update on the Merida ponds *New Pics 6/09*

[Jonna]

Here are a couple of pics I took this morning.  I tried to get some of the same views as before - more or less. 

Here's the outside pond, guacamole water.  I have one lily bloom and some of the cannas are blooming.  The white and black specks are some of the gazillion Mollies.  I've got batting in the falls, more of a trickle, and another pump that pushes water up through lava rock and gravel at the other end where the red canna is blooming.  That canna and a couple other plants are in that area.  I just put that in yesterday, I'm hoping it will help to clear the water.  I think the real problem is that there is so much sun and it is so strong.  I've even thought of trying to cover the pond with something but we are in the rainy season now and the afternoon rains can be very hard and come with wind.  I don't really want a permanent shade structure.  It's a dilemna.





Here's the back of the yard as it looks now.  I've got heliconia and bamboo there, it's doing very well. 



We plan to remove the rock covering most of the back, it's not working for us.  I want more planting areas, Mimi wants some grass and we both hate that it is uneven and difficult to hose off.  We do have 3 large dogs    We NEED to hose it off frequently!

Here's the hall pond today.  Still dry as you can see.  It's a bit of a sore point with me, they did not listen and they did not build something that will work.  The architect agrees with me and we have a meeting on Thursday and we'll come up with a plan to re-do it.  I'm struggling with that now. 



The house is wonderful, I love living in it.  I think the kitchen is better than any I've dreamed of and the whole house exceeds my expectations.  It's just the ponds that I'm struggling to get right.  It will happen, I'm just going to keep plugging away.   The high ceilings and great ventilation keep the house cool, we haven't needed AC and we are in some hot weather now.   So far we are only using ceiling fans and it's very comfortable.  This is good as electricity is very expensive and I'm looking at needing a high wattage pump for that inside pond.  They put all the pipes in the walls, with way too many 90° turns and what I think is too large PVC, about 3/4".  I can't see it working with the smaller 65 w pumps I have and I really hate the idea of using the 250w sump pump that they had hooked to it for 24 hours a day.   There has to be a middle ground here, I'm looking for it.

[Kittyzee]

Welcome back Jonna, it's good to see/hear from you again!  Your updated pics look stunning!  I can imagine how cool your house feels with the stone walls and floors.  And your fish are healthy--green water doesn't bother them, just us humans.    What a paradise you have made for yourselves, you sound very happy and content. 

More pics please....I'd love to see your kitchen!     

[miguynmkoi]

Welcome back Jonna!  Totally missed you and your posts.  I've checked out your site a while back to see your house progress.  It's so beautiful!!!  I'm very impressed with the whole design.  Like your own oasis.

[isaiascrazy]

Beautiful in its entirety

I would recommend this to a huacamole almond leaves can help

Fitr and you?

I use that I built uv

[Jonna]

Thanks you two, I missed you too.   I've been hunting on my computer for more pics and I can't find what I'm looking for.  So, I took some more.  I had some pictures of the kitchen when everything was cleaned up and put away for a party - of course, I can't find those.  So, here it is right now, not as neat but fairly presentable. 

This is one end of the kitchen, it's hard to take pictures as the room is much longer than it is wide.  I love these concrete counters and the concrete sink, they are easy to clean and they are getting an interesting patina from a little coffee and a little wine and such.  The burners are great, two are farther back and close to the sink and two are towards the front.  It's working as I hoped. 



Here's that end of the kitchen from farther back.  The island is wonderful, it has 2 levels.  One is lower for eating although mainly I seem to use it for my laptop.  The upper part has a small sink and the water filter is under it.  We have filtered RO water to one faucet there and to the ice maker in the frig.   City water here is potable but we don't drink it, we do use it for cooking and tooth brushing and such.  For one thing, we have a water softener in the system and I don't like the taste. 



This is the other end of the kitchen, the guy that made the cabinets is incredible.  He covered the refrigerator doors and built in the oven and microwave.  He also made the island and our closet upstairs.  Love him!  One of the first things he said to me was that you could never have too many drawers but you could easily have too many cupboards. 





So, that's my dream kitchen.  It has fulfilled all my dreams and it actually works better than I had imagined.  It has about an 18' ceiling and 2 ceiling fans so I've been able to use the oven on a hot day without a problem.  I just open the door to the terrace and turn on the fans.  It doesn't heat the kitchen up very much.

Here are a couple pictures of the terrace, also today.  The first is from the kitchen looking to the back of the lot.



This is looking towards the kitchen, both sets of doors go into the kitchen.


Here's a small terrace on the first level up, in front of the guest room.  It gets mostly sun so we keep the lounge chairs there.  Tita our cat likes it too.  I've got a red and a gold bougainvillea in each of the small pots and a grafted citrus in the large pot, it has both a small sweet lime and a sour orange. 

[Jonna]

Jorge, I missed your response while I was writing.  Yes, I built a filter - more or less.  The water goes to the bottom in a hose and rises back up through lava rock and gravilla, plants are in the gravilla at the top without soil.  The water then flows back into the pond.  I have a clean out pipe so I can use the shop vac and suck the stuff from the bottom.  Here's a picture.

