Extreme Weather: Neither Rain nor Hail....

December, 2011

Spring arrived early after a mild winter and while I don't want to appear ungrateful for this marvelously mild and pleasant weather, the impact of this climatological aberrance is not insignificant.

We picked fresh herbs all winter - unheard of in New England, where our herbs (even perennials like mint) are usually dormant and buried under snow from November through February and often well into March and beyond.

In December, the lavender was still green and roses still had buds. This same week the previous year, we had a three day snowstorm that dumped over two feet of new snow on already over-sized snowbanks.

Ordinarily, March brings snow melt that nurtures the spring gardens and fills the ponds, rivers and streams.  But minimal snow and a cumulative rainfall that is a full 8 inches shy of the average amount we would ordinarily have received since January 1 is definitely a cause for concern. For the first time in recent memory, we had public advisories for an elevated fire risk of brush fires in March!

February 4, 2011

The average annual snowfall in our area is about 3.5 feet.

Last year we were snowed in under a total of nearly 9 feet while this year our total accumulation was a fraction of that at under a foot.

It's hard to believe that a year ago, we were digging out from mountains of snow that were higher than our car. 

This year, during that same week in February, the Peggy Martin rose was sprouting leaves and sending forth fresh green shoots and Sweet Autumn clematis wound its way among her canes.

We were harvesting fresh herbs, and rock cress was spreading along the fence near the woodland garden.

When does that happen in Massachusetts in February?

The lack of snow melt and precipitation has been of particular concern.  For weeks there have been warnings of an increased risk of brush fires.  We've watched the water levels of local rivers and creeks drop to unusually low levels.

But in a world where you need to be careful what you wish for, we were stunned when a prediction of rain showers turned into a major hail storm!  Barely an hour after the lettuce, pansies, and ranunculus were firmly tucked into the raised beds on the deck, the heavens opened up and hail pelted down.  The icy covering melted the same day, small comfort to the lettuce that curled up under the barrage.  This hail storm happened on April 12, 2012.

April 12, 2012:  The sky was overcast and showers were predicted.  Suddenly, hail was pelting the driveway, pavement, and flower beds.

We had just finished cleaning out the raised beds on the deck and setting in the ranunculus, pansies, and lettuce.

Before the hailstorm subsided, we had a half inch to an inch of ice covering everything.  Fortunately, it melted within a few hours. But most of the lettuce was a total loss and we had to purchase fresh flats and replant.

The camera captured the force of the ice pellets as they bounced on the deck.

As we are known to say in New England, "If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes."   Finally, after a wait of nearly two months, our most substantial precipitation yet this winter - just over 4.5 inches of rain - fell over the course of the last two days.  

Two days of rain raised the level of the pond considerably.

The rain was most welcome, but I would have preferred to have had it spread out over a week or two. That much rain all at once brings its own set of concerns.   Torrential rains raised the water level in the koi pond to a problematic high... problematic because it opened up the possibility that our koi could actually jump out of the pond, something that happened once before on the heels of torrential rains.

But with the water over the lowest edging rocks, the koi were able to swim up onto the rocks on the south side of the pond especially, and I was very concerned they would either land on the patio if they jumped, or injure themselves on the rough surface of stones.

Katie (L) and Emily (R) watch the koi.

I need not have worried.  Two of our erstwhile Cavalier King Charles Spaniels appointed themselves Guardians of the Fish and stood watch along the edge of the pond, barking when the koi seemed too close to the edge or jumped up and broke the surface of the water as they explored the new landscape.

Watching them over the course of an hour as I set up the sump to drain away a couple of inches and lower the water to a safer level for the koi, I couldn't help but chuckle at Emily, our 8 year old ruby Cavalier.  She would bravely walk to the edge and lean over to bark at the fish as they swam around.

When one of the koi got too close, Em jumped away and yelped.

But if one swam too close to her rock or - heaven forbid -  jumped up and out of the water in front of her, she'd jump back in fright!

Eventually, Katie, our 2 year old Blenheim, came to her assistance and both dogs spent over two hours patrolling the pond.

Emily is usually able to run around the pond, chasing after the koi as they swim back and forth.  But with the water over the top of some of the rocks, she almost ended up going in for a swim herself.

The koi seemed intrigued by their ability to get within a hair's breadth of the dogs.

Katie, at her sentry post.

Can you see them?  They're right there?

Where are  you....

There you are!

Pearly (L) and Streak (R) were jumping up and flopping back into the water and swimming as close to the rocks in front of the dogs as possible.

One of the butterfly koi, Sherbert, teasing the dogs....

Comet and Goldie, hovering in front of them.... ignoring the barking.  Goldie managed to escape the pond last summer after a similar downpour dramatically raised the water level, scaring Katie half to death.   In fact, it was Katie's barking and howling that alerted me to the situation and I was able to get Goldie safely back in the pond without injury.

