The Day blooming tropicals will be arriving late May. We are excited about the new releases for this year-Ultra Violet, Blue Aster, Bull's Eye and Charlie's Pride.

They have two tropical varieties that are listed as small tropicals, Which would be great for the smaller pond- Margaret Mary and Dauben.

The Night blooming tropicals become available late May into the first week of June. They are available in white, red, and pink.

The Night bloomers will take from full shade to full sun. Making them ideal for the full shade garden where no other lilies will bloom.  In 2009, we had two tropicals in Pond#4 which is a 3/4 full shade and they preformed wonderfully.

Night bloomers will open at night and stay open until mid-afternoon, while in the sun garden they will close around 10am.

The truly amazing part is that these beauties were so prefect in the beginning of time that there was little for time to improve on. Ancient lilies show all the basic characteristics of the modern day tropical lily.

The tropical lilies are noted for their large round shiny leaves that always have crinkled or serrated edges that float on the water's surface. Their leaves can be green or maroon and some have wonderfully colorful green mottled with darker shades of maroons or purples. Some of them are so dramatic that  you will want to buy them for the leaves rather than the flowers. Some of the leaves measure up to 16" or more.

The tropical lily blooms are held high above the water's surface and some of the blooms can measure up to 8-10" in diameter. These blooms definitely stand out and are noticed.

Because of these wonderfully unique plants, we decided to hold a contest this year to see just how big these plants really get.

It will divided into two categories: largest tropical lily pad and the largest tropical bloom. (Purchased from Swan's). Just submit an 8x10 picture of the lily pad or bloom along with a readable tape measure-the name of the lily- date of the picture and submit with your complete name,  address, and phone number.  Must be submitted by 9/31/10.

Every Spring is signaled in by the loud croaking, courting of the toads and frogs. The toads usually take their turn and just about when you think you will have peace and quiet, the frogs will start in with their turn courting.

When the quiet does come you will see the long strings of the toad eggs and masses of the frog eggs. The first time you see all the tadpoles you will think you have been taken over by the plaque.

Don't be afraid because Mother Nature has everything under control. The natural selection of things of life along with your fish eating many of the tadpoles results in actually very few making it to adulthood and even some of them will simply hop away.

You can assist by not feeding your fish during this time which would encourage them to include the tadpoles in their diet.

Many were chosen to help you decorate and naturalize the edges of your water gardens.

There is a wonderful selection of Hostas, Ferns, Goat's Beard, Bleeding Hearts, Brunnea, several colors of Astibles, Jacob's Ladder and many more for the shade.

You'll find several varieties of the coneflowers and Daisy, along with Sea Holly, Prairie Dropseed, Veronicas, and more for the sun gardens.

The seeds from Seeds of Change are all certified Organic Seeds. We have used seeds from this com,pany before when we had a large one acre garden in Iowa when we lived on the farm.  Their seeds always did great! We have these seed packets for sale and we are also planting their seeds in our gardens so you can actually see them grow. Some of these varieties have been started in peat pots are also available for your convenience and are ready for planting.

The "Whirlybirds' of the Maples and the fuzzy seed pods of the Oaks always create a mess of our beautiful landscapes and ponds.

This is the part of Spring we would love to miss but luckily there are leaf nets to keep some of the whirlybirds out of our ponds.

But if you really observe what takes place it is rather fascinating how Mother Nature handles everything. We had an extra cold winter and it told Mother Nature that she needed to increase seed production. The seed pods came on quickly and just as they were drying we had some very windy days thus shaking off the pods and spreading them as far as possible.

Once most of the seeds were off the trees, it poured sown rain thus watering the seeds to set in place and give the seeds the ability to sprout. It is a pain for us but the timing of Mother Nature to propagate her plants is right on!

And so it is In the Spring with string algae blooms.

It was a hard winter and the cold waters didn't allow any products to help control the string algae so Mother Nature took over with huge algae bloom to clean our ponds for us. Thankfully, for our sakes, water temperatures are coming up. Pond Balance is one of the few that will work in cooler water temperatures. But now the summer products for benefical bacteria and combating string algae are starting to work.

Flower of the Month

King Tut Papyrus

The Eagles have landed

The eagles that were above the triple falls for the last couple of years have landed by the new EAGLE MOUNTAIN

Research Center: Open Mon-Fri 9-6 Sat 9-4  20001 Padbury lane Spring Hill, Ks           

 "The very act of planting a seed in the earth has in it to me something beautiful. I always do it with a joy that is largely mixed with awe"   

"A garden is a grand teacher. IT teaches patience and careful watchfullness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all, it teaches entire trust"

Swan's Water Gardens

20001 Padbury Lane Spring Hill, Ks 66083