Simple Pleasures for a Slower-Paced Summer Homes, Gardens and One Another— What We’ve Learned from Shelter-in-Place
Empowering Your
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2020
FROM THE EDITOR SUMMER 2020 | VOLUME 14, NO. 3
Editor Nathan Pettengill Art Director Shelly Bryant Designer Alex Tatro Copy Editor Leslie Andres Advertising Representatives Sunflower Publishing Angie Taylor ataylor@sunflowerpub.com (785) 832-7236 Peterson Publications, Inc publish@petersonpublications.com (785) 271-5801
Photograph by Nick Krug
Ad Designer Alex Tatro
How are you holding up? These past months have been difficult for families, for students, for workers, for businesses, for event planners, for family organizers … for all of us. As a community, we have faced financial setbacks, inconveniences and—perhaps most unsettling—uncertainty about the near future. But it is important to recognize that in Topeka and in our state at large, we have been spared many of the deaths and the largescale disruption to our lives experienced elsewhere. We’ve also had the opportunity to reimagine our world. Life during the pandemic has been troubling, but it has also refocused our lives on what is most important. Many of us, at least temporarily, have replaced hectic schedules with a slower-paced life centered on home and family. And that is the theme we celebrate in this summer issue of Topeka Magazine—the rediscovery of core pleasures in our lives. So, while we look forward to when “all this is over,” we also know that an experience never really finishes. This strange time has shaped us, and we’ll carry the memories and lessons of it with us. Our children and grandchildren will mark this event as part of their formative years. The pandemic has become part of all of our future habits and sensibilities. As in everything, we choose our response. Moving forward, we choose how we show reverence for those who lost loved ones, how we reach out and care for those around us, and how we kindle a spirit of gratitude, hope and optimism as a community.
Photographers Nick Krug Bill Stephens Writers Susan Kraus Nick Krug Christine Steinkuehler Subscriptions $27 for a one-year subscription, including Topeka SR; order at sunflowerpub.com
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THE FUNCTION OF FREEDOM IS TO FREE SOMEONE ELSE. -
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A R T S C O N N E C T I S H E R E T O S U P P O R T R E C O V E RY O F T O P E K A T H R O U G H T H E artstopeka.org
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2020
WHAT’S INSIDE SUMMER 2020 | VOLUME 14, NO. 3
TOPEKANS 8 A C O VI D - 1 9 J O U R N A L
A contributing photographer documents how the pandemic has affected his family
APPETITE 12 C O C K TA I L S AT H O M E
Two Topeka bartenders help you serve yourself for the social-distancing future
PLACE 16 T R AVE L I N G A G A I N
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Always a great option, Kansas road trips have just become the ideal post-pandemic summer travel choice
F E AT U R E S 20 A G A R D E N T O S H A R E
Shirley Darby’s front yard garden brings delight to its owners and passersby
26 W AT E R G A R D E N S
Our practical advice for bringing these elegant features into your yard
On the Cover
Simple Pleasures for a Slower-Paced Summer Homes, Gardens and One Another— What We’ve Learned from Shelter-in-Place
The daughter of photographer Nick Krug holds a book in her lap as she spends time reading during the quarantine days. Photograph by Nick Krug.
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2020
TOPEKANS
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Covid-19 Journal A contributing photographer documents how the pandemic has affected his family
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY
Nick Krug
Photographer Nick Krug and his children colored the brick walkway of their home as one day’s diversion during the Covid-19 stay-at-home advisory.
