New backyard Beds

[Tony]

Your yard looks GREAT!!!

What made you switch the cacti for more succulents? That pachy is super cool!!


Mark

Thanks, Mark.
I replaced many of the cactus because I have a small yard and we are considering getting a dog. We want my son and his friends or anyone else for that matter, to be able to play with said dog and not have to worry about someone getting poked or falling on one.
Also, as you already know, It is very difficult and time consuming to clean leaf litter and weeds up around cacti and I have more than enough cactus in pots to keep me happy.

[oldcat61]

Tony - here's a shot of some of our koi. We're in the woods & the pond is almost 4 ft deep, so we don't seem to have predator problems. The big ones have been here over 20 years. Sue

[Tony]

Super cool!
Do you need to use some sort of heater to keep the pool from freezing solid in the dead of winter?

[oldcat61]

The pond is 12' by 17' & we put up a conduit frame-work around Halloween & cover it with 6ml clear plastic. The filter/UV are in an insulated box with a baby chick lamp. Pond temp drops to the mid 40s in the coldest weather we've had, but no ice. The fish nibble on the liner algae & in warm spells I give them cooked barley. We don't usually have bad winters but a couple years ago we had more snow than parts of Alaska. Next year, 2 inches. We often have one nasty cold snap down to 0, which ruins everything & then it gets nice again. Out here in the woods, it's about 8 degrees colder than the nearby town. Covering the whole pond is a PITA but the fish are healthy & the plants are ready to really take off come spring. Sue

[Mark]

Ah okay makes sense. That's true, if I could plant succulents out here, I would probably have more of those also!

Mark