Fall is in full swing and we have lots of great information to share with you in this newsletter! We are now operating on Fall Hours: Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday from 10am to 5pm!
Fall is here and our end-of-season sale is still going on! We have a buy 3 get 1 FREE sale on all plants, and this applies to terrestrial and aquatic plants. We are also having a sale on our fish over $100, where when you purchase 3 you get 1 FREE! 
HOURS OF OPERATION NOTICE
We are now operating on Fall Hours
Open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday from 10 AM to 5 PM
Closed Tuesday-Thursday, except by appointment only
Water Feature Installation – Edmonds
These Edmonds customers recently had their back garden landscaped and wanted to add a water feature. We installed a tall faux basalt column water feature with water running out of all three columns.
Water Feature Installation – Woodinville
These are repeat customers in Woodinville. First we built them a Koi pond. Then we came back and installed a pondless waterfall/stream in their front garden. After a recent addition of an outdoor kitchen and a new walkway they had a perfect spot for a small bubbling column water feature. Rick also designed and the crew installed the landscaping around the new outdoor kitchen. A beautiful mix of purples, silver and black to compliment the white and dove gray house.
Featured Koi of the Month: Tancho
Tanchos are non-metallic, white koi. The Hi (red) marking on the head is what distinguishes this gorgeous fish. The Hi needs to be round and cover the majority of the space between the eyes and nose. The marking should be sharp and a deep red. The other white areas must be free of imperfections and markings.
Fish Health
KOI OWNERS: It is super important to know your pond temperature, so we recommend stopping in to get a pond thermometer if you do not already have one. As the water temperature dips below 60 degrees, we want to switch back to a cool-season/wheat germ food (we sell this at the nursery). Continue feeding fish until the water temperature hits 50-55 degrees (typically mid-October).
As the water temperature cools fish cannot digest their food as efficiently. High protein Summer food can actually rot in their gut and cause abscesses. As the water temperature drops below 60 degrees you should switch to a cool-season or Spring/Fall food that has more wheat germ which is easier for your fish to digest. When the temperature drops below 50 you should stop feeding your fish entirely until Spring.
It’s getting to be that time of year again. Taking the necessary steps to prepare your pond for the colder months will make your spring maintenance that much easier.
Plant Material
Remember that lettuce and hyacinth are annuals in the pond and need to be removed before they turn to mush and sink to the bottom. It’s also a good idea to to turn your UV sterilizer off by October 15th. You can do this by unplugging it. The light bulbs in the UV are only good for 365 days. If turned off by winter you can get two springs out of one bulb.
Pond Winterization
When the water temperature reaches 45 degrees, most of the bacteria in your bead filter dies back. It’s then safe to drain and clean the filter.
Prepare Your Bead Filter
As leaves and pine needles begin to fall, it’s also a good idea to go into winter with a clean skimmer. Complete cleaning instructions can be found at Cleaning Your Skimmer.
Netting Your Pond
Read how to winterize your pond here.
Paying attention to these important tasks will ensure that your expensive filter equipment continues to work properly!
Finally, if this all seems like too much work, Falling Water Designs offers Fall Prep as part of our Maintenance Plan. Click here to fill out our service request form so we can schedule your fall maintenance.
Here are this month’s featured plants. We think this selection would look great in your garden right now. Visit our plant database to learn more about aquatic & terrestrial plants. Click on the name of the plants below to learn more about each plant.
Aquatic plants
Juncus ‘Curly Wurly’
Aptly named, this unique rush with glossy green, pencil-thin stems that spiral outward from the clump in all directions. A great deer-resistant accent plant that collectors dare not do without. This low maintenance plant prefers to be sited in a bog or other very moist environment in partial shade. Evergreen in mild winter areas.
Lysimachia nummularia ‘Goldilocks’
Easily grown in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Plants spread by rhizomes and self-seeding in optimum growing conditions to form large colonies. Stems may root where leaf nodes touch the ground. Plants tend to be less invasive if grown in lean, somewhat dry soils, however best performance is in moist fertile soils.
Scirpus tabernaemontani ‘Zebrinus’
For those who love the variegation of Zebra Grass, Scirpus tabernaemontani ‘Zebrinus’ offers that same color combination in a rush to complement the other bog and marsh plants in the water garden. Zebra Rush has tapered tubular stems that are horizontally banded with green and white and grows to 30″. It performs best in wet soils and full sun.
Thalia dealbata
A true aquatic plant, Alligator Flag is native across the Southern states where it is found in wetlands, swamps and bayous. It looks like a Canna, with large upright paddle-shaped leaves which grow from submerged rhizomes. Tall slender stems grow up to 8′ and are topped with clusters of silvery-purple flowers in late summer. Entire plant is dusted with a fine white waxy powder. Thalia is a beautiful specimen plant for large submerged containers, massing along pond’s edge, or in any sizeable water feature. In colder zones, rhizomes submerged in water can survive beneath winter ice. Spreads quickly under ideal conditions, so divide and pass along.
Terrestrial plants
Carex tenuiculmis ‘Cappuccino’
This chocolate colored sedge is an extraordinary complement to any perennial garden. It’s form is gracefully arching, creating an attractive mound. Foliage varies from deep brown to reddish-bronze. Prefers moist, well draining soil.
Geum ‘Sea Breeze’
Geum ‘Sea Breeze’ produces bright orange blooms with tubular petals on wiry, dark stems and float above dense 10″ foliage. It is a vigorous hybrid that prefers rich, moist soil but will grow in average soil.
Hellebore Assorted
Vigorous, well-adapted and beautifully flowered, these Lenten Roses are the most magnificent you will find, a magical tale of nuanced beauty and sublime elegance. Splendid individually, they are transcendent when planted together. Our choices are all vigorous growers and abundant bloomers in rich, alluring colors like deep red-wine, cherry-blossom pink, to soft, creamy lime and pure, snow white. They are undemanding when provided with just a little shade and well-drained soil.
Osmanthus delavayi
A dense shrub whose abundant clusters of small, pure white, sweetly fragrant flowers envelope the plant. A fine informal or neatly sheared shrub for hedges, screens or as a specimen. Plant near walks and entrances to enjoy the fragrance. Evergreen.
Plant Database
Have you checked out our plant database? It contains information about the plants that we sell at the nursery and more!
We have even taken it one step further and have incorporated QR codes into the database to help you save and recall information on the plants you are interested in at home or have bought from our nursery. You can bring us the saved plants from this data base to help us locate the ones you want. As well as when you come to Falling Water Gardens you will be able to scan the plant signs to get further information about the plants and flowers.
What is a QR code? In the simplest terms a QR code is a bar code. Most smart phones come equipped with a bar code/QR code reader that will scan the QR code and bring you to the web page of information about our plants. From there you can bookmark the page. If yours does not contain a QR code reader already, you can download one for free through your phone’s app store.
Take a look at some of the featured items we have for you this month! It is officially football season, come get some unique Seahawk themed items. We also are featuring some of our favorite gnomes and some concrete items we just got in!
Our gardens are the perfect backdrop for any occasion, and we would love to be a part of your reason to celebrate. In addition to full-day rates (which include the use of our popular and unique glamping tents), we also offer half-day and hourly rates.
Every event package comes with the same attention to detail, communication, hospitality, and support to help your party be memorable and special.
Our wedding season is over and the glamping tents have come down, but it is not too late to come and take a tour. If you are planning your wedding or event for 2023 we still have dates available!