  

The way the fish seemed to congregate and show off in front of the dogs, it almost seemed as if they were deliberately teasing them.  Are koi that intelligent, I wonder?

Waking up the Water Garden

The koi scavenge the rocks for algae.

Although it's easily a DIY task, we usually have our local water garden center, Country Gardens,  "open" and "close" our water garden each spring and fall. Spanning just over 22 feet long and 11 feet wide, 5-1/2 feet deep at its deepest point, and with nearly 9,000 gallons of water, our pond is home to nine large koi, a wide variety of bog plants and water lilies, and typically a bullfrog or three or four. It also attracts a regular flock of damselflies and dragonflies each summer.

Our koi hibernate at the bottom of the pond for the winter. A small electric heating element keeps a section of the ice open and a bubbler and air stone provide oxygen exchange in the water to meet the minimal needs of the fish over the winter. The hardiest of plants (reeds, iris, and water mint) remain on the built in plant shelf, 2.5 feet below the surface. The water lilies and other bog plants are dropped to the floor of the pond for the winter. 

The water garden, June 2010

Because our waterfall runs continuously spring through fall courtesy of a pump at the opposite end of the pond, we don't encounter the problem often seen in ponds without pumps: we don't have mosquitoes breeding in the pond. With aggressive spraying in the gardens with garlic and peppermint and the use of a Mosquito Magnet, despite living next to a conservation area, we manage to stay ahead of the mosquitoes most of the time.

In the early spring, once the ice melts, we eagerly watch for the fish to make their way to the surface and begin to school. The pond is usually rich with algae in the spring and that provides plenty of nourishment for the fish until the water - and their bodies - get warm enough for digestion to occur. 

Before the water reaches 50 degrees, these fish don't make digestive enzymes and so they can't digest regular feeding pellets.

Cheerios are quickly scarfed up by hungry koi.

During the early days of spring, if we have an extended warm spell with temperatures into the 50's and 60's, the fish will come to the surface and ask to be fed. Until the water temperature is consistently over 50 degrees F, we toss them a few Cheerios, which are easily digested by their still sluggish GI systems.

Getting the pond running again for the season involves cleaning the pond and restarting the waterfall.  Here's the process, start to finish:

The water is pumped out to our dry river bed with industrial size sumps. Many of the pots of plants are lowered to the bottom of the pond for the winter and those are lifted out to be pruned,.fed, and repotted as needed.

Once the water level is down to about 2 feet, the fish can be easily netted and transferred to a holding tub. They have to keep a large net over the tub as some of the friskier koi will actually jump out of the holding tub.

Steve, one of the water garden techs from Country Gardens, nets one of the koi and passes it to his assistant.

Once the fish are transferred, the remaining water is drained and the stones and walls of the pond are power washed. With Steve standing in front of the waterfall stones, you can appreciate the depth and size of the pond.

There is usually a collection of muck on the floor of the pond - residue from the plants, leaves that settled in the fall, and the occasional twig that blows in - and that has to be removed and hauled to the compost pile. Then the pond is completely drained and cleaned.

After the pond has been cleaned, fresh water is added. pond is refilled and the fish are added back along with a dechlorinator, water conditioner, and stress control drops to ease them through the transition

The water in the holding tank is refreshed with cold water and the temperature is checked against the temperature of the water that is filling the pond. They try to equalize the temperature to avoid shocking the fish when they are returned to the pond.

The koi are transferred back from the holding tank once the water level reaches about 2 feet in depth. It's an amazing time to photograph them.

 Streak, one of our butterfly koi, swims gracefully in about 2-1/2 feet of water after he was transferred back into the pond.

Finally, the plants are arranged on the shelf.  Lifting the heavy pots into the water and arranging them on the shelf is best done from inside the pond.  Steve gets in with a wet suit as the water is still quite chilly this time of year.

This year, we were able to open the pond much earlier than in years past and the plants were all in excellent shape, especially the iris and water mint that had been left on the shelf. The veins of the red dock are a vivid burgundy red and the houttuynia (in the plant in the foreground) is also thick and verdant.

Each spring we take stock and rearrange, repot, and add new plants to our water garden. This year, we added some variegated Siberian Iris and some marsh marigolds which we have been wanting to grow for a couple of years now. We also repotte4d and combined some of the water lilies into much larger pots, and purchased a new lily, Barbara Dobbins, for the end of the pond opposite the waterfall.  Barbara Dobbins  is a pale peach with pink streaks and is reportedly a prolific bloomer, blooming non-stop spring through summer. I'm looking forward to the first blooms from this newest addition to the water garden.  

If you'd like to see the pond and tour the gardens, our garden will be one of the many lovely gardens featured on the Country Gardens annual water garden tour on Saturday, June 25th.  Save the date and check the Country Gardens web site for more information, including maps to all of the gardens on the tour.