Designing with Life: Ponds and Landscaping

Using Solar Power in Your Bird Bath, Pond Or Garden

2009-12-07T01:18:00.001-08:00

With the big push to being energy efficient, eco-friendly and independent of the power grid, solar power is becoming popular. Solar cells used to be expensive, large, inefficient and susceptible to breakage. Developments in semiconductor technology have resulted in creating solar cells that are more efficient requiring less surface area to convert sunlight into power. The use of solar power in garden and walkway lights and has proven very popular over the years. The next offerings to consumers have been solar powered water pumps for the bird bath and pond. There are some things to consider when deciding on using either solar or traditional electric power.

Garden Lights

In the case of solar power garden lights, the real plus is that you don't have to contend with wiring. You can place the lights in strategic points of interest. However, they do need to be placed where there is full sun so that they can charge their batteries in the day with the power needed to light up at night. If you have a long period of cloudy weather, the brilliance of the solar lights will be diminished as well as the length of time they will stay lit.

In my experience, solar lights seem to last outdoors for about three seasons before either the solar cells or the rechargeable batteries fail. The disposal of the rechargeable batteries associated with solar lights can be of environmental concern and must be disposed of properly.

The advantage of electrical power is that you may have more brilliance for longer and more controlled periods of time. If you intend to use this method, make sure that the lights and wiring are rated for outdoor use and installed properly.

Bird Baths

The use of solar powered pumps in bird baths has been a more recent offering on the marketplace. The advantage and appeal is that you do not need to have a wire cable from your house to the bird bath or fountain. Unlike the solar garden lights, these water features usually do not have a charging system or rechargeable batteries. Stating the obvious, if it is night, there is no light and the solar pump will not work. If you place the solar cell powered version of the bird bath in the shade or it is a cloudy day, chances are that the pump will not work effectively if at all. Since there usually are no controls for most consumer market solar pumps, the action of the solar pump is in direct relation to the amount of direct sunlight.

If you are fearful that still standing or stagnant water may be a breeding ground for disease carrying mosquitoes, the consistent (24hour) action of an electrically powered pump in the bird bath could sufficiently agitate the water surface to alleviate this concern. There are other environmentally safe ways to discourage mosquitoes from using your bird bath as a hatching area. Traditional electrical power has an advantage in offering a consistent and controllable flow rate for the pump. Again, ensure proper outdoor ratings and installation practices for your bird bath.

Pond Pumps

Solar powered fountain and pond pump systems have been on the market for a few years and their price tag is still perceived to be exceedingly high. As in the case of the bird bath or small fountain scenario, the constant, accessible and consistent source of sunlight is paramount to the proper functioning of a solar powered pump.

As many water garden and koi pond enthusiasts know, there are many variables in successful pond management. The proper movement, aeration and filtration of a greater volume of water, as well as the balance of sunlight, nutrients, algae growth and solids are only a few of these factors. Solar power pumps in this application would not only need to deal with these issues but have to generate enough power to work the system and enough surplus energy to store into battery backup units for nighttime operation or inclement weather.

If you want the daytime entertainment of a small solar powered fountain, it should be considered purely decorative and not integral to the pumping and filtration system of your pond. At present, the most reliable and cost-effective method of powering a pond pump is the traditional electrical power route which is readily available and easier to assemble.

Other Comments

Solar powered garden lights and water features are becoming a more attractive choice every year. The only setbacks at this time are consistency of power output, power storage and release and implementation of the power stored. Whatever your decision, be sure that all installations are rated for outdoor use and wired properly. If you do not know how to install a system, get a licensed electrician to do it for you.

What is Wrong with my Trees and Shrubs? Maybe its the Way you are Watering

2009-12-07T01:11:00.001-08:00

Calgary has some unique challenges to gardening, but the rules are the same for most regions. One of the main reasons for tree loss and tree stress is the lack of water. Many people are adamant that they are watering the trees and are concerned that they are drowning their trees.

