Thank you Fetters. Really good post. Quite timely for us as DH has suggested putting in a garden pond. My first question was, "What about the mosquitoes?" I was intrigued by the mention of Lemon Eucalyptus. E maculata sounded somewhat familiar so I assumed we call it something else down here. I googled it and this is what I found. E maculata is known as Spotted Gum or Honey Gum (good for bees). E citriodora is known as Lemon-Scented Gum. And there is a hybrid E maculata citriodora. Recently these particular gums have been reclassified from Eucalyptus to Corymbia (useful to know in case the nurseries change the labels). I debated whether to mention the next bit. In some areas they are getting a reputation as an invasive weed. It's hard to know when such a reputation is truly warranted. (I have some birch trees, which are most definately not indigenous to my area, and I do get seedlings coming up, but after all these years my birches haven't taken over the nearby bushland. Or is that because they have no chance against the Patterson's Curse, which was once an introduced garden flower.) I suppose all I can say is do some research if you're thinking of planting one. Perhaps conditions in the areas of the US where they are grown are such that they are happy enough to grow okay but not so happy that they get out of control. And the good news is if you change your mind after you've planted one, it apparently makes really good timber. Hello OzOrganic. Sorry to hear about your landlord issue. Don't get me started on that subject. Hope you find a solution soon.

Oh, I wish I had thought of GardenWeb four years ago! I rescued a batch of tadpoles from the spring draining of my above-ground swimming pool cover, thinking they'd morph out into frogs and go their merry way. Unfortunately (or delightfully, actually) the spring draining didn't happen until mid-summer that year and the tadpoles I saved got a late start. I had set up a tadpole pond for them on the picnic table, on a covered patio. A wisteria branch pulled over to the "pond" was to serve as their highway out. But, come October, I still had about two dozen tadpoles in various stages of metamorphosis and it got cold. Too cold for a container that held water only 2.5" deep. They can take extreme cold, but frozen solid? I had my doubts. My happy mistake was bringing them inside. You have NO idea how labor intensive it is to raise baby treefrogs until you do it. I ended up with five different terrariums set up, for tadpoles, froglets, and frogs; heat lamps; flightless fruitfly cultures in my bedroom; crickets over the heat vent in my bathroom; and it took 9 months for it to get warm enough and them to get large enough to release. They had to be fed at least twice a day and keeping up with the tank cleaning and their food supply made it a full-time job. In the end, some went to live at Zoo Atlanta and some to Fernbank Science Center, with much gratitude to the herpetologists at both places who were gracious and patient enough to answer all my over the course of their little froggie beginnings. Was it worth it? Well, I did it all over again the next year. LOL I had all the equipment and a lot more knowledge, so I wouldn't be totally lost during a second run. I didn't really plan to repeat the experience, though. I only wanted to see if a spoonful of eggs... EGGS, not tadpoles, would be viable, having been laid in chlorinated pool water. All 48 turned into tadpoles! They were the size of that exclamation point, but just large enough to get my heart. Again. My frogs were Cope's Gray Treefrogs. First year, I lost six out of 26. The next year, I didn't lose a single frog. Of the 48 I started with, most morphed out and were released before winter. I ended up raising the last dozen. That dozen now reside at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga (thanks to a dear friend and fellow froglet raiser who is a volunteer shark tank diver at the aquarium.) I just found this thread today and can't wait to read it all. I have a time crunch, so I could only read about half before I stopped to write this. Love frogs? I adore them. I'll post pictures from my adventure when I can find time to upload them from the little digital discs to my computer.

