GROWTH is rampant everywhere now, and especially in the garden pond. Haul out excess amounts of oxygenating plants, and remove blanket weed by twirling it around a stick, spaghetti-style. Leave all this wet greenery in a heap on the pond's edge for a day or so to allow displaced water creatures to make their way back home. However, if you have water lilies, pointy-shelled, black water snails should be done away with.
Water lilies should be planted before mid-summer to allow their tubers time to bulk up in order to survive the winter. Plant them in a peat-free, loamy mixture in special aquatic baskets, preferably lined with mesh to stop soil seepage. Cover the top with gravel. Set the basket gently in the pond on a plinth of bricks so that the foliage is just under water. As the plant grows, remove the bricks one by one until the basket rests on the pond bottom.