I know what you mean.
Here is my netted and ONE of my culprits. It is hard to tell in pic, but the biggest tree is the Bald Cypress at 50+ feet. Add all the others and that adds up to alot of leaves quickly. Notice the single leaf off the Cypress, they are needle-like which is why I got the netting with the smallest net weave I could find. Spring, please hurry back.

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Summer picture:

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Hardin,

That tree looks EVIL! I like the way your net bracing curves over your pond and your netting is nice and neat. I've just put rebar stakes in the ground and tied the net to it. Its not exact even so leaves get caught in the folds of the net. Still, it better than the leaves filling up the skimmer box or dropping to the bottom.

I hate to think how many months we have to wait to get our ponds beautiful again......(sigh)

You think that's bad, try this one - being the first [full] year with a pond, I didn't know the optimal time to put a net up and protect everything (I've already pulled out the non-hardy plants and brought 'em inside). Well, 2 weekends ago I thought that it might be a good time to get the net up while it was still somewhat decent out, but never bothered to do so. That following week there was a cold snap and the tree right above the pond dropped *all* of its leaves in one day. You couldn't even see the stream, the leaves were that bad. Figures, right? The past couple of days has been spent cleaning leaves and dying plants out of the pond, and I put the net up on Sat. Hopefully it'll do some good seeing as the next tree in line still has its leaves, and it's about twice the size of the other one.

Well, I was almost too late also. I had put on the frame 2 weekends ago, but not the net. I put that on this past weekend. Just in time.

I had a few minor problems doing that. First was thinking the net size was 15 x 20, so I cut the PVC "arches" at 15' and fitted the ends onto the rebar that were in the ground. I loved the high pitch of the arch, BUT the net was actually 12 by 20, so I had to cut 18" off each end so the cross brace pieces still ran along the top which made the arches 12' like the net. I also had to move the rebar in a few inches closer to the pond, so that I would still have enough arch.

The second batch of trouble I had involved an accidental fountain I created. I was driving tent stakes into the ground, so I could use small bungee cords to make the net tight. Well, I drove one right through the hose that goes from the pump to the waterfall. Yep, that's when I hollered for my husband. "Oh Crap. HONEY??!!" LOL. But, anyway, I am still very happy with the way the frame and the netting came out. I knew I wanted it to arch and the net to fit tightly, that way I could just use my broom to sweep away alot of the leaves and hopefully the wind would help keep them blown off.

Well, is spring here yet? We will have to keep ourselves inspired by new ideas and projects to try when spring is here again. We will have to keep each other posted on all of our wild ideas. I have a few. :)

Timbersmith,

I, too, was procrastinating and since I'm gone from home 13 hours a day I only see the backyard on weekends. The tree just above the pond had shed all its leaves right into the pond. The skimmer box was totally filled so there was a backup of floating leaves waiting to get in. It took over two hours to hand pick leaves out of the plants, rocks and hyacinths. As I was netting leaves out of the bottom I accidently netting up one of my goldies. She was NOT happy!

And Hardin, I almost drove a piece of rebar into my hose too. I just happened to notice a small piece of it that wasn't under the ground just before I whacked it with the sledgehammer.

I am complaining right now but in a "funny story" way. I love my pond in all its seasons and don't regret one minute I spend out there.

thanks for sharing all the pics! I love the pvc arch! Definitely will have to use that next year.

I took my netting off the pond on Sunday to take out the pumps and assorted gear. Thought I'd cover it up with tarp for winter since all the plants around it have been killed off by the early snows this season.

Long story short, never got around to finishing up with the tarp and now the dang thing is FULL of leaves. Plan for tonight is to put on my rubber boots and get as many leaves out before I put the pond to bed for the winter.

Please hurry spring! I can't wait to add lilies and fish and new fun stuff to the pond. I'm already envisioning the secondary pond that I want to put in next to the big pond and waterfalls! Gotta figure out, too, how to add pictures so I can show everyone my crazy first time ponder escapades!

It's so sad to "put up" my pond for the winter. I never net it because then the birds cant get to it. I live in the woods so daily leaf cleaning is required. I wait till the very last minute to turn off the waterfalls and tuck the pond in under its "tent" for the winter. I have been known to be doing this in the first snowstorm of the year. UUUUUGGG it's coming!

I'm reviving this thread from last year to see how you're all doing it this year. I netted my 20 ft circular pond yesterday (I'm going away for a couple of weeks and know all the leaves will fall soon). But it's the first time I've done it.I'm deteremined not to have that danged Oak Tea in May like I've had the past 2 years of my 3 year old pond. Right away I saw a huge frog looking at me wondering what I was doing, so I altered my plan for him, making the netting go up higher than I planned. What I did was bring the net over all my large fauna and then put rocks on the outside, there are a few openings all the way around but without exit signs I don't think large insects can find their way out. The bees have plenty of room to come and go, each net hole is about 1" square. Then after I set it up I saw 2 trapped dragonflies, I freed one but couldn't get the other out. I also left the waterfall out because it seems mostly the birds frolic in that. But now I'm traumatized, what have I done to my pond life?

Oh, I feel your pain. After a record setting summer (for heat), with still-blooming water hyacinths, water lilies and cardinal flowers, I closed my pond this past weekend. It's a little early, but I knew I wouldn't have another chance until late October, which is too late to keep the leaves out of the pond. Pruned all the plants, and lowered them below the assumed ice level, took out the tropicals (by-by water hyacinths) and netted the whole thing, including the stream this year (remembering last springs scooping handfuls of leaves out the stream). However, I was rewarded yesterday, as a storm system went though the area, knocking lots of leaves off the trees, all of which did not go in my pond.