The Austin Pond Society held their July meeting at Zilker Botanical Gardens Clubhouse this past Monday, July 20th. It was attended by about 45 members with several new members showing up. Welcome to you all.

We were treated to a dinner of salad and pizza which was delicious as usual. maybe it’s because someone else prepares it that makes it taste so good. This is probably the only meal that I allow myself to indulge in pizza even though it tastes so good. The one bad note about the meal was to learn that due to an expansion in her own business, Laura and her husband, Stefan are no longer able to be the Pond Society’s Hospitality representatives. Consequently, we are actively looking for a new member willing to step up and fill the role. I can guarantee that you will be the best liked and most popular person on the Board.

Following the meal and the usual 30 minute time reserved for greet and meet, Barb Lenhardt, our Programs and Special Events person introduced the speaker for the evening, Dale Pliml from Leaf Garden Supply. Before Dale could get started, Glen Hubenthal had some problems with raising the picture screen and as it covered the main marker board resulting in Dale having to resort to his own marker board. Dale’s topic was intended to be ponds and pond building but as the evening wore on, turned into a major discussion about bogs, bog gardens and the difference between a bog and a filter system. It was a very interesting discussion with the members joining in with many opinions of their own. Several had stories to share and at one point, the discussion turned to Lotus and the many growth and flowering problems. This also was an interesting discussion and again brought many comments and questions from the floor. At about 8:15 pm, Dale wrapped up his presentation and Jeannie, the President took over for a couple of announcements and then finally the drawing for the 3 door prizes. The meeting ended around 8:20.

Due to the length of Dale’s presentation and the amount of discussion that it generated, I have had to break the videos into three parts. I heartily recommend that you watch all of them as there is a lot of useful information about ponds, pond building, bogs and filtration systems.
Part 1.
Dale Pliml Part 1 7-20-2015 from Francis Allcorn on Vimeo.

This is Part 1 of the Dale Pliml presentation held on July 20, 2015

Part 2.

Dale Pliml Part 2 7-20-2015.m2ts from Francis Allcorn on Vimeo.

This is Part 2 of the Dale Pliml presentation

Part 3.

Dale Pliml Part 3 7-20-2015 from Francis Allcorn on Vimeo.

This is the third and final part of the Dale Pliml presentation