I am really considering getting a UV.  If I can't solve the green water any other way I will do that.  I hate spending the money though.



Also, here's a picture of the pool.  We left the finish in natural grey concrete and I like the color of the water, it looks like the clear green of a cenote. 

[ponderer]

Looks fabulous! I love the "Hall Pond" . Hope you can solve that problem , would love to see it in action. Great Job. 

The kitchen is a dream.

[LeeAnne151]

FANTASTIC!  what an amazing house you have.

Those cabinets are wonderful. I agree, never too many drawers. I have too many cabinets and not enough drawers in my kitchen. The moron who sold us the cabinets talked me out of another set of deep pot drawers and I've been sorry for years.

You need water hyacinth, water lettuce, cabomba or hornwort to help clear up that algae. All plants are not created equal as far as using nutrients from the water goes. Anything that grows under the water or floats freely helps a lot more than potted marginals or waterlilies.

[tammie]

Hey Jonna!  You know how I feel about stone and concrete!  Love it - no termites!
I have a big problem with green water in our rainy season too.  Hate to tell you but the only thing I've gotten to work is a uv.  Make sure is the correct size for your pond.  I have 2 -55 gallon filters and a 3' x 10' plant pond (used to filter the "big" pond) and a 20 gallon pot with filter pads and quilt batting in it.  All of those to filter one 2000 gallon pond - with only 5 wakin in it.  Only thing that clears the water is the uv. 
Tammie
P.S. - when will the guest room be available?    I'll be there!

[robie]

hi jonna ,
i see the update pic ¡¡¡ they are  awesome ¡¡
i love your pond , the waterlilis are fantastics, do you have closeup of the flowers ¿¿??
i can give you some jacintos , lechugas, y acordeones, if you want ¡¡
just let me know ,
 

[miguynmkoi]

Your kitchen is a dream design!  I love the layout of the stoves, very smart!  The exhaust cover is beautiful and quite a statement.  Lucky you finding a great cabinet guy.

The outdoors looks like a resort.  Watchout!  Anyone who checks in will not check out!

[Kittyzee]

My gosh Jonna, your home is magnificent!     The kitchen has me speechless--I'm lovin' the spaciousness of it.  The range hood is a great design as are the cabinets.  What a great idea with the two-level island, I'd probably use if for lap top also, or a casual meal.  The area outside of the kitchen looks like a Hollywood movie set!     But very private and comfortable.  I guess that would be my style:  comfort!   

It's really beautiful~have all the sacrifices you made to get to this point been worth it?  I'll bet they are! I was also wondering about your kitty too, and I see she is sunning herself outside...

[HOWELL]

I never thoutght of a pool in its natural grey color will look that awesome.

[Jonna]

Oh Tammie, I had a feeling that it would not get clear without UV.  sigh!    I think I figured out the gallons at 1300 but my notebook is upstairs and I'm too lazy to run up for it.  I am going to go to the pond store tomorrow to price larger pumps so I'll look at those as well.  I have to give the pond store guy credit, he told me honestly that only a combination of filtration, UV and shade would really solve it, he said I just have too much sun and the sun here is too intense.  I did notice that the gorgeous ponds at the hacienda we were at last night were all under huge trees - shaded.  If I had only thought of this I could have swapped the locations of the pond and the pool, putting the pool in more sun and the pond in shade.  Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda, what the he*ll.   The guest room is available for anyone here, right now our British friends are occupying it while their house is finished but they are hoping to move in sometime this summer and I doubt any of you would want to visit in the summer. 

I think the biggest luxury about this house is that the building we started with had enormous rooms.  That's one of the joys of colonial homes, high ceilings and huge rooms.  The kitchen spans the whole width of the house.  I was afraid at first that it would be too large, too much distance between the "triangle" that all kitchen designers talk about.  I decided that I need the exercise and I could live with a little distance.  I'm so glad I did.  Once the cabinets and refrigerator were in the room got to be a more manageable size.  It's not uncomfortable at all.  In the US you pay so much for square footage but here, if you start with a house that has enormous rooms it doesn't cost much more to remodel them than smaller rooms.   I am loving the space, of course you should remember that I spent the last 7 years living in an RV in 100 sq feet!

Robie and Leeann, I have tried water hyacinth (jacintos) and they all died.  I just got another one to see if it will live.  I think the sun is too intense and the PH too high, the pond's PH is over 9.   Robie, same for the lechugas y acordiones, creo que hay demasiado sol o PH.    I hope to add some shade to the pond when we re-do the yard.  ¡Ojalá!

Howell, the architect told us that if we finished the pool in white cement it would have a turquoise blue color and if we used regular (cheaper) grey cement it would be a green-blue like the cenotes.  I went for cenote and cheap!
 

[HOWELL]

I love it seriously, I've never tought pools with all the marble work looked good, but this one with nothing on it looks so freaking beautiful.
 
