P. Allen Smith and Laguna Pond Giveaway

Win Your Very Own Backyard Oasis with P. Allen Smith and Laguna.

Water features fill your garden with beauty and tranquility of moving water, adding one will transform your garden. To help create this relaxing sanctuary, Laguna has teamed up with award-winning garden and lifestyle expert P. Allen Smith and some amazing gardening wholesalers & nurseries  to provide one lucky winner with the backyard oasis of their dreams!

The prize package includes the design and installation of your very own backyard pond featuring two surrounding flowerbeds. In addition to the pond and landscaping, the winner will be featured on P. Allen Smith’s Garden Style television show for the 2014 season.

For a chance to win, go to the Laguna Ponds Facebook page and tell Allen why you’d like a landscaped pond and how it will beautify your life. Submit a picture of where in your garden you would like to have a pond installed along with your name, email address and city, state and zip code. The installation will be filmed sometime in June 2013 for the 2014 season of P. Allen Smith’s Garden Style television show.

Like our Facebook page and share the contest with your friends! Good luck!

Sponsors:

 

Hortus Ltd.

PO Box, AR 164870

Little Rock, AR 72216

www.PAlllenSmith.com

Bonnie Plants

1727 Hwy 223

Union Springs, AL 36089

www.BonniePlants.com
 

Berry Family of Nurseries

3656 HWY 51

Hulbert, OK

www.BerryNurseries.com
 

Star Roses and Plant
25 Lewis Road
West Grove, PA
www.conard-pyle.com

Laguna Ponds

305 Forbes Blvd

Mansfeld, MA 02048

www.LagunaPonds.com

Laguna Upcoming Events

With temperatures on the rise and spring in the air we are gearing up for a fantastic Pond Season!

Come and join us as we share our passion for water gardening in our Spring Series as Laguna Ponds hosts a variety of events and seminars at local garden centers throughout Canada and the U.S. Below, you can find a calendar list of our Spring Events. We invite you to join us at a garden centre near you.

Canadian Seminars

March
03/23: Burlington, ON - Holland Park Garden Gallery (Pond Opening Seminar starts at 10:00 a.m.)

April

04/06: Ste Rose, Fabreville, QC - Pepiniere Locas (Open Discussion/ Forum starts at 9:00 a.m.)

04/07: Arthur Sauve, St Eustache, QC - Ecoverdure Event (Open Discussion/ Forum starts at 9:00 a.m.)

04/13: Hornby, ON - Sids Ponds (Pond Opening Procedure, Pump/ Filter Care starts at 12:00 p.m.)

04/20: Maloney est, Gatineau, QC - Jardin Emery Event (Open Discussion/ Forum starts at 10:00 a.m.)

04/27: London, ON - Heritage Garden Gallery (Pond Opening Seminar starts at 10:00 a.m.)

May

05/03: Kitchener, ON - Grand Valley Garden Village (Breast Cancer Fundraiser starts at 9:00 a.m.)

05/04: Kitchener, ON - Grand Valley Garden Village (Breast Cancer Fundraiser starts at 9:00 a.m.)

05/04: Ste Marguerite, Trois Rivieres, QC - Jardin du Coin Event (Open Discussion/ Forum starts 9:00 a.m.)

05/11: Ste Foy, QC - Dyno Quebec (Open Discussion/ Forum starts at 10:00 a.m.)

05/12: Ste Foy, QC - Dyno Quebec (Open Discussion/ Forum starts at 10:00 a.m.)

05/18: Levis, QC - Dyno Quebec (Open Discussion/ Forum starts at 10:00 a.m.)

05/19: Levis, QC - Dyno Quebec (Open Discussion/ Forum starts at 10:00 a.m.)

June 

06/20: Stratford, ON - Klomps Nursery & Garden Center (Pond Seminar starts at 7:00 p.m.)

United States Seminars

March

03/08: Fountain, CO - Spencer’s Spring Lawn and Garden Show (Product Knowledge Seminar)

03/09: Fountain, CO - Spencer’s Spring Lawn and Garden Show (Product Knowledge Seminar)

03/09: Downers Grove, IL - Wannemaker’s Spring Show (Running Specials)

03/10: Fountain, CO - Spencer’s Spring Lawn and Garden Show (Product Knowledge Seminar)

03/10: Downers Grove, IL - Wannemaker’s Spring Show (Running Specials)
03/16: Mt. Holly, NJ - Lily Pond Emporium (Pond Opening Seminar)
03/21: Swansea, MA - The Bloomin Barn (Pond Opening Seminar)
03/22: Fairfield, NJ - Fairfield Garden Center (Pond Opening Seminar)

