down this way.....would love to have you
come over. =)

The new beauty 🌸 makes my hardy water lily look a bit plain , it finally bloomed today with some summer temps. Summer has been very mild. But the temps are warmin up finally!

That's a beautiful lily! What is the name?
I really like the soft pink color, and especially the
way the petals unfold.

BTW, I'll be posting the latest pics & videos asap. ;)