Spring Season has many reminders of the beauty of mother nature: The birds are chirping, flowers are starting to bloom, you see your pond fish are looking pretty friendly and pretty hungry and wildlife is starting to visit you again. Like ducks. Ponds and ducks, they are perfect together. Or are they?
Most man-made backyard ponds are designed and built with the intention of keeping fish and plants, not ducks. Even their filtration systems are not designed to keep up with ducks in the long run (or should I say short run) of a few weeks. So what do we do when a pair of local ducks decides to make our pond their home? I wholeheartedly say to enjoy it for a short time, show them to the neighborhood kids, take lots of photos for the memories and then discourage the ducks from staying.

Ducks do not know that this backyard paradise exists for your pure enjoyment of peace, tranquility and the aesthetics that come along with it. Ducks are there to survive off of your offerings and some of the negative impacts of ducks are as follows:

• Ducks tend to enjoy aquatic plants as not only a food source, but also for bored entertainment and can very quickly destroy the water garden that we have invested so much time and money on. Lilies will quickly get shredded , submerged plants uprooted, marginal plants trampled.
  
• Smaller fish and invertebrates can become sources of protein for the backyard duck. What a snack!
• Ducks spend a lot of time out of the water too and will impact the surrounding area and landscape. From trampling on and tearing up your favorite garden flower to pooping on your deck and patio, ducks get into everything.
  
• Ducklings--One or two ducks can quickly become 12 ducks!
• Water Quality--where there are wildlife, waste contribution is too! Is your filtration system up to par?

The primary reason they are at your pond is to call your pond home, too---somewhere safe to establish a nest. Ducks often get a bit territorial when nesting and they may even exhibit aggression when they feel threatened by people coming by the pond at that point.

First you start with two ducks and you blink and find a dozen ducks before you know it! Imagine the repercussions that many ducks could have on your waterfeature when considering the above issues.

But for the fish pond that most of us install, a duck or more can have a more dramatic impact on our pond than just the aggressive side shown to your favorite dog or 3 year old.



How? You ask?

Ducks poop, too!

One of the biggest impacts we at Dreamscapes noticed with our pet ducks is the waste droppings that quickly become a big time mess. Our backyard koi pond or water garden filter systems were not designed with this type of waste production in mind and your pond water can become very foul between the color of the water and the smell. You remember that magic number of fish that you filtration system is capable of handling? Duck waste exceeds number a million times over. You will find that a whole lot of extra time for maintenance will become a necessity as well, which means increased costs for water treatments, and filter materials.

Excess waste nutrients not only fertilize algae growth but it also leads to spiked levels in your pond, such as ammonia--which is absolutely toxic for fish. Our water here at Dreamscapes went crystal clear to more of a muddy color within a week and was next to impossible to keep up with without dumping extra water treatments in on a daily basis.

With planning and intent you can absolutely build a pond that will support ducks and still be fairly low maintenance, beautiful, and enjoyable. But that can wait for that in another blog.

For more information on your backyard watergarden's maintenance, please contact us directly!

Dreamscapes also carries a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | info@dreamscapeswatergardens.com

Dreamscapes Watergardens services the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania,

It is definitely spring in Central Pennsylvania when one day it is seventy degrees and sunny and the following days are bitter cold and the nights hover around freezing. This can be a tricky time to be a gardener, especially if you are an aquatic gardener--as you're awaiting growth from last year's plants and aren't sure if you lost any plants over the winter yet. You also don't want to shock new plants and lose them by adding them to your watergarden too soon. 

So what should you do?

Just keep waiting! The weather may be deceiving some days and some garden centers begin displaying plants earlier than safe for our Zone 5/6 but the truth is that the beginning of May is generally the safest time to add any hardy marginal aquatic plants to the pond in the Central, Pennsylvania (PA) area. At this point, they should be able to withstand the temperature change from night to day. In fact, the last Frost Spring Frost for the Lebanon area in Pennsylvania is scheduled for April 27 as per the Farmer's Almanac. BUT, alas, we like to be safe instead of sorry--so we push it an extra week. Be advised that tropical plants added at this time may suffer from the cold temperatures at night (i.e. they like to live in warmer climates--hence "Tropical").

Dreamscapes will have aquatic plants available the beginning of May--just in time for our 17th Annual Anniversary Sale (always Mother's Day weekend)! Seasonally Dreamscapes carries a large array of different hardy marginal plants, potted lily plants and some floating plants, too. For more information of the difference in plants, their benefits and purpose, catch up on our Aquatic Plant blog that was posted in 2016!

Keep in mind the key to a beautiful pond is most definitely in the diversity of the plants but also the layout that you plant them--see some ideas below! Or click here to read our 7 Tips for Planting your Pennsylvania Koi Pond blog!

For more specific information on plants and your pond, please contact us directly!

Dreamscapes also carries a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | info@dreamscapeswatergardens.com


Dreamscapes Watergardens services the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania,