Water garden calendar, October

This is probably the most important month in the UK for keeping on top of things water garden and gardening wise, so what should be done? It will be getting noticeably colder by the day and leaves will have been falling for some time.

Removing the surface leaves. There are probably some to be dredged up from the bottom.

Dry weather means an earlier fall than normal, therefore for ponds surrounded by trees the leaf nets should come out in September. For those ponds too big to be netted, use a hand net to get as many off the surface as possible. A bit of investigative dredging will give you an indication of whether the day of the big clear out is imminent or not. Of course if the smell (see the Muck and Mystery of Pond Sludge) and the evidence on the dredging is that that day has now arrived then October is probably one of the most opportune times to clear out as long as it stays mild that is.

Check the marginal plant baskets for any adventitious growth poking out the sides and trim them off. Remove dead leaves from the lilies if you can reach them. Just give them a sharp tug.

Removing dead leaves from the lilies.

If you are going to do a big clear out, dont leave it too late, otherwise all the frogs in the bottom of the pool will resent the upheaval and the plants, particularly the oxygenating plants, wont get settled in properly before it gets seriously cold. Also if you contemplate a big clearout, if the water is good, save as much of it as possible, keeping any fish or good beasties in it until the operation is complete.

Small to medium size pools can be netted to prevent the vast bulk of leaves blowing into the water and thus laying the foundations for a biological time bomb and life as you would like in the pool.