Summer 2020 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
T
he first time I went to the store after all this began was March 12. The NCAA tournament and Big 12 tournament had both been canceled earlier that day and thus, so was all my work for the next month. When I came home holding several bags of groceries, my wife, Louise, judged by my expression that the experience had been unpleasant and asked me to tell her what it was like. I said that it was definitely weird, but the weirdest part was that I thought that there was no music playing in the store. It’s possible that the music was playing just like it always is and what I experienced was the deafening sound of becoming acutely aware of everyone around me in a way that I had not before. In the beginning, both of our young kids had a lot of questions as to why they couldn’t play on the jungle gym, couldn’t have friends over, see Grandma, visit their newborn cousin, or go to summer camp. All of our explanations circled back to the same predictable answer: “Because of the coronavirus.” After a few weeks, our eight-year-old daughter, Olive, began filling it in for her five-year-old brother, Bruce, who has almost stopped asking his “why not?” questions. Louise and I have held strong to the daily routine of getting the kids out of the house for an hour or two to go walking, hiking or playing in places where other people are absent or easily avoidable with good distance. It’s bizarre to think that a sunny, 73-degree day is now a disqualifying factor for riding the bike path at Lake Shawnee. Why? Because too many other people will want to do the same thing. And, ultimately, as Olive will tell you, “because of the coronavirus.” The kids don’t argue as much when they’re out adventuring, and for the most part, they’ve been pretty tolerant of each other—though it’s hard to blame them when they’re not. Having to shelter at home in close quarters for a few months straight is as exhausting as it is annoying. Tempers can flare pretty quickly over little things; people start yelling, and soon the whole family is involved. Then, as if reminding us of how beautiful spring has been, birdsongs or breezes pour in our windows. Then we compromise. We remember to take turns. We find our familiar routes to happy places accessible by way of neighborhood walks, bike rides and running trails, where words can be processed, understood, accepted, forgotten and forgiven. When it became clear that I wasn’t going to be able to work in any sort of public capacity for quite a while, I buried myself in remodeling our attic. I packed up my photography gear and stuck it in my office. It wasn’t quite like closing the door in the face of a good friend, but more like being in a funk and not returning their calls or texts. It seemed easier to focus on how I could maintain a level of productivity rather than lamenting a loss of employment and the career I love so much. Louise, an assistant professor of English at Washburn, converted her classes to an online format and
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2020
About the Writer: An independent photographer, Nick Krug has also photographed 14 seasons of KU basketball. When not with camera in hand, he is working on his house in central Topeka or spending time with his beautiful wife and children.
TOPEKANS
has been working from home. When she’s not wrapped up with grading and commenting on student papers, I take time to get things done that wouldn’t be possible with the kids around—but it’s been really nice when they are. They’ve helped me paint a little bit. The ceiling, walls and floor are all white, so the risk of irreparable failure is pretty low. Living through these experiences with my family has encouraged me to get the camera out when it feels right to record this strange time in our lives. Even though we spend much of our energy shielding our children from the potential harms of this pandemic, I do hope they will remember how close we were and how hard we tried to keep each other happy. As the weeks continue to roll by, the only tradition we’ve managed to carry over from our pre-pandemic lives has been making pizza on Friday nights. Louise makes the dough, I roll it out thin the way everyone likes it and the kids add toppings. We spread an old sheet across the living room floor and watch a movie together. Every week the pizza tastes better than the week before, and the certainty and continuity that this ritual brings have never felt more important.
Editor’s note: The Covid-19 pandemic came into our lives differently, depending on where we lived and where our loved ones were as it swept across the globe. Fortunately, Topeka has been—at least when this magazine went to print—largely spared from the worst of the first wave. We did not have the magnitude of illness, death and challenges to our medical facilities that pierced the fabric of daily life in parts of China, Italy, Spain and almost all of New York City. When the disease did arrive in Topeka, it continued to be an undemocratic illness—a sickness that targeted the most vulnerable and exposed divisions of wealth and privilege. As we sheltered in place, not everyone had the luxury of a warm and hospitable retreat. Not everyone felt safe with those under the same roof. But everyone was affected. Covid-19 rewrote the routines of everyone’s lives. And we all struggled, in some way, to make the best— or at least make sense— of a beautiful world with a deadly virus around us. We asked photographer and Topeka resident Nick Krug to share his thoughts and a photo journal of ordinary family life during the first wave of the crisis. It is a personal take, created by the realities and conditions of his circumstances, but also one that we can all understand, a touchstone for the way that Covid-19 has shaped both our lives over the past months and our hopes for the future.
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2020
Cocktails at Home Two Topeka bartenders help you serve yourself for the social-distancing future
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY
Nick Krug
APPETITE
Summer 2020 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
T
he shelter-in-place routine has forced all of us to become interim barbers, teachers, and mixologists. So for this installment of our seasonal drinks story, I asked Topeka bartenders for a recipe that could be prepared easily at home from ingredients that most of us already have or could get on a weekly or bi-weekly trip to the store. Both Mike Harmon of the Wheel Barrel and Claire Kuner of the Burger Stand came through with two summer cocktail recipes that passed the do-it-yourself test. I hope these drinks help ease the stress of the past months and whatever the future holds..
