Brrrr, winter has arrived!

The temperature has dropped for the last week and is staying well under any sane temperature (this AM we woke to a 21 degrees, in Seattle no less). 

But the Koi Garden is ready for winter.   The heater has long been turned off and the temperature has dropped nicely and evenly.  As I have talked about in earlier posts, the heater is used to even the temperature out as it falls to the winter levels.  There are some ponds that stay heated year around so the fish don’t even know that winter has arrived.  I call those ponds San Diego ponds….  But our goal is not to do that.  We like the seasons!  We just want to make the transitions smoother.

I have raked the leaves up to keep them from getting into the pond to foul the water.   I also got all the leaves out of the crushed gravel.  A Zen Garden with dirty gravel will just not do! 

The lilies and irises have been split and cut back in preparation for the cold season.  Cutting them way back allows them to go dormant and focus any new growth on the root structure.

The water has cleared up some as the temperatures dropped so it is almost possible to see to the bottom of the pond.

But most importantly, the pond is covered with the safety cover.  Jumping fish are not a problem this time of year as the fish are mostly sleeping.  But it does keep the leaves out and stops any raccoons, herons or eagles stopping by looking to have a sleeping Koi for breakfast. 

The Koi are sleeping without a worry in the world….

Oh and for all the shoppers who are just starting their search to find that perfect gift for their Koi Garden family and friends, we have moved the Koi Garden Guy’s Holiday gift recommendations to a special carousel at the bottom of this site.  This will be available for the next few weeks to save you the effort of perusing old posts.