Current Pond 48° F
Updated: 2.22.25
We’re a few weeks into the “official” spring season, but we’ve been hard at work getting the garden center ready for the busy rush that warmer weather brings. If you’ve visited recently, you’ve seen cleared-out garden beds, fresh new blooms and a flurry of new garden art ready to grace your back patio!
We’re preparing for our biggest weekend of the year: save the date for our Mother’s Day Weekend celebration, and our annual Wedding Open House.
In this newsletter, we’ll take a look at a few of our favorite spring florals, as well as a few important spring-cleaning tasks for your pond if you have one.
We are back on our spring and summer schedule at the nursery, which means that we’re now open DAILY from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.! Take advantage of the longer evening sunlight and visit us after work, or if you need a break for your mid-week lunch hour.
Our fish greenhouse has also reopened now that we’re back to warmer weather. We’ll start getting deliveries of new fish in the next few weeks, but the fish we kept over the winter are ready to go home! We’ve also put out the fish food near the big display ponds, so you can stop by and feed them.
We are also suggesting that fish owners begin feeding their koi and goldfish again, now that the water temperatures have consistently risen above 50 degrees. Koi don’t digest food correctly in colder water and will go into a hibernation-like state throughout the winter, but they’ve become much more active over the last few weeks. If you need spring food, come visit us in the garden center shop!
Can you believe it?! Mother’s Day is next month! Many customers of ours have been returning year after year for our Mother’s Day weekend celebration, which will take place May 10th and 11th here at the garden center.
Come bring mom (or grandma) and take a stroll through the stunning gardens and ponds when the garden center looks its finest! The display gardens and ponds stretch out over several acres, including a pair of footbridges, a meandering garden stream, several waterfalls and ponds teeming with koi. We will also have our annual wedding open house on May 10th in the sunken formal garden.
Moms get a free 4-inch flower on Mother’s Day Weekend, and we will have our beautiful hanging baskets ready to bring home!
Check out our wedding website for more information!
One of our most popular breeds of koi is the kohaku, an excellent koi for beginner pond enthusiasts.
The kohaku is easily recognized by the white skin and red markings – the more balanced markings the better! Red markings across the body are called ‘Hi’ and the radiant white is called ‘Shiroji. These koi should have a thicker section between the body and the tail, known as the caudal peduncle, and a broad upper body.
There are several variations of Kohaku, including the doitsu (partially scaleless) Gin Rin, Maruten and Tancho Kohaku.
1. Here’s the number to remember when it comes to your Koi pond in spring: 50.
Koi don’t mind the cold water – in fact, they thrive in temperatures between 59-77 degrees. But their metabolism reacts to the temperature of the water they live in, and because they don’t have stomach acids they use enzymes to digest food. Koi don’t create those enzymes in water temperatures below 50 degrees.
At 50 degrees, you’ll want to start feeding your fish their cold-water foods. We have an excellent selection of quality fish foods at our gift shop at the nursery.
2. pH Balance & Your Pond
You will want to check the pond’s pH level as part of your pond maintenance. Koi love pH balances between 7 and 8.4.
To test the chemistry of your pond you will want to test for 1. ammonia, 2. pH, 3. water hardness.
Stop by our Nursery and gift shop to purchase your Wide Range pH Test Kit.
3. Healthy bacteria
Around this time of year, we also see an increase of green algae forming in our ponds. This is a normal occurrence, however, we do want to focus on healthy pond environments, and you will want to promote healthy bacteria in your pond.
Leucojum aestivum
Partial shade to full sun; moisture-loving perennial
Summer snowflake brings elegance to wetland gardens and pond edges with its graceful, bell-shaped white flowers that dangle from slender stems. Blooming in mid to late spring, it thrives in damp soil and shallow water, making it a perfect addition to bog gardens and stream banks. Unlike its early-blooming relative, the snowdrop, summer snowflake enjoys a longer growing season before retreating into dormancy. Its delicate yet hardy nature makes it a natural companion for irises and marsh marigolds, filling the transition between spring and summer with charm.
Hippuris vulgaris
Full sun to partial shade; submerged and emergent aquatic
Mare’s tail is a versatile aquatic plant that thrives in shallow water, with its bright green, bottlebrush-like foliage standing tall above the surface while submerged stems oxygenate the water below. It grows vigorously from spring through fall, providing shelter for aquatic life and helping to control algae by competing for nutrients. Unlike many aquatic plants, mare’s tail remains semi-evergreen in mild winters, offering year-round interest. Its upright, feathery growth makes it a striking companion for water lilies and other pond plants.
Aponogeton Distachyos
Partial shade to full sun; lily-like aquatic
The real value in the water hawthorn is its growth cycle. The plan thrives in cool weather and goes completely dormant in the hot summer months. Water hawthorn will show off its small, white vanilla-scented flowers in late winter or early spring, take a rest during summer and then pick up where it left off in the fall and bloom until the pond freezes over. It is a great companion for water lilies since they perform best during warm weather.
Here are a few things we are currently smitten over, as we start to transition to more time outside!
Trellises are a bit hit this time of year, and we have a great collection near our raised lilly pond. These range in style from more modern to a rustic look that’ll fit right in regardless of the design style of your garden space.
We also have a new collection of concrete statues and fountains!
Falling Water Designs is an award-winning Seattle, Washington-based landscape design and pond installation company serving the following areas: Seattle, Bothell, Bellevue, Sammamish, Redmond, Kirkland, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Clyde Hill, Medina, Mercer Island, and more.
