Pond Plants Arrive

1-3 February 2020

We were very excited to get a call from a courier that they had a pallet and bucket for us.  They had a large truck and refused to come any closer than a layby 500 metres from the house.  So they unloaded the pallet, and we loaded half of it into the back of the car and drove to the house, then went back for the rest.  Meanwhile, our labourer, taking a break from the stonework, helped to shuttle them down to the pond.

 The Pond Life Express

 Lots of plants!

 Following the instructions in our invaluable book: 'Building Natural Ponds' by Robert Pavlis, we endeavoured to reduce the amount of soil put into the pond.  This required every one of about 70 plants to have their roots washed clean (by Dave) before being anchored into the gravel of the planting shelves (by me).  Soil is full of nutrients, which will feed algae.  We are putting in a lot of plants to take up nutrients and thereby filter the water and keep it clear.  That's the theory, anyway - time to test it out!

 The first specimen in place.  One of the white canna lilies.

 Meanwhile, the stoneworkers have started laying paving outside the kitchen door.  We don't want to cover a large area with a slab of concrete (horrors!) so we have extra thick and heavy pavers laid loose onto a bed of sand that can follow the gentle slopes of the terrain.  The gaps between stones will be infilled with gravel, and then we will plant creeping thyme and camomile which will hopefully spread and keep down weeds.

Planting continues on day two.  We haven't yet cut the liner down, as we need the pond not-quite-full for easier planting, and we won't do the final trim until the water level is topped up.

 Pavers are spreading out along the the east face of the house, looking very fine - if rather monochromatic!

We were sent a bucket with aerating plants and five little 'Mosquito' fish, which eat the larvae before they can hatch. Unfortunately three days in transit in unseasonably warm weather killed off all but one.  That's a big job for a one-centimetre-long fish.  So we called into a pet shop in Lefkada and indulged ourselves with four goldfish.