03/23: Frankfort, IL - Alsip Nursery (Product Knowledge Seminar)

03/24: St. John, IN - Alsip Nursery (Product Knowledge Seminar)
03/30: Jobstown, NJ - The Pond Store (Pond Opening Seminar)

April

04/11: Fairfield, NJ - Fairfield Garden Center (Ponds 101 Seminar)
04/13: Marion, TX - Water Garden Gems Texas Koi and Goldfish Show (Product Knowledge Seminar)

04/14: Marion, TX - Water Garden Gems Texas Koi and Goldfish Show (Product Knowledge Seminar)

04/20: Yucaipa, CA - Exotic Waterscapes (Pond Seminar)
04/26: Fairfield, NJ - Fairfield Garden Center (Advanced Ponds Seminar)


May
05/04: Howell, NJ - Twin Ponds Garden Center (Water Gardening Open House)
05/09: Fairfield, NJ - Fairfield Garden Center (Ponds 101 Seminar)

June
06/01: Lansing, IL - Water's Edge Aquascaping (Water Quality Seminar starts at 11 a.m.)

Winter Reading

The winter months allow many water gardeners the opportunity to relax from their usual summer pond maintenance duties and recharge until the spring. It also allows people to spend time learning more about their pond, planning projects for the new year and researching new varieties of plants!

A wide variety of great publications exist to educate, entertain and inspire home gardeners with practical information and plenty of personal stories from authors and editors who truly live their passion. At Laguna, we know that ponds and water features comprise only a portion of the greater gardening experience, which is why we enjoy following many publications in order to keep up with new types of flowers and lilies, common garden critters, planting tips and more.

A couple of Laguna products have been featured in a recent edition of Gardens West magazine, a leading Canadian gardening publication since 1987. The magazine now produces four unique editions based on geographic region, and features zone-specific advice for gardeners of all experience levels.

Below you can see the Laguna SkimAway Skimmer Filter Fountain (bottom middle), as well as a Laguna Pond Spitter (bottom right), providing valuable water circulation while also creating a tranquil setting for any pond.

Visit www.gardenwest.com for online photo contests, garden show information, gift catalogues and more!

Getting Ready for Fall

Summer is not quite over yet, but you may have noticed that the days are getting shorter, nights are cooler, and leaves are starting to change colours in some areas.

All telltale signs that autumn is just around the corner.

Now’s a good time to start making a checklist of things you’ll need to ensure that you’re prepared to handle all the tasks related to transitioning to autumn, which will make winterizing so much easier later on.

 

Your checklist should include the following:

• Pond thermometer
• Pond netting
• Pruning tool, nets & skimmers
• Air pump, aeration kit, pond de-icer
• Fish Food for Fall Feeding

Water Temperature

Since water temperature plays a huge role, especially if you have fish, it’s always a good idea to check if your pond thermometer is working properly. Water temperature is your cue to when you should switch to feeding fish food specially formulated for fall feeding. More about this below.

Pond Netting: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure

One of the best ways to make maintenance easier is to place Laguna Pond Netting over your water garden to capture falling leaves. This way, you don’t have to toil as hard later on to collect scattered leaves, especially those in the deep end.

Pond Netting

Pruning tool, nets & skimmers

Ensure that you have the proper maintenance equipment to get the job done. A pruning tool is excellent for trimming plants. Nets are perfect for handling fish, skimmers are ideal for capturing surface debris.

Air pump, aeration kit, pond de-icer

Take stock of your winterizing equipment and ensure that all is working well for the upcoming winter season.

Fish Food for Fall Feeding

As mentioned above, tracking water temperature is critical heading into colder weather. Pond fish have special nutritional needs when the air cools  and the water temperature gets into the 8° to 10° C (47° to 50° F) range – they need more wheat germ in their diet. So make a mental note to pick up a bag of Laguna Spring/Fall Fish Food with Wheat Germ.

If you follow all the above recommendations, you’ll be well on your way to making a seamless seasonal transition. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the summer!

Reflections from Misericordia

We've had the opportunity to learn more about the water gardening history at Chicago's Misericordia Home and how Laguna has been able to contribute. We received some great feedback from Jeff Hudec at Misericordia about the success of their pond. See his message below:

* * * * *

We’ve had our pond for about 11 years now. It started as a pond about 100 gallons in size, and has expanded into one that now holds 1000 gals of water, ten Koi, two water turtles and one large Pleco.  Roughly 100 of our residents help to care for our pond on a weekly basis and almost all of the 600 residents who live at Misericordia have enjoyed viewing the pond at some point or other.

