OUTDOOR LIVING SPECIAL SECTION : TECH | DROUGHT | ZEN |
“[ ZEN GARDENS ] CAN BE VERY EXTRAVAGANT AND ALL-ENCOMPASSING … OR THEY CAN BE JUST AS SIMPLE AS THAT SAND PATCH WITH A ROCK OR TWO AND THE ABILITY TO WALK IN THERE AND ACTUALLY HANDS-ON COMB THAT SAND TO FIND A SENSE OF SERENITY AND MEDITATION .” — CHRIS PETERSON
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“ living art pieces .” He said homeowners can still choose to incorporate plants , but when doing so they may want to consider a particular type of pond .
“ More natural-style ponds with boulders and rocks and streams , those are more conducive … to plants ,” Zuccolotto says .
Vegetation that does well in these types of environments are water varieties of lilies , hyacinths , cannas , bog plants ( also called marginal plants ) and papyrus . In order to care for the fish and plants properly , Zuccolotto recommends placing the pond somewhere that gets at least six hours of sun a day .
Another imperative part of any koi pond is how the water is filtered . Laguna Koi Ponds designs biological filtration systems , which create a nitrogen cycle that turns the fish waste into clear water that filters back into the pond through a moving water element like a waterfall .
As for the fish themselves , Zuccolotto explains that koi are schooling fish , so they like being close together and don ’ t mind crowded conditions — as long as they ’ re in
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properly filtered water .
“ Raising koi fish is kind of like people : You are what you eat and the environment you live in ,” Zuccolotto says . “… Koi fish can live up to 100 years if they ’ re kept in the right environment .”
Peterson also urges homeowners who decide to maintain any type of fish pond to install netting as a means of protection from hungry birds as this region is right on the Pacific Flyway , an avian migration path .
CREATING A ZEN SPACE After homeowners decide what type of Zen garden and natural elements they want , the next step is designing their space .
Placement of the garden is imperative , and Peterson says that “ a northeastern exposure would probably be the most successful ,” or homeowners can create shade by planting trees like wisteria . This is necessary because most of the plants that will thrive in a Zen garden need to be shaded from the sun .
Additionally , this is something to keep in mind if one does want to include a koi
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