Backyard Style - Outdoor, Backyard Pond and Birding

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

National Hummingbird Day - Celebrate and Save!- CLICK HERE!

BackyardStyle announces a 1-week sale:

August 26th to September 3rd to celebrate National Hummingbird Day in the US.
Buy $75 of wild bird supplies (any kind) and save $5.00 on the already discounted prices. (use coupon code: rachels5)
Say YES to supporting National Hummingbird Day with Backyard Style.com

Celebration of Hummingbirds in North America is not just about the beauty of this tiny bird. The Ruby Throated Hummingbird is theorized to play an important role in cross-fertilization of plants and flowers.

As the Ruby Throated Hummingbird searches among flowers for a sip of nectar, it serves as an important pollinator of plants throughout its range.

It is not clear whether some plants may actually be dependent on the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds for cross-fertilization, but there are some that are heavily visited by hummingbirds during prime pollination season. There is on-going study regarding this that still needs to be completed.

Ruby Throated Hummingbirds are also predators; they prey upon myriad tiny insects that serve as the main source of protein in their diets.

Along with nectar and pollen, hummingbirds eat flies, ants, bees, and beetles--all of which are quite small. If a hummingbird is sitting on a perch and repeatedly flies out a short distance and returns to the perch, it is probably "gnat-catching"--even if the human observer is unable to see the miniscule insects it is catching.

Celebrate these wonderful creatures and save at BackyardStyle!

Labels: Hummingbird Feeding

posted by The MBD # 9:59 AM 0 Comments

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Pond Algae 101 (Part II) - The Role of Pond Plants- CLICK HERE!

If your pond is built properly and you've maintained the right balance between plants, fish and scavengers, controlling algae problems isn't difficult as mentioned in our previous article on pond algae.

Algae problems in water gardens are usually the result of excess nutrients in the water. One simple way to control excess nutrients is with aquatic plants. Plants take nitrates from the water, which deprives the algae of the nutrients it needs to live.

Surface plants also provide shade to the pond, further reducing algae.

Water Lilies Work!

The lush, floating leaves of the vibrant lily sweep across the pond's
surface, providing cover for fish and protection from the sun.

To keep lilies healthy and enhance their elegance, submerge them at a depth
of 18 inches and fertilize with LilyGro™
tablets.

Oxygenating Plants

These submerged floating plants provide essential oxygen and act as a natural
biological filter, benefiting the entire pond ecosystem.
One bundle of oxygenators is recommended for every square foot of the pond's surface area. For maximum growth without promoting algae, fertilize oxygenators with FloraFin.

Marginal Plants

These attractive, hardy plants come in a myriad of sizes, shapes and colors. These plants benefit the pond by removing excess nutrients that could otherwise feed algae.

Marginals grow best in shallow waters and should be submerged to a depth of 10 inches.

Labels: Pond Algae, Tetra Pond

posted by The MBD # 5:33 PM 0 Comments

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Pond Algae 101 - Basic Simple Backyard Pond Algae Removal- CLICK HERE!

Plankton, - the pea-soup algae that most pond owners are familiar with is probably the most common type of algae in ponds -both large and small. Plankton is the type of algae that makes the water look green. It causes you not to be able to see your fish as clearly as you may want to.

Getting rid of pea-soup algae is fairly simple if you understand how it got there in the first place.

Plankton requires sunlight and nutrition to grow. The sunlight comes from the sun and the nutrition comes from bi-products from fish waste, dead and decaying leaves, decomposed fish food and plants.

The way to get rid of or reduce the amount of algae in your pond is by reducing the amount of sunlight and nutrients available to the algae. First and foremost is to have the proper size pump and filter. Next, sunlight can be reduced by providing shade to your pond. Pictured above is Pond Water Shade by Jungle Labs which is a chemical sun blocker.

Another simple way to add shade is by adding aquatic plants such as water lilies. Floating plants including water hyacinths can also help. The leaves of these plants help to cover the surface area of your pond and they make your pond look better to boot!

Nutrients can be reduced in a couple of different ways.

Clean your pond - obvious .. but these tips will really make a difference
Get rid of any dead and decaying leaves on the bottom or along the sides of the pond.
Get a pond skimmer so you can suck up leaves and debris before they ever settle and start to decompose.
OR get a pond net (you also can keep out predators such as raccoons, blue herons, cats, etc. with a net)
Make it a practice to clean the debris off the pond every day or so.
Get the leaves out of the bottom of your pond with a pond vacuum.