Just over a year ago, the Greco Gardens at Misericordia Home received a donation for our indoor Koi pond. The donation consisted of a Laguna Pressure Flo 1400 filter and a Max Flo 900 pump. Before receiving these items, I tried more pump and filter combinations from more pond companies than I care to remember and none of them worked very well or for very long. 

The Laguna products are superior in every imaginable way to every other filter/pump combination I’ve used to keep our pond clean and healthy. With minimal maintenance, these items have kept our 1000 gallon pond free of debris and crystal clear for over a year now.  The filter is easy to clean and requires little effort to maintain. The pump also runs smooth and with very little trouble.

I cannot recommend these products more or thank Michael Zmina more for donating them to us. Our Koi are much happier as are our resident workers who now can enjoy viewing the fish in crystal clear water year round.  Thank you once again.

Sincerely,

Jeff Hudec, Misericordia Home, Greco Gardens.

Misericordia Home loves their pond!

Water Features for Wellness

The Misericordia Home in Chicago, Illinois is a campus for children and adults in Chicago with developmental disabilities, many of them are also physically challenged. Nanci Martinez, Supervisor for the Developmental Training Program at Misericordia, had became aware of our water features at Laguna Ponds and asked us if we would be able to install one in their Wellness Garden. The garden is an area for daily mediation, yoga classes, and other programs for residents and staff. 

Laguna's Mike Zmina was happy to oblige, and offered to set up our windmill water feature. The addition to the Wellness Garden has been successful in so many ways. Misericordia staff have shown enthusiasm in learning more about water gardening and Laguna water features, while the residents at Misericordia have shared great feedback about their garden addition.

Nanci shared some warm words about Laguna's donation to Misericordia.

Here are some pictures of the amazing water feature that you donated to our developmental training program. The residents and staff are enjoying it a great deal. It's a wonderful place for the residents to enjoy daily programming in addition for the staff to relax and unwind on their breaks. I really appreciate you helping make our wellness garden at Misericordia the wonderful place that it is.

Again, many thanks! 

Nanci

* * * * *

About Misericordia:

Misericordia offers a community of care that maximizes potential for persons with mild to profound developmental disabilities, many of whom are also physically challenged.  By serving society’s most vulnerable citizens, Misericordia also serves the families who want the best for them, yet cannot provide it at home.

Misericordia's Mission Statement:

The Mission of Misericordia/Heart of Mercy is to support individuals with developmental disabilities in maximizing their level of independence and self-determination within an environment that fosters spirituality, dignity, respect and enhancement of quality of life. We promote development of natural family and community support, community awareness, education and advocacy.

* * * * *

When are Aeration Kits Necessary?

When are aeration kits necessary? Actually aeration kits are a vital piece of equipment in a pond year round. During the winter months they are used to keep water moving, help to maintain a small opening in the ice and for gas exchange. They are just as important during the hot summer months when warmer waters are not capable of holding as much dissolved oxygen.

There are many factors that affect the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in a pond, these included nutrients, algae and temperature. The DO level in a pond is important because this is the amount of “air” available for pond fish to respire; as these levels drop it makes fishes breathing more difficult and the fish may actually come to the surface of the pond “gasping” for air. In order to correct this problem things such as fountain heads and waterfalls are used to increase oxygen levels. But as stated earlier there are several factors that add to lower oxygen levels. Temperature is one of these factors and with the current heat wave that is hitting some areas of the country fountains and waterfalls may not be enough to maintain an adequate DO level in ponds; in which case pond aeration kits can be an essential piece of equipment in a pond. 

PT1620 Air Pump Kit (50LPM)

Laguna Air Pump Kit

Using an air pump during the warmer, summer months in ponds that have an excess of algae is just as important as using it during the winter months. Aquatic plants, particularly oxygenating plants (anacharis, hornwort, cabomba) will produce oxygen during the day; however at night aquatic plants go into reverse photosynthesis and deplete the water of oxygen, thus lowering the DO levels. This along with warmer waters and high organic levels can cause fish kills; in the ocean this is know as “red tide.”

As we continue to head into the heat of the summer months if you don’t have an aeration kit as part of your pond equipment you may want to give this some serious consideration. Adding an air pump will help to improve the health of you pond and its inhabitants.

For additional reading, visit the Laguna Ponds website.