The Joys and Pleasures of Mucking About
It is spring, and I am so very glad about it. Welcome spring, I am glad you are back. Spring in the garden is pure paradise, and it seems wrong to not get your hands dirty. As a pond owner I can get more than my hands dirty, I can experience the joys of being really dirty all over. In fact I am reveling in the joys and pleasures of mucking about.
Muck is an interesting word. It can be: a moist sticky substance especially of mud and filth; moist farmyard dung or manure; dark fertile soil with decaying vegetable matter; something filthy and disgusting; material excavated in mining, or a pile of discarded cards. In British slang, "mucking about" means to spend time idly, or to putter around. I just love that phrase, "mucking about". Well, I am going to suggest you indulge in the delights of mucking about, while you go mucking out...if you are a pond owner that is.
I am a major proponent of pond ownership. There is nothing in the garden that lends a sense of peace and tranquility more than a pond. The sound of water, the sight of languid and peaceful depths, the leisurely drifting by of brightly colored fish , and the incomparable beauty of lilies, lotus, and iris have been inspiring artists, philosophers, and poets for centuries. I am such a pond and water feature protagonist, I can not even imagine a garden without one.
In the United Kingdom, no self respecting lord of the manor would even consider ownership of a grand manor house, or even a country home without a pond on the property. It lends such a sense of bucolic idyll, of "sheep lying beside still waters." The only thing better than a pond, would be a pond with fish in it. One of my favorite English theologians was Dr. John Stott. I admired him for his deep faith, his brilliant mind, and his broad and deep knowledge of theology. When I was in seminary, it was an unforgettable and much treasured honor to meet him. While we both loved theology, our conversation turned to gardening and ponds; another mutual love. One of his sweetest pass times was the arduous, but awe inspiring work of mucking out his ponds. He said he loved being in the pond more than virtually anywhere else. He could easily afforded to pay someone to do this wet and dirty job, but he chose to do it himself, for the sheer pleasure of it.
I spent my Saturday mucking about by mucking out in a pond that my brother and I designed, installed, and even yet maintain at Village Walk in Eastlake. It is a unique project; a multi-level koi pond in a shopping center; not something you see every day. The pond is ringed by small restaurants, and is a huge hit with families. It really is a pleasure to see families stop to watch and feed the fish. For the most part, ponds are trouble free, and are really a very low maintenance item. But occasionally, usually once or twice a year, there is no substitute for putting on the waders and entering the pond to get really good and dirty. Spring is the time to clean rocks, divide and thin plants, and clean out the filters.
March is the month to divide water lilies, irises, and grasses. Really all aquatic plants need to be dealt with now. If you have had lilies that looked great in the past, but no longer bloom, it is time to divide, re-pot and feed. Grasses and irises can become huge. and seriously in need of thinning and re-potting. If you have friends with ponds, you will have an unimaginable amount of plants to share. Your lilies can bloom abundantly within two months of a proper treatment. If you don't give away extras, you will have a large amount of debris to dispose of. You will also be wetter and dirtier than you ever thought possible. But that's alright, it is part of the pleasure of mucking about.
If this sounds beyond your skill level or desires, I would be happy to muck out your pond, and tend the plants for you. Call John at 858-414-8059.
Muck is an interesting word. It can be: a moist sticky substance especially of mud and filth; moist farmyard dung or manure; dark fertile soil with decaying vegetable matter; something filthy and disgusting; material excavated in mining, or a pile of discarded cards. In British slang, "mucking about" means to spend time idly, or to putter around. I just love that phrase, "mucking about". Well, I am going to suggest you indulge in the delights of mucking about, while you go mucking out...if you are a pond owner that is.
I am a major proponent of pond ownership. There is nothing in the garden that lends a sense of peace and tranquility more than a pond. The sound of water, the sight of languid and peaceful depths, the leisurely drifting by of brightly colored fish , and the incomparable beauty of lilies, lotus, and iris have been inspiring artists, philosophers, and poets for centuries. I am such a pond and water feature protagonist, I can not even imagine a garden without one.
In the United Kingdom, no self respecting lord of the manor would even consider ownership of a grand manor house, or even a country home without a pond on the property. It lends such a sense of bucolic idyll, of "sheep lying beside still waters." The only thing better than a pond, would be a pond with fish in it. One of my favorite English theologians was Dr. John Stott. I admired him for his deep faith, his brilliant mind, and his broad and deep knowledge of theology. When I was in seminary, it was an unforgettable and much treasured honor to meet him. While we both loved theology, our conversation turned to gardening and ponds; another mutual love. One of his sweetest pass times was the arduous, but awe inspiring work of mucking out his ponds. He said he loved being in the pond more than virtually anywhere else. He could easily afforded to pay someone to do this wet and dirty job, but he chose to do it himself, for the sheer pleasure of it.
I spent my Saturday mucking about by mucking out in a pond that my brother and I designed, installed, and even yet maintain at Village Walk in Eastlake. It is a unique project; a multi-level koi pond in a shopping center; not something you see every day. The pond is ringed by small restaurants, and is a huge hit with families. It really is a pleasure to see families stop to watch and feed the fish. For the most part, ponds are trouble free, and are really a very low maintenance item. But occasionally, usually once or twice a year, there is no substitute for putting on the waders and entering the pond to get really good and dirty. Spring is the time to clean rocks, divide and thin plants, and clean out the filters.
March is the month to divide water lilies, irises, and grasses. Really all aquatic plants need to be dealt with now. If you have had lilies that looked great in the past, but no longer bloom, it is time to divide, re-pot and feed. Grasses and irises can become huge. and seriously in need of thinning and re-potting. If you have friends with ponds, you will have an unimaginable amount of plants to share. Your lilies can bloom abundantly within two months of a proper treatment. If you don't give away extras, you will have a large amount of debris to dispose of. You will also be wetter and dirtier than you ever thought possible. But that's alright, it is part of the pleasure of mucking about.
If this sounds beyond your skill level or desires, I would be happy to muck out your pond, and tend the plants for you. Call John at 858-414-8059.
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