Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Pond Stories

[dwoodard (dwoodard]

I have no experience in cohousing, but I did collect information relating
to ponds in parks.

Banks should be gently sloped, and edges should be shallow enough to
allow people (especially small people) who fall in to climb out easily.

There are suites of swamp and wet prairie plants good to plant round the
edges. Here in southern Ontario, swamp milkweed (red flowers) and
turtlehead are two of my favourite herbaceous plants. Kids will enjoy
watching bumblebees collect nectar from turtlehead flowers (lots of
body English and rump wiggling). Among woody plants; winterberry (Ilex
verticillata) and spicebush (Linera benzoin). Pawpaw and Amelanchier
laevis (smooth serviceberry) (both have edible fruit) like ground that is
wet or at least damp in spring.

For information about native plants in your area, consult your local
native plant association. The North American Native Plant Society has
a page of contact information for them:
http://www.nanps.org/associations/frame.shtml


Digression on edible fruit:

Cultivars of even the common species grown commercially are not
necessarily the best for home growing or for use. You may want to contact
one or more of these associations for accurate and complete information
(as well as your state or provincial extension department):

North American Fruit Explorers
http://www.nafex.org

Home Orchard Society (especially Pacific Northwest)
http://www.homeorchardsociety.org

California Rare Fruit Growers
http://www.crfg.org

Northern Nut Growers Association (not exclusive to the north)
http://www.nutgrowing.org

Society of Ontario Nut Growers (actually Canadian national to a degree)
http://www.songonline.ca

and their eastern chapter
http://ecsong.ca