Lemonade Lounger BY Claire Kuner of the Burger Stand WHAT YOU’LL NEED • • • •
3 ounces lemonade (yellow) 1.5 ounces whiskey of choice (Claire prefers Jameson) 1 ounce sparkling water 3 mint leaves
INGREDIENTS 1. Muddle two leaves of mint. (Claire mentions clapping the mint in your hands and then wiping the inside of the glass with it; to be clear, we’re all making our own drinks here.) 2. Add whiskey, lemonade and ice to a different glass and mix. 3. Add new ice into the original glass, and strain the drink into it. 4. Garnish with the last mint leaf. 5. Top with a splash of sparkling water. Claire describes this simple cocktail as “light, refreshing and perfect for lounging in the backyard with a book.”
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2020
APPETITE
Cupboard to Table BY Mike Harmon of The Wheel Barrel
Mike describes this drink as “sort of a chooseyour-own-adventure cocktail.” He’s giving you the blueprint for it, but allowing you to stray a bit and follow your own tastes. To give a serious body to the drink, Mike has created a shrub, which is a sugar, vinegar and fruit mixture tossed into a blender and strained.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED • • • • • • •
one 15.25-ounce can of whole kernel sweet corn (you heard right) a handful of frozen blueberries 1 ounce balsamic vinegar 1.5 ounces bourbon (Mike used Heavy Hill bourbon, but says any bourbon will do.) .5 ounce of agave nectar (I used honey; Mike says any sweetener will do.) A splash of sparkling water, tea or juice rosemary or thyme to garnish
STEPS 1. Simmer the whole can of corn, blueberries and balsamic vinegar in a pan to “thaw the berries and add a bit of depth of flavor.” 2. Pulse in a blender for approximately 5 seconds and strain the mix. (Editor’s note: My shrub had a consistency somewhere between super pulpy orange juice and restaurant-style salsa.) 3. If you have a shaker, add 1.5 ounce of the shrub to it, along with the bourbon, agave nectar (sweetener) and some ice cubes and give it a shake. If you don’t have a shaker, a mason jar will work. 4. Pour the mixture into a fresh glass. “You can just dump the ice you used in the shake if you want,” Mike says. “We aren’t in a bar being extra fancy, after all.” 5. Top with a splash of sparkling water. Mike and I used blackberry Bubly, but he says tea or juice would work fine, but only a splash because “you don’t want to cover all those flavors that you spent time bringing together.” 6. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary or thyme.
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TOPEKA MAGAZINE | Summer 2020
Traveling Again Always a great option, Kansas road trips have just become the ideal post-pandemic summer travel choice
STORY BY
Susan Kraus PHOTOGRAPHY BY
Nick Krug
PLACE
Summer 2020 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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T
here’s no way around it—Covid-19 has put a damper on travel. While many of us traditionally look forward to summer as the time to put a new stamp in our passport or travel across the United States, we have to change our expectations this year. But rather than fixate on what we can’t do, we have a chance to open our eyes and heart to new adventures close to home. To get started, go to the state’s official travel site, TravelKs.com. Explore it and request one or all of their travel guides to be mailed (free) to your home. You can have instant access with their digital versions, but the print versions can help with planning and allow family members to mark pages of what they find most interesting. I particularly like the Byways guide and the “Yellow Brick Road Trips,” 25-plus interest-themed trips to different parts of the state. If you plan your trip on a paper map instead of Google maps, it will be easier to chart the drive on back roads instead of just taking the fastest route. Search local websites for what looks interesting in the small towns you drive through and which restaurants are open for the best take-out.
Drive a Byway Kansas has twelve official byways, including two national scenic byways and three historic byways. I’ve driven several and always find something new that requires me to pull off the road for a closer look or to take a photo. “Traveling along the Kansas Byways is a great way to see our beautiful and unique landscapes, quaint towns and historic attractions,” says Bridgette Jobe, director of Kansas Tourism. “Our byways serve as natural, social, cultural and economic resources for visitors, the people of Kansas and the communities along the byways.” Close options are Flint Hills, Native Stone, Glacial Hills and Frontier Military byways. You can start planning your route at KSByways.com.