Owning 40acres in Northern WI. It has a pond for drainage as well as a pond underging succession. I want to change that and had come here as there are some other folks out there doing the same. I wanted to clarify some things. According to a checklist I found dnr.wi.gov/topic/waterways/checklists/checklist_manualdredging.pdf it appears that I can do this. I have an area about 30' x 20' that I will bring all down to about 1' or less, as long as it all has water and I can get rid of the canary grass. I will so this by hand and plan on replanting with native WI plants which will benifit nature. I realizeI am disrupting nature but there are some species of plants which are not native and are invasive which I would like to avoid and be rid of. I have read much drivel on this site and anyone who wants to know local/state laws the DNR of many states have excellent information on their respective websites. What a wonderful wealth of information. Teaches all anything from planting trees to building a pond. After removing I will place the spoils within 20' of the newly rejuvenated pond in case i picked up any critter along the way. They can make their way back home. I would love to simply fill in the wet hole but I cannot following the law!!! I repeat, following WI DNR codes I will work MY land finding compromise with what I would like as well abiding by laws set up to protect nature. I will plant the following in the water that will fill the hole: Spike Rush, Arrowhead, Waterlily, Pickerelweed, Sweet Flag, Wild Celery, Longleaf Pondweed, Water Stargrass All are edible by various wildlife and even some by humans. I do not have such an ego that I will keep them all for myself...... An old post I am adding to but I enjoyed and am going to enjoy more watching the ducks swim among the frogs. There are 39.8 more acres that has already succesionized so I don't worry too much. I hope the rest of the frogs nt in the pond don't die too much from the glyphosate I will use to get rid of the canary grass so I can plant trees. Only about 400 this year.

Tally, I have water plants and might be able to get you some tad poles. I have a massive bull frog that I might hire a gang to catch if you want him.:-) Here is my list of haves and wants. I'm headed out to look for more stuff. Copperleaf- Alternanthera reineckii Four leaf Clover Variegated-Marsilea quadrifola variegate Hardy Frog Bit- Limbonium spongeanum Parrots Feather- Myriopyllum aquatica Variegated Water Celery Oenanthe Javanica "Flamingo", Water Hyacinth- Eichornia crassipies White Snowflake Arrowhead- Sagittaria latifolia Bog Lily-Crinium americanum Canna 'Bengal Tiger' Canna Wyoming Pink and White Mexican Bluebell Chocolate Mint Creeping Jenny Fairy lilys pink Forget-Me-Not- Myosotis palustris 'Gold Strike Rush' Juncus effuses Horsetail Rush- Equisetum hyemale Pickerel Rush Blue Sensitive plant-Aeschynomene fluitan Star Grass Dichromena colorata Sweet Flag Dwarf Variegated Taro Green - Colocasia esculenta Taro Violet stem Thalia- Thalia dealbata Umbrella Palm Variegated Dwarf Bamboo Widows tears spiderwort Musa Zebrina Blood Banana Coral Honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens Caster bean seedlings Taro Green Taro Black Taro Violet stem. Artemesia 'Lime Light' Creeping Fig Green Plectranthus amboinicus Variegated Cuban Oregano Vinca major-Greater Periwinkle 'Variegata' 'Firepower' Agave americana Variegata Century plant Agave Blue Jazz Aristolochia fimbriata White Veined Hardy Dutchman's Pipe Nandina domestica 'Firepower' Bulbine Frutescens Kalanchoe -Bryophyllum daigremontianum Mother of Thousands Kalanchoe Fedtschenkoi Variegata "Creamed Scallops" Kalanchoe "Gastonis Bonnieri"- Donkey Ears plant Opuntia microdasys Bunny Ears Cactus Opuntia Prickly Pear Clematis 'Sweet Autumn' Nephrolepis exaltata `Bostoniensis' Boston fern Arundo donax 'Variegata' (Variegated giant reed) Liriope Green Hibiscus Confederate Rose Lantana, Gold lantana Lantana montevidensis (sellowiana)Purple Trailing Lantana Cycas revolute Sago Palm Philodendron Monstera Oblique Leichtlinii 'Swiss Cheese' Philodendron Radiatum Dubia Special Trade Philodendron Scandens Heart Leaf Philodendron Philodendron Scandens Medio Pictum - "Flame Leaved Heart Plant" Philodendron Xanado Ruellia squarrosa Creeping ruellia 'Blue Shade' Tradescantia minima Callisia repens Bolivian Jew Salix cinerea 'Tricolor' Japanese Dappled Willow Lonicera japonica Japanese , Purpleleaf Honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens (Coral Honeysuckle) Passiflora Vitifolia Senecio confusus (Mexican Flame Vine) Wisteria Beaucarnea recurvata Pony Tail Palm Plants I want Thunbergia Blue Sky Vine Thunbergia mysorensis Strongylodon macrobotrys "Jade Vine" Oxalis deppei 'Iron Cross' Musa I dont have Gingers I dont have Rose Joseph's Coat Palms I dont have Hoyas I dont have Texas Star Hibiscus Pink and White Ferns I dont have that will live outside during our Winters Clematis I dont have Butterfly bushes Alocasia I dont have. Lost several over the winter