Sunday 1 June 2014

Water Plant Collecting



    My friend Dave Milne has built a small pool, as part of a water feature in his yard.  He has been after me to bring him a waterlily from my pond, and since it was such a nice day yesterday, I decided to get my feet into the muck and do it.
    Luckily I found some bog arums floating within reach of the shore, so I easily grabbed a couple of them which I put into a bucket of water.  I actually had to wade into the water to get a waterlily, since they grew further out from the bank, but fortunately, I found one smaller plant which was growing in shallow water near the shoreline.
    When I stepped into the water, I was surprised how mucky and soft the bottom was, all full of soft mud and decaying plant material.  Immediately the crystal clear water clouded as I stirred up mud from the bottom.  I reached down with my hands, feeling my way through the cold muck underneath the lily to make sure that I got enough of the plant so it would survive.  Of course, that muddy pond smell stuck with me even after I got back out of the water.
    This activity (and smell) brought back a lot of memories for me.  When I first had my pond built, which I did to provide habitat for wildlife, I was eager to get a lot of native water plants established in it.  I visited a lot of local lakes and waded out into the water to collect aquatic plants, bring them home, then wade out into my pond to plant them.  I am pleased at how well they have adapted and multiplied in my pond.
    I put the waterlily into the bucket with the bog arum, and last night we drove the plants over to Milne’s.  I hope they will like their new home and thrive.




See my paintings:  www.davidmarchant.ca

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