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Greetings From SeaWorld’s Garden of Discovery August 2002 ------------------- What’s Happening in SeaWorld’s Gardens This Month?
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Ecology of A Water Garden Garden Ponds come in many forms and serve various functions. In their simplest forms, they serve as reflecting pools or as an integrated part of the building architecture. The water is kept sterile with chemicals and the pond has no ecology. A more common usage is as a formal display receptacle for certain exotic plants or animals. Many ponds are now being constructed to exhibit the Japanese Colored Carp (Koi), which has a range of colors and patterns that rival most flowers. These ponds have a very limited ecology. Finally, a garden pond can be used to represent a natural pond or lake in miniature to complete a landscape design. Here the ecology is most complex because the environment affords many niches for a variety of organisms. The pond at the Garden of Discovery is nearly self-sufficient. All the organisms interrelate to stabilize the environment. The floating leaved plants shade the water to keep the temperature moderate, clams and water fleas strain the water for algae, underwater plants absorb nitrogenous wastes and provide hiding places for the water fleas, shrimp and prawns, small fish search among the plants for the water fleas as food, larger fish strain the sand for water insects, snails crawl up the lily stems to eat the decaying older leaves and the leaches reach out to feast on the snails – and so it goes on and on and on. Stability is maintained by numerous checks and balances. The loss of any one plant or animal has only a slight effect on the whole. Even if an entire species disappears there is enough overlap for the void to be filled by another species. By careful manipulation of each species a gardener can mold the environment of the pond to achieve the desired results. It is possible by judicious choice of plants and animals to keep a pond virtually unchanging and maintenance free for years.
To
learn more about the Southern California Water Garden Society please
contact:
------------------- Birds and Blossoms On Wednesday, August 14th, a group of gardening and bird aficionados took the final “Birds and Blossoms” tour of the summer. The group learned how SeaWorld horticulturists design award winning landscapes and how the bird keepers care for our exotic birds. The 90 minute walking tour focused on bird and landscape features on the east side of the park. This sold out event included a visit to the Garden of Discovery. Space is limited for this tour. For more information call the SeaWorld Education Department at 1-800-23SHAMU (74268). ------------------- Wildlife Watch Recent entries from our Wildlife Spotters log include:
------------------- Weather Report
------------------- Upcoming Event! Mark your calendars! Fall
Festival at the Garden of Discovery Saturday, September 28th,
Noon to 3:00
For information on your customized educational opportunity in the Garden of Discovery contact Jeff Hall or Melanie Repikoff (619) 226-3900 ext. 2207. E-mail us at SWCLandscape@SeaWorld.com Visit our SeaWorld Garden Web site. Garden of Discovery Partners: |
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