Pick a Park Kansas State Parks have almost 5,000 miles of trails. Many also have lakes (swimming, boating and fishing). This is your summer to visit a different state park every week. Some drive-able options from Topeka include Perry, Clinton, Tuttle Creek, Milford, Pomona, Eisenhower, Kanopolis (a longer drive, but great camping and hiking) and Hillsdale. There is a useful map distributed by the Kansas Trails Council (kansastrailscouncil.org) that shows park locations and describes trails for hikers, bikers and equestrians. Two state websites also have more information: kdwp.state.ks.us and naturalkansas.org.
OPPOSITE: The Native Stone Scenic Byway offers numerous opportunities to see the beauty of limestone structures along the route. ABOVE: Guests assemble for a ranger-led nature program at Milford State Park. Because of recent events, be sure to check in advance on state park program schedules.
“...rather than fixate on what we can’t do, we have a chance to open our eyes and hearts to new adventures close to home.” —SUSAN KRAUS
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Summer 2020 | TOPEKA MAGAZINE
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Bike, bike, bike The Prairie Spirit Trail (Ottawa to Iola) is just over 50 miles. The Flint Hills Trail State Park (an Osawatomie to Council Grove rails-to-trails) is 90 miles and runs through Ottawa. If you don’t have a good trail bike, or don’t want to haul yours in a car, you can stop by the Ottawa Bike and Trail Shop (ottawabikeandtrail.com, (913) 951-1070) to rent a regular or electric bike and even book a shuttle service to drop you off and pick you up at specific portions of the trail.
Do a zoo After you’ve exhausted the possibilities at the Topeka Zoo, you can tour other family-friendly parks. These zoos are mostly outdoors, making it easier to maintain social distance, and they usually have picnic spots available on-site or nearby. Here are some easy-drive options, from petite to expansive.
David Traylor Zoo of Emporia (Topeka to Emporia: 65 miles): It’s one of the smallest zoos in the United States to be accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Set in the municipal Soden’s Grove Park, this attractive spread is really as much botanical garden as zoo, has free admission and features a variety of native and exotic animals. (620) 341-4365. About the Writer: Susan Kraus is an awardwinning travel writer and the author of a Kansas-based mystery series.
Rolling Hills Zoo (Topeka to Salina: 112 miles): Spread over 65 acres, just outside of Salina in Saline County, this family-friendly and impressive zoo has begun a phased reopening for the summer. Plan a full day to take it all in and leave time to walk through renovated downtown Salina. rollinghillszoo.org, (785) 827-9488. Sunset Zoo (Topeka to Manhattan: 58 miles) A smaller zoo, but chock-full of animals, Sunset also has wonderful on-site gardens. Admission is $5.50, $3.50 and free for two and under. Check the online schedule for their Keeper Chats. Sunsetzoo.com, (785) 587-2737
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a garden to share Shirley Darby’s front yard garden brings delight to its owners and passersby
STORY BY Christine Steinkueher
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Nick Krug
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beautiful garden can brighten an entire neighborhood. Shirley Darby’s front yard garden near the stoplight on 6th and Lane streets is one of these. Its vibrant shades of blue, purple and red complement the backdrop of Shirley’s two-story coral-colored Victorian, and throughout the summer the garden’s mix of plants and blooms is an ever-changing display that illuminates the entire block. The garden began around 1994 when Shirley, thinking the shrub’s large blue flowers would make a strong centerpiece, ordered a blue satin rose of Sharon from a catalogue. “It was the rich blue color that impressed me,” she says. At first, Shirley didn’t know where to plant it, but knew she had some extra dirt in her front yard of mostly weeds and a little fescue. So, using the logic that more plants would mean less mowing, she convinced her husband, Chet, to dig up the area and build a raised bed for the rose of Sharon. The plant took root—Shirley says the shrub grew into more of a tree—but she has no regrets, and the Darbys had less to mow. They also had the beginning