Some of you further north of us, are already getting some chilly nights.  The leaves on your trees are already showing the colors of fall. Here, in Ohio things are just beginning to change. In the past week, I've noticed a few splotches of color. Before the leaves begin to fall, cover your pond with one of our pond covers. The goal is to try and keep the pond as clean as possible for the winter months. Leaves will sink to the bottom of the pond and rot, causing excess carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. After the first frost, take out any floating plants, as these will begin to decay. Trim back hardy lilies and place below the freeze line. Trim foliage back on your hardy bog plants. Not all bog plants need to be submerged, some will be fine where they are. Check out each plants individual needs to ensure they re-appear in the spring for you.

Get your pond cover, de-icers here.

As any gardener knows, after the planting is finished there is  always work to be done in the garden.  I recently had some little white bugs on my Spider Lily and  thought I would share my remedy for this.

There are alot of products on the market for killing aphids that sometimes find our plants in the water garden.  I use a mixture of soap and water  to spray mine which seems to work for me rather than purchasing a product on the market.  This is natural and won't harm your plants, fish or water.

1 Tbl liquid dish soap and 1 cup oil.  Mix this together and then take 1 tsp of this mixture and add it to 1 qt of water and put it into a spray bottle.  You don't want to do this during the hot sunny day but during the evening or early morning when its cooler.   Its never a good idea to treat any plant during the heat of the day.