08/19/01: Linda’s water lily has finally blossomed. It is as spectacular as we had hoped. I did notice however that it seems to be suited to deeper water. There is a lot of stem between the crown and the leaves and blossoms, and therefore a lot of leaf spread. I’m going to drop it about a foot to see what happens.

9/8/01: The leaves are starting to fall and it was time to begin thinking about the massive leaf drop that comes with the first frosts. A combination of 3/4” PVC pipe, cable ties, and deer netting are used to create nets across both the upper and lower ponds to catch leaves and prevent them from dropping into the pond to rot at the bottom. No hydrogen sulfide for our fishes.

This weekend, I have to divide several of the hybrid water lilies which have grown out of their pots. Things have grown much faster than I was expecting.

Even the anacharis is blossoming with tiny white blossoms. But Autumn is not too far away. It may be only my imagination, but the falling leaves seem to be presaging pond shutdown.

9/20/01: My bamboo has started to run, that is to say, it has started to send out side shoots. It’s bamboo’s way of propagating. It doesn’t usually happen in the first year. The bamboo came from Joe Willis, the Bamboo Guy from Nashville. He can be reached at bamboo4you@aol.com . He grows Phyllostachys aureosulcata, Yellow Groove Bamboo, a hardy variety that can survive our zone 6 climate. This particular clump did not go through the big transplant leaf drop that the other one did. This might explain why it is running so soon.

Now I’m wondering if I’m going to have to try and contain this clump.

10/2/01: The shoot continues to grow as the leaves begin to fall. The netting is doing its job and there were a few spots where the soil has settled around the edges. Next year I think we mix some concrete under the liner edge.

The water temperature is 65 degrees - still a long way from 50. I’m hoping things hold relatively constant for 10 days while we are away on vacation. The fish are now accustomed to foraging on their own, the netting should prevent leaves from clogging the skimmer and I’ll do a skimmer box filter cleaning before we go.