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	Gail the Pond Plant Girl Buy Pond Plants from the Pond Plant Girl. ▪ water lily ▪ lily-like pond plants ▪ floating & oxygenating plants ▪ water fountains ▪ floating islands ▪ water filters		Purchase Pond Plants Available Now! Receive the Pond Plant Girl guarantee! ▪ water lily ▪ lily-like pond plants ▪ floating & oxygenating plants ▪ water fountains ▪ floating islands ▪ water filters

Brag Spot:
My biggest accomplishment this year was my water lotus! You can do it too! New webpage coming soon!

Pleasant View Elementary School
Every public school should have a productive garden. This season I am helping the Pleasant View Elementary School in Porterville, California. This is a tiny farming community with a huge heart! The kids are great and have tons of enthusiasm for vegetable gardening in their raised garden boxes and water gardening too. Track my youtube videos as we transform their water garden into a tropical paradise!

You can help too! All donations of funds and plants are tax deductible. GARDEN BLESSINGS!

The Pond Plant Girl Show

Hello Friends! This is Gail the Pond Plant Girl. The Pond Plant Girl is all about having fun and learning how to garden and water garden on a low budget. I have lots of ideas of how you can create a beautiful garden and kill bugs too. It doesn't matter if you are young or old, strong or physically challenged. I've been all of these! Please enjoy my website and FREE Garden Videos too.

Cold Climate Pond Plants New!
What kind of plant grow in cold climates? What kind of greenhouse should I build? How do I heat a greenhouse?
There are over 60 plants that you can grow even if you live in Nebraska or New York. Read about the pond plants that you can grow in a cold climate including pond plant pictures. Learn what kind of greenhouse to build and how to winter over your plants!

Growing in Subfreezing Temperatures
You can grow a water garden even if your climate zone experiences subfreezing winter temperatures; such as 10�-20� Fahrenheit, zones 3-7. The growing season can be short and in some areas is only 2-3 months out of each year. <<Read More>>

Potting and Transplanting Water Lily

Hardy water lily can grow in both very hot climates and in very cold climates too.

Select a sunny location in water that is at least 18 inches deep.
In water 2-3 feet deep or more, lilies will grow until their lily pads read the water surface.
ALL Lilies purchased from The Pond Plant Girl are "pond ready". They are fertilized and ready to simply drop in the pond. Your water lily will be very large and will need to be repotted into a larger container. <<Read More>>

☼ ALSO SEE: Water Lily and Water Lotus Care

Maintain a Crystal Clear Pond

Keeping a pond clear and clean is a challenge, especially if you keep koi in the pond. Barley straw is one solution to control algae. Barley straw comes wrapped in a net and is placed in the part of the pond where there is moving water. Although effective, it is not the most attractive. Join me in my video as I speak to the Bakersfield Koi and Water Garden Society in Southern California. We talk about the benefits of pond plants as a natural solution to controlling algae and maintaining a crystal clear pond!

Some plants covered were: water hyacinth and water lettuce. For more information about keeping your pond clear, please see my blog at: www.pondplantgirl.blogspot.com

Springtime and Summer Means SNAILS!
Get them before they get you!

More than a snail-trail: Oftentimes you will not spot a snail trail. Snails will also leave blobs of egg sacks in the soil. I call them aliens. Check your garden every morning and flick them out! Eggs hatch in 2 to 4 weeks, and snails can live up to 2 years!

Penny per Pick: If you are like me, you hate to touch those slimy things. Why not pay a neighbor child a penny per snail to pick them out? If you know anyone with chickens the birds will love them too.

Save Your Light Bulbs: Crush up your light bulbs and sprinkle them under and around your plants. The sharp edges will cut into the snails' underbelly and they will slime the other way. Crushed egg shells and wood ashes work too.

Beer or No Beer? Beer is often a remedy to attract and rid snails, but if you have animals, they will also enjoy the stuff. When you can, sprinkle salt around your patio garden to keep the snails away. In the garden you can sprinkle pet safe snail pellets. The cost is about $5 per pound. "Sluggo" brand snail bate is the best.

Vinegar Mist: Give the slimy critters vinegar shower (1 part vinegar to 1 part water). This is helpful when snails are wedged into small spaces; such as the crevices of the artichoke plant.

[Your browser doesn't support IFrames. <a href="http://www.arborday.org/TreeInfo/ZoneLookup.cfm" target="_blank">Click here</a> to look up your arborday.org hardiness zone.]

What is Your Growing Zone???

This is an easy way to find out your growing zone. Remember... plants that are zoned for a cold climate (such as zone 7) can also grow in hot climates (such as zone 9) But, plants that grow in hot climates will not grow well in colder climates!

Australian Banana Tree
23" tall > > ONLY 2 AVAILABLE! < <

African Water Lettuce Z9 Native to South Africa. Prolific - Grows to 12" diameter. Prolific in warm weather. Makes excellent mulch. Good for spawning fish. Oxygenates and Clarifies the water.

3 African Water Lettuce $5.95, Shipping weight = 1.5 pounds.

BEGINNING POND PLANTS

Q: I'm looking into starting a water garden and I came across your site. Water gardening seems easy but there is still very little info out there on it. As a beginner what are some very common water plants that I can find anywhere, (Home Depot, Lowes)? If the name of the plant has the word "water" in it, is it safe to assume it's a water plant?

Peter, Abundantwe.com

A: Just as there are several different kinds of gardens and climate conditions, there are several different kinds of ponds. Pond can range from little to no plants (such as a large koi pond or swimming hole) to a small container the size of a large bowl or wine barrel. It is tempting to run out to the hardware store and buy all the pond supplies and plants and throw it all together, but this is not necessary and is also very costly. As an experienced water gardener, I have found that pond plants sold at the hardware store are not the healthiest out there.

Things to consider... Here are some simple instructions about how to get started... (click here to read more)


Q: Can I grow water hyacinth indoors? A: Yes you can. Keep your hyacinth inside a glass aquarium and place in a sunny window. This is also possible with water lettuce! Q: Are pond plants eatable? A: There are some pond plants that are eatable; such as water lettuce, pennywort, wild rice, water chestnut, and cattail tubers. Water hyacinth can be eatable, but it has a bitter taste. Q: How can I keep my water lily through the winter time? A: There are two kinds of water lily: tropical and hardy. All produce beautiful flowers. If you are worried about plant survival in winter, you may also winter their root-like tuber indoors. This is necessary for tropicals if you live in an area with freezing temps. Hardy water lily can be kept in the pond year-round!
	Greenhouse Varieties Keeping your plants healthy during the winter can be a challenge. There are several different kinds of greenhouses that you can make. However, your type of environment needs to be taken into consideration. Mild Climates: For mild climates that rarely receives any frost, simply covering your plants with a tarp or sheet, or using a soda bottle to cover small plants is all that you might need. Near Freezing Climates: This is the climate I live in. The temps rarely dip below freezing, but young plants need extra shelter. For this climate I use a simple hoop house. This is the greenhouse that I have in many of my videos. Severe Weather: Severe Weather Climates experience sub freezing temperatures and a lot of winter snow. Gardening in Alaska will help you not only design a sturdy greenhouse, but will also help you to build a vegetable waste oil heater to heat the greenhouse too.

Email: gail@pondplantgirl.com	Build a Greenhouse for Under $25	PPG's Myspace	Buy Plants Direct!	PPG on Instructables.com
☺ Contact Info	The Attached Solar Greenhouse	My Greenhouse	Heating the Greenhouse	Build a Mini Greenhouse