Water WorksSummertime, and the gardening is exhausting....
- Share via
Water Works
Summertime, and the gardening is exhausting. It’s just too hot and smoggy in the Valley during the summer season--which officially began over the weekend--for much weeding, pruning and other traditional garden chores. But there is an almost no-hassle alternative that is perfect for our climate--water gardening.
Eco-Gardening
“If you do it right, it’s its own little ecosystem,” said Jeff Kite of Sunland Water Gardens. Water gardens can be vast ponds, or they can be as small as a half whiskey barrel or similarly sized plastic container. The trick is to strike a balance between plant and fish life. Ideally, a small one is about 12 to 18 inches deep and a couple of feet across. You fill it with water, then treat the water with conditioner to get rid of chloramine, a common additive that kills fish.
Lilies of the Valley
A colorful water lily is the most popular water plant, but you should also add underwater oxygenating grasses that will produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. The lily pads floating on the water help shade the garden, thereby reducing evaporation.
The Fishy Part
The final part of the ecosystem, which is practically self-sustaining if balanced correctly, is fish. Little fish--Kite recommends inexpensive guppies or mosquito fish--are added to eat mosquito larvae and produce nutrients for the plants via their droppings. The plants, in turn, provide the fish with oxygen. It’s a wonderful world.
