Our backyard gets the most sun in the winter so I expected most of the frost to be gone, but was surprised to see half of the pond still covered in a layer of ice.
I'm so glad I got the pond cleaned out recently. The water is so cold now it hurts my hands when I reached into the water. Once it's Fall I quit topping the pond off with water so part of the ugly liner shows now. One thing I wish we would've taken more time with in installing the pond was making sure the liner was put in better.
The fish are all at the bottom of the pond, but still swimming around. They look so vibrant "under ice".
The Water Hawthorn (Aponogeton distachyos) blooms are sitting above the ice.
I love this fern that grows by the pond. I can never remember what it's called. It stays evergreen and the new growth has an almost "furry" texture. If anyone knows I'd love to find out.
A frosty closeup of the same fern.
Geranium 'Wargrave Pink' finally gave up blooming this week but still looks pretty with a little frosting.
Heuchera 'Harvest Lemon Chiffon' has really nice yellow foliage. It takes part sun and I'm a little concerned it's going to get too much sun where it is now. Guess today isn't the day to move it :)We are having record lows here in the Seattle area right now. Highs in the mid 30's and low's in the lower 20's. I don't think the frozen pond will be thawing out anytime soon.
Hi Catherine~~ I have to laugh at the irony: I just posted a comment on your previous post about how lovely your pond looks in the photo at the bottom of your page. And that I like living in the past. LOL And here you are, trying to get me to live in the present with your frozen pond. How dare you? LOL I need to get out and check mine. I haven't cleaned my outer pond and it is literally overflowing with leaves.... It will warm up in a few days, I silently chant to myself. Soon, soon. But I agree, the frost is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness Catherine, your pictures are absolutely beautiful. I love the one with the fish, and the ice is so beautiful. You've made me reconsider adding a pond. :) Rebecca
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are pretty Catherine. I love seeing the goldfish swimming beneath the ice. All the plants look unique with their frosty icing; love that fern! We even had a few snow flurries in GA today. Looks like good weather for all of us to have hot chocolate!
ReplyDeleteYou are having Colorado weather now Catherine! We've been experiencing some frigid air too and I, for one, haven't been enjoying it! Oh well, there's a season for everything, right? At least you braved the cold to take some pretty photos. I saw some of your water plants clipped off by the pond ~ what will you do with them? Sink them to the bottom of the pond or store them somewhere else? Someone told me to put mine in the middle of the pond so that's what I did. I hope it works!
ReplyDeleteLovely..I looove those ferns..such beauty..and the frosty geraniums foliage..so pretty! I think it looks quite magical indeed!Wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos! For what it's worth, I have heucheras in full sun in Atlanta in the winter, and they do just fine! They need to go back to their shade homes in summer, though.
ReplyDeleteWow, I was so shocked to see fish swimming - they are tough! Now that I think about it, it's not so surprising - great pictures as always. Very cold and frosty here too. Looks like you spent hours putting powdered sugar on the pretty leaves! ;~} Cheers, Bonnie
ReplyDeleteSuch a fabulous picture of the ice on the pond with the fish. I just can't imagine this .... it never gets this cold where I am.
ReplyDeleteIt looks so beautiful and magical to me :-)
Congrats on the win!! Love the frost and ice photos...it is very cold here too!! No frost or ice though, too windy.
ReplyDeletelovely photos - nice pond. I love yr frosty leaves too.
ReplyDeletePoor plants but don't they look pretty all frosty.
ReplyDeleteWonder what the fish see trying to look through the ice. Do you have to put a heater in it in the winter to keep the ice off to feed the fish?
Have a great weekend
I like the frosty fern pictures, love all the ice crystals on all the leaflets.
ReplyDeleteHope the fish do well through the winter.
Ouch! The thought of that cold water hurt my hands too, but the pond does look brilliant. Everything is startlingly colorful. Love that fern, would like to know what it is too. We are always looking for evergreen ferns, and anthing else! Good deal on the basketball win! :-)
ReplyDeleteFrances
The color of the fish is especially vivid under the ice. I love your pictures of the frost on the plants. Really beautiful. Heuchera cultivars have such wonderful names.
ReplyDeletetrade ya...we got a foot of snow today!!! that water looks COLD!!!
ReplyDeleteCool picture of the fish under ice!
ReplyDeleteThe liner of my pond bugs me, too, but your pond looks great :)
Congrats on the game!!
They are all beautiful shots. It is such a change from summer but it is necessary to get to spring. Your pond stays open around your pump so the oxygen levels stays food for your fish. I don't know how cold it would have to get to shut a pump down but we do get to 13 below here at times.
ReplyDeleteI'd love a pond like that, but if I had one the fish would have to come inside for the winter. If they didn't, they'd be fishsicles.
ReplyDeleteI love the frosting on plants look.
My teeth are chattering just looking at your pond. However, I love the photos of the frosted geraniums. That makes the cold temperatures worth it.
ReplyDeleteOooh, I just LOVE frosted foliage pictures. Yours are awesome! I should get up early and take some here. I'm sure today we had this and will tomorrow as well. Your pond is really nice, Catherine!
