June Zoom

The month of June flew by. Koi shows, pond tours and garden visits marked this summer starter month. And July is already gearing up to be another whirlwind period. Before I get ahead of myself and talk about what's in store -- like the IWGS trip just around the corner -- here's a recap of one of June's highlights.

This year's AKCA Annual Seminar couldn't have been better. Hundreds of koi keepers gathered to check out new products, educational talks and tours of hobbyist homes. This is also the place that the Koi Health Advisor candidates complete their training, to go out in the world and make it safer for fish.


The most fun I had was painting koi with Patti Magee of Patti Grafix. Her style is so distinctive that I thought there was no way to mimic it, but she was an excellent teacher and made the most art-incapacitated of us create works we were proud to take home.



Beating the great day I had before was a challenge, too. That's when a group of us took a tour of Phoenix and the surrounding area. We visited the Botanical Gardens early ... so that we would only face a temperature of 100 degrees. As the mercury climbed, we moved through the city to the Heard Museum and downtown Tempe, winding up at Frank Lloyd Wright's fabulous Taliesin compound. His koi-pond-in-the-works (right) made me think he'd be a terrific AKCA member.



The seminar featured an awards banquet, to honor the judges and KHAs and to have fun. A raffle and live auction helped the AKCA raise money for future shows, the host clubs and Project KHV, which fights to keep this deadly disease at bay. Among the more popular items: A pair of Maricopa-County-issue pink boxers, autographed by the sheriff himself, Joe Arpaio, who made them famous. Although a burden to most who wear them, they evoked cheers from the banquet audience and gave levity to the KHV cause.

Slow and Steady

Today is World Turtle Day, which celebrates the slow, shelled, long-lived residents around many ponds. While water gardeners and koi keepers are already helping out these animals by providing a water source, there are even more ways to lend a turtle a hand.

The Humane Society has created a list of 12 Things To Do For Turtles And Tortoises. You don't have to be a complete animal activist to show your support. My favorite option is No. 6:

Give Them a Brake. If you see a turtle or tortoise crossing a road, gently pick him up and carry him across in the direction he was headed. (Be watchful for cars in the process.) If the turtle is a large one, or a snapping turtle, use a stick to nudge him gently across the road without getting too close.

So go on, celebrate and give a turtle a nudge today.

I Know What You'll Do This Summer

Mid-May means summer's nearly here. You'll likely spend lots of time around your well-planted and pond-filled back yard, but when you feel the need to break out and socialize, why not try a pond tour.

Pondsmagazine.com offers an updated calendar with pond tours and shows across the country. Tours have already started. This weekend you can see water gardens in Texas, Iowa, Florida and Georgia to name a few places. Check one out this summer, or even sooner. No reason not to start that summer vacation early.

Bless The Beasts

As we've reported before, here and in the 2007 issue of Ponds USA, the National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Wildlife Habitat program has prompted people to create miniature nature refuges for the past 25 years. This week, they're offering even more incentive than the reward of helping nature. If you certify your yard by May 16, you'll recieve a gift card and a copy of The Gardener's Guide to Global Warming.

All you need to lure birds, butterflies and various creatures is food, shelter, places to raise young and a source of water. Ponders have that last one locked in. You're probably halfway to helping wildlife thrive. Check out the NWF's site for more details.

"He who knows the most, he who knows what sweets and virtues are in the ground, the waters, the plants, the heavens, and how to come at these enchantments, is the rich and royal man. Only as far as the masters of the world have called in nature to their aid, can they reach the height of magnificence." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Fight My Liar

We wanted to show everyone the beautiful new hybrid N. 'Foxfire' in the summer issue of Ponds Magazine, but we let you down. We showed another blue lily that many, including some serious pond keepers, thought it was 'Foxfire.' Once you see the real deal, with varied petal colors and a saturated blue hue, it's easy to tell why no other flower should be confused with it.

May Day

It's national Be Kind To Animals month, and we can't forget about the animals that dwell pondside.

Koi owners know that their charges are distinct pet members of the family, but non-pond people might not think of them as important household figures. Once you learn the characteristics of that kohaku that swims directly to you the moment you approach the pond, you realize how valid their pet status is. On the sadder end, if one day you walk to the pond edge to find that the same kohaku has been snatched by a predator, the loss you feel is devastating.

True, we can't be cruel to the predators. They're following their biological imperative. But we can't let koi (and ourselves) fall victim to this misfortune. Be kind to animals this month by protecting your koi with predator deterrents. You can choose from a variety of methods, and forums like KoiShack.com and KoiPhen.com can help you out.

Bowl Of Confusion

The term horticide is not in any dictionary I’ve found, but it should be. If it were, you might find a picture of the sad plant that once lived in a tin can that sits on my desk. That’s because I’m a recovering horticidal maniac.

Things have gotten better (one day at a time!), thanks to self-help and therapy. For example, last year I enrolled in courses at Saddleback College to get my green thumb back in shape, and took a fantastic class on native California plants. I highly recommend it.

I also continue to brush up on my skills with the occasional book or field trip. Searching for the latter, I came across the plant classes offered at Paradise Contained in Topanga Canyon.

The class lasted a fun, fast-paced hour, and was as chock full of information as the terra cotta pot on my teacher's table was full of plants. I was iffy on the specifics of container gardening, but was pointed in the right direction soon. Now I can't wait to redeem myself with a thriving water garden bowl or well-planted strawberry pot.

Photo by Liz Arteaga