We resume meetings on January 20, 2020.

January 20th, 2020 Austin Pond Society
Meeting Announcement
“Native & Adapted Perennials”
Presented by Reeve Hobbie, Master Gardener

NATIVE & ADAPTED PERENNIALS
In Central Texas it is always best to garden using plants that will tolerate our summer heat, native soils, and infrequent rains. Reeve’s presentation will cover many of the tried and true perennials that will thrive here with minimal care in our climate and soils. He will share with you dozens of his favorite perennials that will add color and texture to your landscape using a collection of beautiful slides and plant descriptions. You are bound to go home with some new plant ideas that you will want to try out.
This topic will focus on beautiful and very suitable perennials that will help enhance our water features.
BIO ON REEVE HOBBIE

Reeve Hobbie was born and raised in New Jersey where he began gardening in his early teens and has been doing so ever since. After college he spent two years in England and three years in Minnesota. Then he and his family moved to northwest Austin where they have lived for the past 36 years. He retired from 3M Company 12 years ago. Almost immediately he attended Master Gardener training and received his certification from Travis County AgriLife Extension Services. He particularly enjoys perennial gardening. Favorites are daylilies and bearded iris, but he’ll have to tell you why he doesn’t grow them anymore.

January 20, 2020 6:30 PM
Zilker Botanical Gardens

Do you have need for someone with the right knowledge to pond sit for you while you are away on a trip or something similar? We can help out our fellow Ponders in such times of need. Because maintaining a pond is fairly specialized, it is not easy to find someone to look after the pond if you as the pond owner, want to take a trip and be away for a few days. It would be doubly nice if you knew that person is also handy enough to make any small repairs that might be needed and it would certainly give you peace of mind during your absence. Read more here on Pondsitting.

Are you thinking of rebuilding your pond or maybe starting a new one? There are several used pond items for sale that could give you a good start and at a lot cheaper price than buying new. Skimmers, filter boxes, waterfall boxes and such do not wear out and a used item is every bit as good as a new piece for less than half of the price. There are now two Pond-o-Vac vacuum cleaner that are in very good condition going for a ridiculously low price plus other pond equipment. Check it out.Use this link to review the items available.

We sometimes get requests from pond enthusiasts who for various reasons, are no longer able to take care of their ponds and water features and are looking to shut down the ponds and re-home the fish. We have a very organized crew of volunteers with all of the equipment needed to perform this task. We also find new homes for the fish among our members as we have learned by experience that there is no sale for these fish regardless of the pedigree. If you have the need for this service, use the link to learn more about it

Membership in the Austin Pond Society is a wonderful way to meet other pond lovers and learn about the many joys of having a backyard pond. In addition to our regular monthly meetings where you’ll hear professionals speak on pond building, plants, fish and other wildlife. you’ll get to participate in hands-on demonstrations and give back to the community by helping us out at the Zilker Garden Center and area elementary schools where we teach and assist in building and maintaining their ponds.

• As a member, you also receive these member-only benefits.
  POND-O-VAC – Use this link for details
  125 GALLON TRANSPORT TANK – $25 per week donation plus deposit
  GENERAL MEETING EACH MONTH – wonderful speakers, great food and friendship with like-minded folks
  THE MARKETPLACE – sign up and receive notification whenever pond equipment, Koi, goldfish and plants are being given away.
  POND STARS – experienced ponders can help with advice on your pond problems
  APRIL PLANT SWAP – bring a variety of plants and go home with your car full.
  MAY SPONSOR NIGHT – come and meet our APS sponsors and check out the newest products and enjoy great discounts.
  MEMBERS-ONLY EVENTS – outings to members’ ponds, garden centers, water-lily growers, fish hatcheries
  WEBSITE – contains information on all aspects of APS activities
  THE STREAM – MONTHLY CALENDAR – keeps you current with the month’s activities
  COMMUNITY SERVICE – volunteer at Zilker Botanical Garden, the Zilker Garden Festival, and the Austin Pond Tour. Participate at the annual pond cleaning at Zilker Gardens or other sites that need our assistance