The Problem with the 10 Minute Watering Technique
The idea that ten minutes of watering a day or the dependence on an automatic irrigation system is sufficient is a bit misleading. If you intend to water your grass or your annual beds, the irrigation system is okay, since it is generally set up to soak down to 3 to 4 inches below the surface. Trees, shrubs and perennials generally have root systems below this depth. (Perennial root systems are down to a foot, shrubs have root systems down to 2-3 feet deep and trees can be 5 feet deep.)

There are three problems with doing the 10 minute soak:
1. a lot of the water will evaporate
2. you are cooling the soil temperature, thereby reducing the ability of the plant to take advantage of the summer heat to grow during our (too short) growing season
3. the tiny roots of the plant then are following the humidity line up to the surface thereby creating a shallow root system that is vulnerable to the the drying Chinook winds and fluctuations in temperature.

Shallow Root Systems
When you create this shallow root system you are setting your trees, shrubs and perennials for disaster. They may come back one or two years, but after the chronic stress of temperature changes and the lack of water they will succumb and die.

The best example of this is the larger weeping birches that for many years, are beautiful and maybe 20 to 30 feet tall. Then (suddenly) in one winter, they lose a third of the tree right off the top. The top is all dead, and the homeowner is devastated. The tree did what it had to do to survive and let the top third die off. Other trees such as May Day trees and willows and Shubert Cherries will send out shoots at the base or into the yard. The trees are trying to find new sources of water to help the plant survive.

Spruce trees are notorious for drinking a lot a water, often robbing neighboring trees of the resource. The spruce might look alright but the neighboring tree will have fewer leaves, be struggling and sending out the shoots. Therefore it is important to deep water them as well. One of the main reasons it is difficult to plant anything under a spruce is NOT because of the acidic soil. It is because the roots under the tree have consumed the water, and there is less light and less direct rainfall that can reach the area. (In another article I will discuss how to plant things under the spruce tree)

Drought Symptoms on Leaves
You can tell if the tree doesn't have enough water by examining the leaves. If the leaves are dry around the edge of the leaf sometimes to the point of curling up and being crispy, it doesn't have enough water. If it is a pine or spruce, the tips of the needles will start to appear yellow and then brown.

Tree Drowning Symptoms
If the tree has too much water, the center of the leaf will be yellow. If it is a spruce or pine the base of the needles will appear yellow.

Those Aphids!
Another signal of lack of water and shallow root system problems is the infestation of aphids. Imagine a stressed fish out in the ocean. Sharks and other predators will seek out the stressed animal. Trees and shrubs are the same. The aphids come, they feed on the juices of the tree and excrete that sticky "poop". The ants love that sugary waste plus they have a wonderful dry environment at the base of the tree (due to the tree siphoning up every drop it can - also to compensate for the aphid infestation). At some point the wasps will join the party. All a person had to do was deep water the roots of the tree and many of these issues would never surface - or at the very least would not be so prevalent.
(As a side note - people complaining of dew worms have also the issue of not watering the lawn enough. When the lawn is been soaked deeply the dew worms will do their work deeper into the soil - not leaving as many heaves and lumps on the lawn surface)

What is Deep Watering?
Think in terms of the size of the root ball of your tree. This is the amount the tree requires for a really good watering. If you deep water the tree once a week (twice a week when being established and depending on the weather) you are helping it develop a really good and deep root system, less susceptible to weather changes and drought conditions. When the tree is susceptible to weather changes, it misreads the spring weather, prematurely opening leaves and blossoms, and vulnerable to spring snow storms which will freeze off those buds, and blossoms.
You can soak to roots by placing a hose at the base of the trees at different quadrants. Depending on the size of the tree, you may have to place the hose anywhere from 4 to 8 positions around the tree and leave the hose to soak anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour at each position. If it is a new tree, around 4 ft in diameter (edge of tree leaves or crown), once or twice a week I generally do a two point watering with a soaker hose for 15-20 minutes in those two sides of the tree base. You don't want the base to be sopping wet so you do have to watch things in the first time you do this to gage things. Some people find the deep root water/feeders a really good solution. I think they have merit though in some of Calgary's clay soil it may be difficult to place the feeders.