of their garden. With the blue satin rose of Sharon thriving, Shirley was spurred on to continue planting. She began noticing areas to improve: patches of weedy fescue, a mound of dirt left from a water-line replacement, and dead sections of the yard created by the shallow roots of her birch trees. Section by section, she replaced them all and transformed the yard from a struggling grass lawn to a thriving cottage-style garden. The cornerstones of Shirley’s new garden became plumbago, salvia and perennial hibiscus. —Shirley Darby Shirley had first seen perennial hibiscus growing locally in the Oakland neighborhoods but thought they were “too big and tropical” to grow easily in Topeka gardens. Her own yard, however, would prove her wrong as a volunteer red hibiscus began to emerge. “We did not move it or plant it or anything. That first summer we moved here, in April it started coming up. I thought, ‘What is that?’ and I ripped it out, and it came back and I was busy, so I let it go. And, lo and behold, it bloomed that year.” That original volunteer, a Lord Baltimore variety, remained the biggest hibiscus in her yard though Shirley has experimented with and planted others, finding spots where they receive lots of sun and water in well-drained soil. The plumbago adds plenty of color as well; in the summer it does double-duty in bringing color as its blue flowers bloom against its bright red foliage. Able to grow in both sun and shade, the plumbago can get a little aggressive, and Shirley notes she has had to tear it out occasionally. But, it is dense enough that not a lot of weeds grow in it—and that is a welcome feature for any gardener. Plus, the butterflies love this plant. Another butterfly favorite is the perennial salvia, which brings another shade of blue into the garden. Unlike other members of
“I was making our neighborhood a friendlier place to live.”
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the mint family (which includes rosemary, thyme, lavender and basil), perennial salvia plays well with others in the garden and is not aggressive. Salvia does best in full sun and tolerates poor soil, and its strong scent makes it deer resistant. If deadheaded, salvia will bloom all summer, so it’s a good choice for container as well as ground plantings. One of the plants brought into Shirley’s new garden came with family ties. Her tiger lilies arrived from Shirley’s grandmother’s yard in Norton County. “I dug them up and planted them, and there they are. And, they have planted themselves. They are back by the garage now too,” Shirley notes, adding that in addition to their tendency to expand, she can help them along by either digging up and dividing the bulbs or by harvesting the tiny, black bulblets that form where the leaf meets the stem. In the backyard where there are areas of water runoff, Shirley created a rain garden designed with plants that are tolerant of having wet feet. But she wasn’t going to settle for utility without color. “I bought the Joe Pye because I wanted a statement, not just an everyday plant,” she says. While the Joe Pye weed (eutrochium purpureum) can grow up to 5 feet tall in full sun, it is shorter in Shirley’s shaded garden. Joe Pye weed is a late-season bloomer with giant, pinkish purple powder-puff flowers that range
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WHAT’S THERE TO DO IN TOPEKA? Splish. Splash.
Adventure Cove at Shawnee Lake
A LOT.
ENOUGH TO FILL YOUR DAY AND MAKE YOU STAY.
From date night adventures, family fun, and from about 6 inches to over a foot (depending on how much sun and water it gets). Like the perennial salvia, it is considered to be deer resistant and is a favorite of pollinators. With her front yard garden in order, much of Shirley’s recent attention has focused on the back. When Shirley started the backyard garden, the area was mostly shaded by a big redbud tree and an oak tree, so she planted all shadetolerant plants and her garden thrived. When they had to cut the —Shirley Darby redbud tree down, the on her garden’s shade plants died and heirloom tiger lilies the honeysuckle began to creep into the void, along with hollyhocks and begonias that Shirley added to the mix. To this day, she enjoys harvesting the hollyhock seeds and giving them to friends or taking them to church.
“I dug them up and planted them, and there they are. And, they have planted themselves ...”
