I am presently looking after this pond for a client who lives in Canada . She is on the island 2-3 times a year and comes in by private jet. The architect who designed the house, wanted a modern spatial look for the pond to correspond with the house. Well she instructed that only one water lily was required. The person who was looking after the pond at that time bought the water lily from me and installed it.
Several months later I got a call from the house manager requesting that I come to meet the owner of the house to discuss the pond. When I arrived there I looked for the lone water lily. It was near death due to lack of care and I almost cried. The owner a very pleasant lady who is a film director by profession, was very concerned about the state of the pond. She said that she wanted more plant coverage to stop the water from going green.
I realized that she had Koi in the pond. I told her that normally water lilies and Koi don't go together because they are natural vegetarians and one day will revert to eating the plants that are in the pond. I explained that by placing large flat stones around the plant base will help them from being uprooted, but I cannot stop them from eating the leaves. I suggested that if the Koi are fed regularly that will help.
She told me to put as many plants that will be needed and she will take the chance with the Koi. I was also concerned about the amount of sunlight the pond got during the day with the shadows that were cast by the overhead roof and building. I placed the lilies that needed the least amount of sunlight in the shaded areas (minimum of 3 hrs) whilst the ones that needed the most amount of light (between 4-6hrs) in the open areas.
A total of 10 water lilies were installed. So far it has been nearly 8 months and just a few leaves have been nibbled on. One day the same architect stopped by and exclaimed how beautiful the pond looked with all the water lilies in bloom. Remember this was the same person who was insisting on a minimalist look ....ha! Take that madam! Minimalist my big fat .....toe!