Preparing and Surviving the Winter
In the Fall, (Sept 15 to Oct 31) deep water the roots of the perennials trees and shrubs to create a root ball of ice, thereby locking in the water for use in the spring and keeping the plants dormant through the critical months of January, February and March. If your property is dry during these months the "ice cube" of roots may be reduced, again putting the plants at risk to Chinook and drying winds. I go out and bucket water the plants with cold water. In the case of pines, spruces, junipers, cedars and yew trees, throw an extra bucket of water onto the foliage. I have found this to be helpful in preventing or at least mitigating wind burn.

In summary
Each week, one or two really good soaks of the trees, shrubs and perennials really is more beneficial and a better use of the water we have. The grass and the annual beds generally be benefit from the focus on the trees. If you do fertilize, only do it once every two weeks and stop fertilizing in the first week of August. You want the plants to start their shutdown for winter.

Vera Saar's Favorite Random Plant Photos

2009-08-31T22:42:00.000-07:00

Every gardener has some favorite plant and for several years, I kept missing out on taking pictures of the various plants and garden features around my yard. This year I made a concerted effort to get out there when the weather was great to acknowledge the arrival and joy of as many of the plants as I could.

I hope that you enjoy (and can identify) many of these images.

Asian Lilies

Mallow

Red Campion

Sedum

Day Lilies

Geranium

Fireweed

Helenium

Penstemon

Penstemon

Sedum

Sedum

Lady's Mantle

Pink Campion

Delphinium

Fireweed

Blue Himalayan Poppy (Meconopsis)

Anemone

Painted Daisy

Vera Saar's Favorite Shrub Pictures

2009-08-31T22:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some my favorite shrubs:

Rose Shrub (I don't know what kind it is - just that it is beautiful and fragrant)

Ninebark

Mock Orange

Harry Lauder Walking Stick

Vera Saar's Favorite Tree Photos

2009-08-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favorites:

The Ginko

The Golden Eclipse Lilac

The Weeping Pine (I call it "Cousin It")

Toba Hawthorn

Grouping and Clustering Trees and Shrubs

2009-08-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

I am one of those people who likes to group and cluster trees and shrubs for several reasons. When you group different plants together, you get a mix of textures and the plants seem to develop a mini ecosystem of their own. I find that they share roots and sometimes immunity from various pests.

This doesn't always work with certain species. For example I would be reluctant to group a Colorado spruce with a May Day tree and a Mugo pine. The growth patterns and thirst for water by these three make them rather unsuitable.

I have on the other hand grouped a purple birch, a paper birch, a spirea, a cedar and a rose bush with great success. Sometimes birches appear a bit thin, so I add two varieties to give more color and contrast.

Another combination of color and contrast is the use of purple sand cherry, with variegated ribbon grass and quaking aspens. You end up with three colors and textures which are pleasing to the eye.

On a rock garden feature I have placed dwarf Mugos, perennial sage and junipers with a dash of other perennials for color.

Gardening and landscaping is always an individual taste and for just as many rules, there are rules that are broken. The garden is an ever-changing living thing and there is no perfection, only change. Consider everything an experiment and many times the experiment exceeds the expectation.

Using Sedum as Ground Cover

2009-08-31T21:11:00.001-07:00

If you have an area that is usually hot and dry and is just too narrow or small to have grass - let alone drag a lawn mower through, try some low growing sedum.

In my case, I have a boardwalk that goes beside my window well on the south side of my house. The span is only 10 inches and not wide enough to grow grass, but it is large enough for weeds to attempt to grow. Rather than allowing that scenario, I decided to rip the grass out and put in sedums. When they were first planted they did look a bit scraggly, so I also filled in the space with cedar mulch (about 1.5 inches).

As with everything, I added some zeolite to the soil, to help as a soil conditioner which holds moisture, gives the plants a better rooting medium and breaks down the clay. Over the years I have found that the weeds (if they do come) are much easier to pull out.