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24 Unlike gardeners in many areas of the city, Shirley has not been plagued by problems with the deer, but she has had trouble with tomato-eating squirrels. Shirley says she could have tolerated the squirrels if they had simply eaten her tomatoes, but they would pick them, hollow them out and then throw them on the ground. One year, they ate and discarded almost every one of Shirley’s tomatoes, so she built a cage around her plants. Shirley says you can call it either “a tomato cage” or a “squirrel cage,” but the important thing is that the cage has saved her tomatoes. One benefit of Shirley’s garden is that it has become a gathering place for friends, neighbors and passersby, who are encouraged and inspired by her gardening efforts. When a former next-door neighbor saw what Shirley had created, she wanted to do something similar, so she tore up her grass and planted a lot of inappropriate plants that died in the full sun. The next time she went to the nursery, she took Shirley with her, and they worked together picking out plants that were more suited to the area. That owner has moved on, but the new owner of the house has continued the garden and added some of her own plants and style. “I felt that I was doing more than just sprucing up our front yard,” Shirley says. “I was making our neighborhood a friendlier place to live.”
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Water Gardens Our practical advice for bringing these elegant features into your yard
Story by Christine Steinkuehler
Photography by Bill Stephens
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OPPOSITE PAGE and LEFT: Visitors enjoy the water garden features at Ward Meade Park. The Topeka Area Water Garden Society built and helps maintain many of the park’s water features.
W
hether it is a deck-top fountain with a small, steady flow of water or an in-ground pond with rushing waterfalls and a stream, water gardens bring tranquility and majesty to a garden, and knowing what type of water garden to install can bring the maximum enjoyment to your yard.
Think location When planning the layout of your water garden, consider both aesthetics and practicalities. You want the most beautiful and eye-catching location for the water garden, but you also want it to be in a spot where you can easily reach it with your garden hose. Particularly during the hot summer days of Kansas, any water garden will need to be regularly topped off to compensate for the water lost to evaporation. If your water garden features fish or particular plants, then you will also need to be able to provide extra water that goes through some sort of filtration or purification system. In these cases, your garden should also be located near an electrical source so that fountains, pumps and other mechanisms can be powered to aerate the water, keep the pond healthy, reduce algae and deter mosquitoes.
The Floaters: These plants float on the surface while their roots remain below the water line. Their above-water portion shades the water from direct sunlight while their below-water portion helps filter the water. Some of my favorite floater plants are water hyacinths, whose bulbous appendages have a fun space-alien look, and whose bright blue flowers bloom easily and prolifically. If you get too many, throw them on the compost pile—they are high in nitrogen and will speed up the decomposition process. I also consider water lettuce a must because they are just plain cute. Resembling tiny, scalloped heads of cabbage, they are the water equivalent of hens and chicks. But unlike the hens and chicks plant, water lettuce is not edible. The Marginals: These plants like to have their feet wet, but don’t want to be completely submerged. They grow in the shallow water on the edge or on shelves in ponds. They include cattails (which—watch out—can be quite prolific), water iris, lobelia (which comes in a stunning red color), perennial hibiscus, tarot (which has large arrow-shaped leaves with prominent veining and looks prehistoric), and watercress—yes, the same watercress the British use in crustless tea sandwiches. Pinkies up!
Consider plants Plants in a water garden demand attention, but provide immense benefits. They provide natural filtration, which prevents the growth of algae; they also provide shade, which protects fish from predators and overexposure to the sun. When you are looking at adding plants, think of them as distinct layers to the garden.
The Deep-Water Plants: For Kansas water gardens, the deep ends are typically 20 inches or greater and contain jewels of the pond—water lilies and lotus. The broad leaves provide your fish both great sunblock and good cover from our region’s typical predators: heron and racoons. I love using lotus and waterlilies in containers and grouping them
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Healthcare from the heart of the Heartland.
with other containers. Old whiskey barrels work well but must be lined. Water lilies come in different varieties, and it is important to know which can survive a Kansas winter and which will need to be brought in from the freezes. Lotus like lots of light, but once established require fertilization only once a month or so. During a Kansas winter, the lotus need to be lifted from the pond or sunk deep enough that their roots will not freeze. Lotus leaves repel water because the rough surface reduces water’s ability to spread out while tiny crevices in the leaf’s surface trap air, causing water drops to pick up dirt and then roll off—a natural ability that has led scientists to explore nanotechnology for the high performance fabrics that can be cleaned by just rinsing them in water.
