Patio Koi Pond
It all began last year when I mentioned to my husband that I
would like to add a small container of water plants, a few
guppies (mosquito control) and a tiny bamboo water element to
our small Townhome patio. Well, out came the shovels and the
digging began. We knew we wanted to make it as large as we could
for our small back area of our Townhome complex in a suburb of
Chicago. We realized that even though the area is only approx
10' x 20' we could make it attractive. After living in Hawaii
for 13 years, we missed the Koi, water lilies, water hyacinth,
hibiscus, bamboo, sea shells and of course waterfalls. We were
actually able to incorporate all of our favorite things into
this small area.

We currently have one 6" and nine small Japanese Koi, a Red
Fantail Goldfish, a Shubunkin and a few feeder Goldfish. There
are two water lilies, water hyacinth, and of course, oxygenating
plants in the pond. The pond is surrounded by flagstone, rocks,
pea gravel and river rock. Some ground cover was planted last
year, however, most of the plant life was planted this spring.
It is growing by leaps and bounds – nothing better than pond
water to water your plants – great organic fertilizer!

We have added solar lights, which is just the perfect amount
of lighting, along with a Japanese lantern and 2 tiki torches.
To muffle the neighbors’ very noisy air-conditioner situated
only a few feet from the pond, we purchased 2 bamboo plants from
Seattle and planted them in front of a piece of wooden lattice.
Vines were planted to eventually hide the brick building and a
rhododendron will eventually be the focal point behind the pond
and camouflage the windows. The varieties of grasses, ground
cover and perennials have made for a very peaceful setting – but
there’s nothing more peaceful than listening to a waterfall and
watching the very playful Koi. We look forward to summer all
winter long!

Thank you for all your great tips! Couldn’t have done it all
without you.
Gary & Linda Provance
Orland Park, Illinois
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