Are we talking about guest room, friends, Is this also available for mexicans?
Hahahaha JK.
Robie Lechugas means water lettuce and acordiones means azolla I think.

[Jonna]

Of course, the guest room is available for you.  Come on down when the weather cools. 

lechuga is water lettuce and acordiones is azola, I agree Howell.  All of those have died in my pond!   The water lettuce and azola definitely needs shade here.  I really think the water hyacinth does as well.  I may wait for winter and try them then.  I saw a lot of beautiful water lettuce and azola in small tubs under trees at a nursery the other day, but not in the sun.

[HOWELL]

That happened to me too, the water hyacinth died as well as the lettuce.
But now that I know I will placed them under a tree where the biofilter is located at.
Thanks Jonna.

[Julles]

Loved the photos, Jonna.  That is truely a fabulous house.  Do you know you're one of the few people who has a happy experience with a construction project? !?

[robie]

i got the hyacinth and the azolla from a pond with  all the sun in the world ,
if you want to try witn somo hyacinth, azolla and  lettuce  let me know ,
they are strong  i think they have a good survive posibilities ¡¡¡
 

[marla]

Wow Jonna, I've been away on vacation, but when I opened email and saw replies to this post I had to pop over and veiw all the new and improved things.  It looks absolutely stunning !!!!  I love your color choices, warm, inviting, earthy.  The blue in the hall is so cooling and yes I'd love to see that pond working I can imagain the dramatics of it in that area.  Everything looks fantastic....great job, I'm so happy that you are enjoying yourselves down there, I sure enjoyed reading all the updates and posts.

[Jonna]

HI Marla.  Thanks, I do love that blue as well.   When the light flows down it at noon it is really nice.  Robie, I'd love some of the water lettuce or hyacinth if you think it will live.  Jules, I really did enjoy the whole remodeling process.  There were/are frustrations but most of the experience has been very positive.  I do love my architect and that helps a lot.   

Speaking of him, we met this afternoon and they are starting work on Tuesday on the hall pond.  I hope I have it figured out right, I gave him dimensions and he drew it all out and I agreed to it so I hope it works cuz I can't complain if it doesn't.   

We also worked on a plan for the back yard, I am excited to have more space for plants so that will be good too.  My home made filter for the outside pond seems to have helped a little, I can see about a foot down into the pond now.  I'm going to price UV's and see if it is in my future. 

[robie]

the hyacinths and lettuces are ready to go to your pond,
    just let me know when do you want it ¡¡¡

[Jonna]

Thanks, I'll send you a PM.

[Joyce]

WOW...what an awesome house, ponds and gardens!       
I'll weed for room and board! 

[Jonna]

No weeding necessary, you and family are welcome any time. 

I'm getting a quote this week to re-do the yard.  I don't like all the rock, I want a jungle with more space for plants.  So, I'm hoping to have a whole different look to the yard sometime this summer.  I need to get things planted during the rainy season or they don't do very well.  We have a well for watering and the water is very alkaline - this is a limestone peninsula - so no matter how much you water the plants always look kind of parched by the end of the dry season.  It's been amazing to watch just the bamboo and heliconia take off since the rains started.

[HOWELL]

I love heliconia..................
We need some pics BTW.

[Jonna]

I love heliconia too.  These were planted in late February, they've grown a lot but I think/hope they will still get much taller.  The bamboo was planted at the same time and was just sticks, it has 2 new shoots that are almost as tall as I am.  They've grown a foot in the last week it seems. 

I have 3 or 4 types of heliconia in this bed, this is one.



and this is the lobster claw



This is the yard in todays HUGE rain and thunderstorm.  I put a bucket out there when it started and less than 3 hours later there was over 3.5 inches of water in it.  I had to pump down the pool and the pond before the fish swam from one to the other 



All of the lighter green leaves on the heliconia are new leaves since the rains started.  I've been putting fertilizer (ozmocote) in that bed every week now.   I can't wait to have more space for plants. 

[Kittyzee]

Lovely Jonna!  I think I can hear the rain on the heliconia leaves.....

[HOWELL]

We used to have heliconia in our beds too, but one winter froze it all and then all of it died, we thought it was gonna grow back but, nuh, it just didn't.
Do you like ave del paraiso?
I have no idea what its name in english is but its flowers is somehow like heliconia.
I love it too.
BTW nice pics of the rain on the pond and pool.
I  Love your backyard.

[Jonna]

Ave del Paraiso has the same name in English, Bird of Paradise.  I love them.  I planted several in Cathedral City but haven't got room yet for any here.  Up there, they took several years before they bloomed, not sure if that will be true here. 

The huge white Bird of Paradise is very popular here.  It's a gorgeous bloom but the plant gets over 20' high and almost as wide so it takes a large yard to grow it.  I have a friend in a northern suburb here that has several huge ones and he occasionally gives me blooms.      They are expensive to buy here but he lucked out and bought 2 that were mis-labeled as Traveler's Palms which are much cheaper.  At the time he told me what they really were and he was right.