Choose your liner There are different types of pond liners, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. Concrete: Though popular several decades ago, concretelined ponds are increasingly rare and tend to be found mostly in public spaces or in more formal water features. Concrete is durable yet inflexible; once it is there, it is there, but these are the least likely to have leaks, and when they do have leaks, they are generally easy to find and to repair. Pre-formed Plastic: This is a good compromise between flexibility and stability. Pre-formed plastic liners are inexpensive and easy to place; if you can dig a hole, you can
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Scott and Carrie Doyals’ garden was featured in last year’s Topeka water garden tour. After losing many koi to herons, the Doyals switched to stocking their pond with goldfish.
29 install them. Once installed, they are hard enough that they don’t puncture easily. Admittedly, pre-formed pond sizes are limited, and the shape can seem generic or canned, but you can make them more interesting by combining the pre-formed shapes with lined areas to introduce waterfalls or streams. Rubber: Rubber liners are the most common and offer the most flexibility of design. They are relatively inexpensive and practically anyone can install them. The problem with rubber liners, however, is that you can get holes from things such as deer walking through them—and those holes take a lot of time to find and to patch. I commonly find leaks in waterfall and stream areas with these liners.
Watch for these problems Algae: Created by the combination of fish waste and other organic materials (such as leaves that drop in and fall to the bottom, etc.) and sunlight, algae requires the same nutrients as plants. So, one way to cut down on algae is to introduce competition, plants, whose shade will also reduce the sunlight that causes algae’s initial growth. A well-balanced pond is covered 40 to 60 percent with plants. Mosquitoes: These pests are a problem at any body of standing water, including garden features. However, fish and a filtration system can cut down on the populations, and environmental-friendly mosquito dunks (a natural bacteria toxic to mosquito larvae) are a good back up.
“If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail” – Abraham Maslow
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Constructed 16 years ago by the Topeka Area Water Garden Society, this 25x18-foot pond on the grounds of the VA Hospital is three feet deep and home to several large koi and a school of goldfish.
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30 Animals: Your own and neighborhood pets could be drawn to the open water. A fence should be built around a yard with a water garden deep enough to present a drowning hazard, and you should keep in mind the safety of your own pets if they have access to the yard. Your plant selection and choice to stock the water garden with fish will also be greatly affected by what pets might choose to frolic or hunt in your garden.
Bring in animal friends
30 YEARS AGO, SENIOR LIVING WAS A GREAT IDEA. OURS. The last thing on the minds of today’s Legend Senior Living® residents was senior living, but that was three decades ago. And it was all we could think about: Giving seniors who needed personal care, but who wanted their independence, dignity and a quality of life that just couldn’t be found in the options at the time. Even after 30 years as the Experts in Senior Living, Legend Senior Living is still familyowned and mission-driven to bring the comfort and freedom of home with expert care. But then, that was the whole idea.
Snails: Japanese trapdoor snails are one of nature’s best cleanup crews. They feed on algae and organic debris (waste) and help keep your pond clean. A well-balanced pond will have 10 snails per 50 square feet of pond to have the best effect, but any number of snails will help. I recommend the trapdoor snails because they reproduce with litters of 3–5 live baby snails each time and boost the snail population without exploding it, which egg-bearing snails do. Snails are easy to care for; they require no feeding, and many will overwinter with pond depths of 20 to 30 inches. They are, though, vulnerable to most algaecides and other chemicals. Fish: Often the stars of the water gardens, the most common fish to stock ponds with in this area are koi and goldfish, two similar types of freshwater fish with a few key differences. Koi tend to have a greater variety of color and larger sizes. Japanese koi, in particular, have elaborate colors and scaling patterns and can grow to three feet in length. Because of this, koi prefer larger ponds of at least 1,000 gallons of well-aerated water. In Kansas, koi can typically overwinter in ponds as long as a hole in the ice is maintained with a floating heater or an air pump. Goldfish come in many varieties. My favorite are the fantails, who have plump, blocky bodies with fan-shaped fins and tails. Their movement is a bit slower than other fish, which makes it more elegant and easier to watch. Bubble eyes are also a favorite; the liquid-filled pockets below their eyes give the impression of them holding their breath or being constantly surprised to see you. But the most common goldfish in this area are probably the long and slender comets. True to their name, these are fast swimmers, but they also tend to nip the fins of other goldfish, so it is best to combine them only with koi.
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The pond of Kathy Scheck-Benintendi holds 3,000 gallons of water with approximately 15 koi and several smaller goldfish.
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