Water Lilies in the South African Environment

What has been written is often inaccurate and generally cribbed from overseas sources; often a cursory mention in the final chapter of some general work on ornamentals! Relevant useable information has been difficult to come by and thus the growing techniques described in this little book are perforce the result of local experience.

As lily buds peer above the water, as lily pads unfold on the surface, as many and varied disasters overtake us, lessons are learnt and often re-learnt.

Voracious African tadpoles eat everything in sight, leeches attempt human phlebotomy. In between we learn just how stunning and fascinating water lilies really can be.

Other questions are intriguing- when did the first hybrids land in SA? There are 3 indigenous varieties often and extensively used in the U.S. as parents to many beautiful "blue" tropicals, but who introduced the lovely hybrids bred by Monsieur Marliac at the turn of the century? Many are well established in the Western and Eastern Cape and even Northern Natal.

The parks department of PE municipality imported an extensive collection and grew them on at Victoria Park, from which many were distributed throughout the country. Early catalogues such as Smith Bros. of Uitenhage make little mention of water gardening in their garden manual published circa 1902.

Somebody in the early 1900's must have imported the wild Nymphaea mexicana, perhaps from Florida, which has become a pest on many a farm dam.

In point of fact, by far the most mature water lily area is in the Paarl/Stellenbosch district and generally inland of Cape Town. This is an interesting connection with the vines and fruit growing areas of France from where the most of our hybrids originated.

Chapter 1 ... Skirting The Pond Issue

Water gardens are fish, relaxing, waterlilies, beautiful ....... aptly put by one of North America's premier nurseries. Unfortunately before we arrive at that point a great deal of hard work is in order. And that is sweat, weariness and cost .....!

Siting your fishpond is important. Sunlight is not a rare commodity in South Africa, but nevertheless the pond must be planned to receive reasonable exposure. Poets, kingfishers and ferns may revel in drippy grottos and dense overhead foliage, but keep your pond well into the light of day. Trees sited to the North East (South East in northern hemisphere) are particular undesirable as the early morning sun is useful to warm the pond. Come spring, waterlilies in the well-positioned pond can be in bloom weeks earlier due to higher water temperatures.

To the South an evergreen windbreak is an asset to give added protection from the icy 'berg' winds in July. Conifers of the Thuja persuasion are ideal, clipped. Spireae buxus (when obtainable or shrub groupings as the design of the garden allows. Anything deciduous with tiny leaves avoid at all costs.

Light foliage, refined small trees planted to overhang the edge of the pond to the South or West is permissible. Try Acer palmatum, Weeping Birch, Salix contorta or Agonis flexuosa. Other smallish trees which have occasionally been seen available in nurseries are Acer dadvidii, Hazelnut (Corylus), Aralia elata and even smallish indigenous willow Salix hirsuta. Don't let some salesperson sell you Acacia baileyana, a Weeping Willow or worse, a Poplar. Large trees have their place at a distance from the suburban water garden! In large schemes, of course, to match the scale of the garden, they may be necessary.

Construction is most important. There's nothing quite as wearing as a perpetually leaking pond, not to mention penalties plonked onto your water bill as you exceed your magical 'quota'. In point of fact water gardening is most water conserving because the only loss is to evaporation and transpiration. Normal summer downpours are, of course, retained by the pond, while a covering of lily pads actually reduces evaporation.

Details of construction, levelling, shape and design are outside the scope of this book except to outline a few methods available and other grievances. For instance, if you are a D.I.Y. enthusiast then be sure to plan the work for early spring or the balmy month of April (Autumn months in northern hemisphere) to avoid heatstroke.

Concrete Still the best long term method of pond construction. Consider the large Victorian pond in Burgher's Park - it is still good and solid despite successive waves of Horticultural students from Pretoria Parks! Be meticulous with the reinforcing and do consider various chemical additives and pool sealants on the market.

Membrane Liners A subject of some controversy as to the best plastic liner to use. Construction details are simplified as one has only to dig and shape the pond, lay the liner to fit and fill. Experience has shown the best, reasonably priced material is P.V.C. or vinyl liner. It stands up well to sunlight, is easy to use and can be patched using an ordinary contact adhesive.

Super Clay Expanding Seals Products such as Aluminium silicate which are supplied in powder form. When wet they form a gel to prevent seepage. These have a function for dams which have a constant inflow from a small stream. Initial results in garden have been disappointing. Ponds are difficult to clean, plants grow too aggressively and water levels are difficult to maintain. Little boys and big dogs, often noted for being boisterous, have to be kept out of the pond to prevent the seal being broken.

Pre- Formed Ponds whether of rigid plastic, fibreglass or even sawn off oak barrels, they have their uses-easily installed and waterproof. These are the obvious choice for a small fairly formal pond in a suburban garden. Limited only by the pre-formed shape.

With your pond made and the hard work behind you - the main point of the whole exercise begins. Fill the pond with tap water and allow 36 hours before attempting to add fish or plants. Concrete ponds need more time to 'cure' before adding any plant material because of dissolved chemicals. Discard the first filling after 3 days and when the second filling begins to turn green with floating algae, you'll know you're safe.

The contents of much of this book were discovered in a Johannesburg bookshop on sale at R8.95 some years ago. The book which I bought had been printed in A5 saddle-stitched format using a font size of about 8 points on plain paper with a yellowing cover of thinnish board.

The book was called . Waterlilies and Pond Aquatics The picture below was the front cover

Does anyone recognise this booklet's author?

Unfortunately there was not a single reference to an author or publisher nor was there any reference of any sort to seek permission to publish from. My view is that it contained such valuable and well written information especially for the South African water plant enthusiast that it would have been wrong not to re-publish it.

Any attempts to criticise the books contents based upon not quite correct botanical classification style such as incorrect use of italics and so on should be avoided. Such changes may well have been made by myself to make on screen reading somewhat easier in places.

The original publication was probably published at the authors own cost as evidenced by the omission of a publishers details.

As a friend of mine in the UK pointed out it was written by someone who had a passion for the subject...

I sincerely hope that a reader will recognize the contents and be able to pinpoint the author for me and provide me with the necessary details to contact the person concerned.

To maintain the authenticity I have also reproduced other sketches and pictures from within the book. Maybe this will further assist in identifying the original author was he/she the artist also?

With very minor exceptions the text is as originally written.