My orchid pond.
 

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This is on its very beginning stages.
Last summer I built a very small pond. Around 250 gallons...
So far the pond been built and filled and that's about it...
I'm building the waterfall soon and stocking it with goldfish..
Anyhow... since I live in SoCal I figured this would be a great chance to grow some orchids outdoors all year long.
So far I've got some cymbidiums that were on sale for $10.
A green one, a light pink one, a pink one, and a yellow one.
I have plans for a light light almost white pink one.. and a white one... cascading would be cool to.
I also plan on having some of the more hardy laelia's around the pond as well...
I'll keep updating this thread as this pond progresses, but for now here's all the cymbidiums.
Also planned around the pond that aren't orchids are some ferns. An evergreen dwarf azalea. A dwarf blueberry or two, and some mini gardenias. Possibly a fuchsia and simmer Christmas cactus as well...
I'm very open to suggestions for types of orchids to try. And improvements on.. well.. everything.
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Love the Orchids-really nice.
I love Ponds-- had one- but up here in Winter we get Frost and my Pond was not deep enough-so all the Goldfish ended up inside in Fish tanks :)

Ooooohhhh, looks great with our pond! Congrats!!!

Looks good! Actually, if you have fish in the pond, then you can just water your plants with the pond water and never need to fertilize.

No need for that here in SoCal!
Unfortunately no fish yet but I plan on stocking it with a few fancy goldfish.

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Thank you!

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Unfortunately our water is death to orchids most of the time...
So RODI water is going to be their main diet.

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I am a landscaper in the l.a. Area and an orchid nut, I have been doing some vertical landscapes with orchids lately(I.e. Mounting on trees). I can build ponds and many other items, if you need some pro help let me know.

Oh no!
Don't look at my crude attempt at a pond!

Actually... because of.....
Well I'll just be straightforward... because of my grandfather I now have a tiny ledge to build some sort of waterfall.
The filtration for the fish is already in the pond so I just need it to be functional and look nice...
As you might guess from the stones, my grandfather wants to make it from locally collected rocks..
I'm at a loss and my zero experience isn't helping.
Any advice?
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all the plants look great :)

Thank you...
The yellow cymbidium opened. I should get a picture of it.
And a trip to Santa Barbara Orchid Estate is being planned.

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Uh oh, I see more orchids for your pond in the future... (Covering laugh)!

As promised.... pictures off the now open yellow one...
Kinda wish it was more pastel...ah well..
So far these things are loving the light there..let's see what it's like once it warms up...
I hope they adapt.


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Oh yes....
Try more orchids for my outside lol.. not just the pond...
Need to remember to get some summer and fall flowering plants..
Lol..


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And here's a shot of the flowers in the sun... just because...


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Beautiful! Wish I could grow them outside year round. I, too, have some bare spots that try would look awesome in.

Too cold?

The yellow one keeps ending up in the pond... poor thing..
I've tried bracing it with rocks.

Got another cymbidium. This one was $15.
It's bright green and yellow and very very fragrant.

Just a tip... Fancy goldfish with bubbly eyes, bug out eyes, bumps on head, ect. have more health problems and don't live as long. Fancy gold fish with long fins are fine though.

My two tosakins, oranda, ranchu, and one ryukin have been alive for 7 years so far.

I think proper breeding makes a huge difference.
I get my goldfish from a guy who picks then up from breeders in Japan.

That's a cute little pond. I wish we had the climate for cyms around ours.

Quality breeding definitely makes a big difference.

I only said that because of what I've heard and out of personal experience. I have some plain goldfish that are at least 15-20 years old. Our fancy ones with bubbly eyes lived 10 years.

It's very good advice. My friend ryukin had already completely lost control over its swim bladder due to bad breeding. So being selective is very important.

My mother has quite a few fancies that just reached 23 years. Also from the same guy.
These are indoor tank goldfish though.
Those tosakins cost me $800... not sticking them outside lol. The others weren't very cheap as well.
He does always get in a large batch of well bred but normal looking goldfish along with the prized ones.

I'm at a loss fish wise.
I'm either going with fancy goldfish of varying kinds. Or with a shubunkin, wakin combo.

I just realised I never uploaded an actual picture of the pond.

Isn't that it, next to the cyms? Great cyms for $10 by the way. We can't get that here.

I meant the whole thing.
Lol... it's pretty crude but we worked with the small available space we had.

They were on super sale for some reason..
Normally I see cyms for $35...
Because they are all in bloom right now the cyms are averaging $20...
I want one more but have no where to put it.. I got alot of cyms now in a tiny space.

LOL, but 10 more wouldn't hurt a thing!!!

Yes, I'd love to see a pic of the whole pond and set up. Crude, shmode... LOL, we are always our own worse critics. I think it's fabulous you've been so creative!

Here it is..
Still in the beginning stages so be nice...
My plan is to cover all the flaws with plants lol. Specifically orchids. The cymbidiums are a lovely winter show but I really want to get in some orchids that will bloom multiple times a year.

Oops. Pictures.

And a better shot of my new cymbidium.
Smells amazing.

That's beautiful!!! Nothing to be ashamed of in the least... Mmmmm, now my wheels are turning thinking about doing that in my yard, lol...

I love cyms. I have 4 but we never get any bright coloured ones here. I would love bright orange or red.
I also love ponds. This is our 3rd and last [retirement] pond. I'm hoping to see the koi get real big this time.

Thank you!
It was relatively cheap.
And it doesn't take up that much space...

Go for it! I would love to see your pond!
This isn't what I had in mind at all but again... space was very limited.

That's a shame.... we get red all the time.. and lots of orange.
Does Santa Barbara Orchid Estate ship to Canada?
I hope you get to see them get real big too! I'd love to see a picture of your pond.

I was expecting an in-ground pond but it looks nice. If I put my orchids outside, the poultry we have and squirrels would get them. Going to take a risk though and get a/some cypripedium(s).

Thank you! I would have preferred an in ground pond but there's literally no where one could have gone.
Well that's not true.. but they would have been in complete deep shade... underneath a messy tree...

And no squirrels...
Or poultry.... or birds... or bees... or butterflies. Or anything really.
The number of wildlife had gone down drastically.

Have fun with your outside orchids!

BEES!!!

We actually have bees..
This is very exciting for me.


But that's not why I'm posting.

I'm posting because my large yellow cym is doing something interesting.
Not sure what causing it. Might just be what it does, but it's very cool.
The lip is turning red/orange.

Here's some shots. The first one is the lip of the flowers that haven't changed yet though they certainly are turning more orange.
And the second picture is of one of the flowers that has changed its lip colour already.

The mature flowers on some cyms do that.
That is a beautiful cym. My neighbour has given meone that looks like that but I'll have to wait until next year for it to bloom. Yours looks cheerful and sunny.
I think I need to paint my kitchen that colour.

Pond and plants look great - !
Did I read you right - you have goldfish that cost $800 each? I know that well-bred show-quality fish can go for much more, but I really hadn't thought of them as pond fish either! Don't blame you for not leaving them outside - here we have herons and raccoons that will "fish" at night - it would be my luck that they would get the best ones first!
Congrats on the pond set up - I have had a couple of ponds and while they were not much to look at (one was livestock trough) they worked just fine - there is something about having open water that just naturally calms a person isn't there? I would relax after work just watching the fish and to hear the water splashing - just seemed to drain the stress away.
Thanks for showing off - do it anytime!
Steve