ReplyDeleteAnd yay for Sweet Pea and her team! :-)
I love your wintry photos. There is beauty in nature through all phases of the seasons.
ReplyDeleteLarry has 2 fish in a whiskey barrel pond on our deck. He had to put his bird bath heater in it for the winter today.
Brrrr Too cold, too early.
ReplyDeleteWe're having one of the mildest starts to winter for years over here. I wish it would last but I doubt it.
Congratulations on.... winning basketball!!
ReplyDeleteNo, joke! Lots of WOW! for your photos, as always shines, the plants with frost!
The Heuchera, are now hopelessly in love with this species, is fantastic but the fern is awesome!
If you want to identify the link I give you a beautiful nursery known in English in September to "Murabilia" during a gardening meeting in Lucca:
http://www.pbase.com/rickscustomnursery/ferns
A hug! It continues to amaze us!
Good Sunday! Tiziana
So winter has arrived. We still have high teperatures (about 45 degrees) and have only had one single night visited by Mr. Frost. Your pond always looks great to me. I can hardly wait until we get our own. That fern, could it be Dryopteris erythrosora purhaps? I have a couple of those but they are still kind of small and haven't really shown there good side yeat. But they are evergreen and reminds of yours.
ReplyDeleteHey Catherine! Cold or not, your pond always looks great! But, yeah, glad you got your cleaning chore done. Our first snow yesterday...winter wonderland! Congrats Sweat Pea!!
ReplyDeleteCatherine girl ! What a gorgeous pond you have frozen or not ! It reminded me of our little one in Holland and having the gold fish survive a couple of very cold winters when the ice did freeze .. in fact we had one goldfish lose a swim fin with it frozen to the ice .. BUT ! he survived and lived and just swam ? a little lopsidedly ? We called him lefty ? LOL
ReplyDeleteThe plants do look amazing with their frosty coats on !
Joy : )
Hi Catherine, I was wondering about your fishes in the first pictures... but there they are, alive!! in the other pictures. I don´t have experience with fishes so I thought you had removed them to a warmer place but they look pretty good in a frozen environment... how good.
ReplyDeleteCariños
Maria Cecilia
Your pond looks beautiful with the dark color of the water, the frosted flower and golden fish. We are having frigid cold weather in Nashville; just a taste of what you all have for months at a time. Brr. gail
ReplyDeleteYour I've always been a fan of your pond. Your photography skills are getting cooler. Great shots - all of them.
ReplyDeleteThe question might be stupid, but do you move your fishes indoors or do they survive the cold?
I love the way it looks with the ice over it. And the Heuchera with the frost is beautiful - I went to get frosty pics yesterday and was too late (just couldn't go out any earlier brrrrrrrrrrrr) but hit some bazaars instead. ;-)
ReplyDeleteWoke up to snow today. Yikes! Congratulations on your daughters win! Go Team Go!
Now you captured natures artsy pictures !!!
ReplyDeleteWho needs photoshop !
Great,great shots !
Amazing how pretty your garden looks in December.
Kathleen - I just leave the plants right where they are. The water lilies and Water Hawthorn are in the middle of the pond though.
ReplyDeleteTyziana - Thanks for the link to look up the fern. Grazie!
Gittan - I looked that fern up and it does look very similar, not sure if it's the same though. Thank you for your help!
Chandramouli - I leave the fish outside and they've done fine here. In colder places people do take them in.
we got the frost here too and I actually had to scrape the windows in the morning! haven't done that in a while.... love the way the ice floats on top with the little fish swimming below. cool images.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the frosty fern. It looks very Christmasy somehow. I love the patterns of the ice on your pond as well. **I honestly did not notice your liner until you pointed it out ;0)
ReplyDeleteI have presented you with an award. Please don't feel under any pressure to accept it! See my blog for further details.
ReplyDeletePretty soon you can be ice skating on it.:)
ReplyDeletePonds are a lot of maint but worth it when youu see these results.
R
These photos are fantastic! The plant reaching up from the ice, the frost on the green edges of the others. You are so talented with a camera. I lost my two fish last summer when I had a pond mal-function. I miss them!
ReplyDeleteBrenda
Love the photos! There's an almost abstract quality to the colours and shapes in the ice - really beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds very cold in your area. Here is mild at present - but soggy and wet everywhere. The moss is growing beautifully!
The pond is actually quite inviting with the ice shimmering on the surface. Are the koi okay when it gets that cold? For some reason I had it in my head they can't handle really cold temperatures.
ReplyDeleteBrrrrr - liked the photo of the fish swimming merrily away under the ice :)
ReplyDeleteNice icy pics Catherine! I don't know the name of the fern but I would love to have one like it. How pretty it is!
ReplyDeleteI am coveting that fern. If you learn the name of it, will you please share?
ReplyDeleteI love the pond, but it is a lot of work. I don't think there was ever a pond liner laid that the owner was satisfied with later on.
Great post, Catherine.
Too bad fish can't use ice skates! lol
ReplyDelete