Kennef returns, but from a very different Locale... :)

[kennef]

Jerry suggested that i post this here... so here i go...

hey all..

I used to frequent this forum way back when i was putting together above ground water gardens in Upstate NY.

well heck... thing have changed significantly...

I now live in Albuquerque New Mexico, a recent transplant in love with green chile... but not so mch in love with a lack of good NY style pizza and Buffalo wings... but i'm surviving...

I just recently began spring yard work here in hopes of getting a little bit of green in this very arid back yard... determined to do so despite my new Partners gentle warnings about poor soil and heat as well as arid climes...  SO is anyone here in the southwest that can suggest to a newly transplanted ponder how to best attack the challenges of ponding here?

[Julles]

Hey, Ken, welcome back!

I am sure you will get to love the Arizona sun and warmth, and re-learn gardening.  I know I did, when I moved from St. Louis to Denver and then to Houston.  You'll get the hang of it.

We do have at least one other member in Aridzona, so hopefully s/he'll pop up and give some tips.

Isn't it funny how foods that we take for granted are NOT cross-country?  When I lived in Denver, no one had a CLUE what okra was, and down here in the south, even with the Texas cattle industry, Rocky Mountain oysters are unheard of.  I have to go back to Dego Hill in St. Lo to get good good Italian, and it's also St. Lo for White Castle hamburgers and gooey butter cake.  One grocery chain here even had "St. Louis style gooey butter cake" a decaed or two ago, and it was pretty good, too.  But it didn't last more than a year or two. 

[miguynmkoi]

Welcome Back!

First...change your location 
I envision lots of native plantings and cactus/succulents! I would think that digging, if possible, a pond would keep the temp of water from boiling in the hottest months.  Shade may be a necessity.  Others here will surely add on possibilities.

You'll be able to grow your own hot chiles! 

[Desertponder]

Well, we don't have quite the intense, stifling dry heat that you have there but pretty close to it. At least we can touch the door handles on our cars without getting burned.
I would imagine that some shading during the hottest part of the day would be necessary. When we have 100+ temps in the summer, the biggest problem is the low humidity. It tends
to make lily pads and other pond plants fry. You'll notice more evaporation too. I have above ground ponds but the water temps can get pretty warm and the fluctuation is greater from
day to night temps. Not a big concern if you don't do fish but if you have fish you would probably want to do an inground feature to aid in temp. control. You've probably already figured
out that many people in the hot desert areas of the west use the misting systems to help with cooling. Its common to see them on patios, horse barns, etc. I have seen a couple of ponds
close to patios that have misting systems near them to help cool. We have very hard water in the southwest which can also make it difficult for some types of pond plants to grow well.

[LeeAnne151]

Welcome back! 

Kennef, a dear friend of mine lives in Albuquerque she says Dion's is pretty good but it is not as good as the New York style pizza we grew up with in Phoenix. Loads of New Yorkers in Phoenix. I have missed real (boiled) bagels and NY pizza here in Portland for twenty five years.

http://www.dionspizza.com/

FYI  to those who responded,  Albuquerque is in New Mexico not Arizona 

Albuquerque has more in common with Denver and Dallas than Phoenix as far as gardening goes.

High Country Gardens is a highly recommended mail order source for ideas and plants for such climates.
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/

I just discovered they have a retail location in Albuquerque.

[howardTheHumble]

My pond has lots of plants with roots that have exceeded the pots.  Once the sun is strong enough to get the plants going well all the algae dies back.   There is a fair fish load for the size of the pond.