I like to mix several varieties of ground cover to add interest to the area. You will find that different varieties have different colors and blooming times. I also added some thyme to the mix.

Here are some more pictures of the results.

Vera Saar's Fire Pit - a discussion on design

2009-08-31T20:16:00.000-07:00

A fire pit was an opportunity to create a space for relaxation and socializing. It took many months to dig out the soil and clay. One characteristic of Calgary (and a lot of Alberta) is the clay soil. Generally, there is about 7 to 9 inches of top soil, then there is 12 to 24 inches of hard clay. Once you get below the clay , you may be fortunate to have sand and then possibly other layers of clay or even a sandstone boulder or two.

I found that the best way to dig through clay was to moisten the clay and then use hammer and chisel. Even though the clay is heavier, it is easier to work when the soil and clay is moist.

Here are pictures of the fire pit. The diameter of the fire pit is about 3 feet. The distance between the pit and the seating ring is 2 feet. the seats are made of spruce wood. The circumference of the amphitheater is about 26 feet, thereby allowing 10 persons to gather around the seats comfortably. The depth from soil surface to fit pit base is about 3 feet. The effect is one of openness yet privacy. There is a definite screening from the wind. The base of the pit has more stone openings and there are two grills within the structure. A smaller grill was placed at the bottom of the pit to aide in ventilation as well as keeping wood above any moisture gathered due to rain or snow.

The aqua colored stones just were a fortunate find at one of the local gravel pit suppliers. They had since discontinued getting this strange variety of stone. When these stones get moist they take on a jade like quality of green.

The fire pit was used all year round and did start up well due to the second grill inside the pit, which held the firewood above the snow and moisture.

The tealight lanterns added extra illumination and ambience to the space.

Vera Saar's Pond - How the Pond was Built

2009-08-31T16:40:00.000-07:00

When you decide on the site of the pond, here are a few considerations. Choose a place where you can see the pond and where it can be seen and appreciated. It shouldn't be where it is in the way of yard traffic and yet reasonably close (but not too close) to your electrical outlets for powering your pumps and lights.

The size of your pond depends on what you want, how big your yard is and what pleases you. You can get pre-made ponds or pond liner to create your pond. I prefer the pond liner route since it is the opportunity to truly customize a pond or water feature to your landscape. There are some basic problems with preformed ponds. One is that the hole you dig for a preformed pond has to be exactly the same as the shell. If it isn't, you may have uneven pressure along the walls, leading to future cracking and leakage. Another problem recently pointed out to me was that when the shell has been drained for winter, there is the chance that water will seep between the ground and the shell to the point where the water can gather underneath the shell and the pond was actually lifted or floated up above ground.

My pond is 7ft by 9ft by 2.5ft deep. Here are a series of photos showing the progression ...yes the video is of my dog contributing his energy to the project. he was disappointed when there was no more hole. He hasnt jumped into the pond (just yet)...

Sometimes as you dig, you will find a big rock trophy.... this one was about 50lbs. It's always a risk when you want to dig the pond just another few inches deeper, and you might find something you didn't expect.

Remember to leave shelves on the sides of the pond so you can place plants or lights or filtration boxes.

Then the next step is placing the pond liner. When you decide to get pond liner use the following equations to decide how much to purchase:

Length of liner = Length of pond + (2 times Depth of pond) + 2
Width of liner = Width of pond + (2 times Depth of pond) + 2

In my case the liner is:
Length of liner = 9 + (2x2.5) + 2 = 16 ft
Width of liner = 7 + (2x2.5) + 2 = 14 ft

The size of my pond is L x W x D x 7.5 = 9 x 7 x 2.5 x 7.5 = 1181.25 gal (US)

Here is a picture of the underlay. Underlay is a felt like material used to cushion the rubber pond liner. It helps to keep sharp rocks and objects from puncturing the EPDM liner.

It does take two people to lift and position a liner this large (and heavy). The fence is 6ft tall (for scale).

Here are some more pictures, complete with silk plant water lilies, some water hyacinths, 2 pumps, a filter, some lights and a mister... the ambience is complete!
Enjoy.