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Journal Our (overgrown) garden pond

Hi all,
so I'm now guessing some sort of sagittaria?
It is definitely <"Alismataceae">. What colour were the anthers when the flowers came out? Arrow-head (Sagittaria sagittifolia) has purple anthers (so a dark centre).

Sagittaria latifolia has a yellow centre, it is N. American, but I think it is naturalised in some parts of Europe. "Latifolia" suggests it has a broad leaf, but it isn't a plant I'm familiar with.

cheers Darrel
 
No idea what this plant is, I thought it was a valisneria when I found it on a riverbank so I put it in the deepest part of the pond where it looked like valisneria for over a year till last year it suddenly came above surface and flowered, so I'm now guessing some sort of sagittaria? Its at 75cm depth so I'm impressed!
Hi Wolf, I think that's Sagittaria. I did the same, in spring I lowered a basket to 80cm hoping to create an submerged version of the plant but it still managed to send short leaves and flowers to the surface!

Nice pond, looks like a great wildlife habitat. Which frogs do you get in there?
 
Hi Wolf, I think that's Sagittaria. I did the same, in spring I lowered a basket to 80cm hoping to create an submerged version of the plant but it still managed to send short leaves and flowers to the surface!

Nice pond, looks like a great wildlife habitat. Which frogs do you get in there?
Thanks! Green and Brown frogs, in spring mostly Brown ones, then later the green ones :) now in summer its occasional passing frogs, but mostly those roam the rest of the garden.
 
Hi all,

It is definitely <"Alismataceae">. What colour were the anthers when the flowers came out? Arrow-head (Sagittaria sagittifolia) has purple anthers (so a dark centre).

Sagittaria latifolia has a yellow centre, it is N. American, but I think it is naturalised in some parts of Europe. "Latifolia" suggests it has a broad leaf, but it isn't a plant I'm familiar with.

cheers Darrel
I looked at some sagittaria species and I think its platyphylla, given the strange leaf shape.
 
Happy lillies, stratiodes and a curious frog wondering why I wont leave his usual perching spot.
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Garden is now overrun with tiny frogs so I cant even cut my grass out of fear maiming these little guys. Kids caught 7 of them in a few minutes time and gave them a temporary home for 15 minutes or so before setting them free again in the garden. Reminds me of my youth, catching frogs etc :) nice to see the kids enjoying this as well in our garden. 20210811_114443.jpg
 
When these prety soft pink flowers die off, to me that is a sure sign summer is over and autumn is on its way, much like the asters in other parts of the garden. But this should mean the South African lilie ought to make an appearance again soon for some late flowers. Also I know its a bad picture but anyone have a clue what this grassy submersed plant is? No idea how it ended up in the pond.
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Hi all,
Geranium "Rozanne" looks good.
When these prety soft pink flowers die off,
I've never had much luck with the pale pink forms of Hesperantha (Schizostylis) coccinea. The type Red form does really well, but <"all the pale forms always die out eventually">.
Also I know its a bad picture but anyone have a clue what this grassy submersed plant is?
Difficult to say, but <"Zannichellia palustris"> would be my guess.

cheers Darrel
 
Hi all,
Geranium "Rozanne" looks good.

I've never had much luck with the pale pink forms of Hesperantha (Schizostylis) coccinea. The type Red form does really well, but <"all the pale forms always die out eventually">.

Difficult to say, but <"Zannichellia palustris"> would be my guess.

cheers Darrel
The rozanne is having a great year and has grown to epic proportions. Next year I'll probably cut it back a bit more. The hesperantha is growing with its feet in the water and seems happy there, blooms well every year :)
Thanks for the pointer on what that plant could be! I'll keep an eye on it :)
 
love the pond😃 Then I saw what I took to be Edible Frogs Rana Esculenta. When we moved to Lincolnshire there was a big pond but no Frogs. Possibly due to being in a high arable farming village.
Now I dont know if you know,and I didnt, Edible Frogs are a hybrid and need a Marsh Frog for the eggs to be viable. There are apparently colony's of Marsh Frogs and Edible Frogs in Norfolk if memory serves correctly.
So I duly ordered about a dozen, and yes they are noisy lol…had a few complaints from near neighbours as 1 am was a favourite time to start calling.
I found out about the Marsh Frog thing when the rather dull Frog that was included in the mix died .
I miss them….but again I dont….the Owls and Beet trailers make enough noise at night. Lol
 
As summer comes, my interest shifts from my tanks to my garden. The pond is growing in nicely, neighbours cut some trees down :( but the pond gets more light earlier in the season now.
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The truck had to be on the pic according to my youngest. Pond is swarming with tadpoles.
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iris Siberica coming into flower.
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You seem to have achieved optimal growing conditions for each plant, it's fabulous!
The red truck is doing a good job showing where the water's edge begins so no wet feet!
 
I was intending to ask what the plant on the right with the huge white flower heads was called but managed to delete that part! 🙄
 
I was intending to ask what the plant on the right with the huge white flower heads was called but managed to delete that part! 🙄
Thanks :) the truck is mostly used by my youngest to house waterbugs and tadpoles etc briefly to look at before dumping back into the water. The pond is actually 4 meters long, 150cm wide and 75 deep in the deepest part, but its vanished near completely 😆
The plant is Hydrangea arborescens ‘Strong Annabelle’, very common in dutch gardens but requires a lot of support to not flop over after a heavy rain. Its beautiful when used in groups but its not great for wildlife as the flowers contain very little food. Pretty easy plant that will tolerate a lot of shade :)
 
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