The Aftermath of the Giant Ecosystem Pond

Last summer, with the help of my friends at Aquascape (@EdThePondProfessor @TEAMAquascape ), I installed a large ecosystem pond in my backyard. Endless rain caused a lot of mud, making it a challenge. Much of the project had to be completed weeks later, and I’m still working on much of that at the time of this upload.
This portion of the series documents what occurred from the original video until early April 2024. A LOT has happened since then that I’ll share in the episodes to follow.
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[@SerpaDesign]

I’ve been working on the pond non-stop since March and am very excited to start this series. I’ve added many new features thus far, and wildlife is making full use of them. However, this episode only documents what happened up to early April. So much has happened since, and I can’t wait to share more. I hope you’ll join me on this amazing adventure. Enjoy and have a great weekend SerpaSquad!

[@masaya8844]

Have you heard of Frog Saunas? It’s a repurposed seedling greenhouse to help keep frogs warm over winter, it also helps them combat the deadly fungus that’s been wiping out many frogs!

[@sumandutta8300]

Can you add any algieater to the pond ???

[@rgilroy1909]

so tantalizing

[@IgorEngelen1974]

can't you just redirect the run off water by digging some gullies? I might be wrong but seem to remember that you can put some bags with peat extract in a pond to keep algae under control. Anyways, great pond and love the fish.

[@reeda5390]

Cant wait to see more!!

[@aeolian8781]

Dudes really stepping his video production up. I genuinely felt like I was watching a documentary. Thank you for the inspiration

[@someoneelse8922]

Agreeeee

[@ArcticAirUltraPro]

100% agree, the flow, pacing, narration, script, audio, and cinematography/ editing were seamless

[@gloriaash7511]

I was just thinking how much I would love a documentary by him!

[@SerpaDesign]

Putting a lot of thought into these edits, so I appreciate the feedback.

[@skyco40]

Hey Sherpa! Just wanted to say I’ve been watching you for years now and I am proud of how much you and your channel have evolved! Keep up the great work! I’m anxious to see the developments of the pond

[@GregorySD]

So incredible. I'm glad I came across this randomly.

[@randompersonyoudontknow5763]

I'm so glad that you brought up the 100 goldfish you adopted from over a year ago!

[@MoaRReloads]

The spring Peepers remind me a lot of the Coqui frog from Puerto Rico. Almost sounded like home 😅

[@DianeCee0]

Garden Answer is having a struggle with string algae in her aquascape pond too

[@UpstateYamadori]

Whoa I love it

[@kazkorianor]

what a cliffhanger ^^

[@alejandroblancofelix4537]

Loved this bideo

[@SoHighIFly]

Does the pump run 24/7?

[@abc-bm3yu]

Plant a water Lilly 😃

[@TetrisKing]

Watching an animal KZbinr that actually loves animals and doesn't just them for views. It is refreshing to say the least.

[@BrianMoser2008]

Cough cough dr plants cough cough just joshing

[@wild.forestflower]

North Yuki Husky is a cute and wholesome channel with lots of love. The Asher House is an amazing animal rescue organization. Zak George is a dog training channel that encourages kindness to animals with positive reinforcement training. 💜🐾 The goodness is out there, just gotta look for it!

[@adamprobbing2872]

The other really good youtuber for that is antscanada. Similar kind of feeling in that both love there animals, abit of a more excited vibe though. But nice to have 2 really good youtubers doing there bit

[@collllroossk]

Completely agree! Antscanada is so annoying and so is Dr.Plants. SerpaDesign is great!

[@BrianMoser2008]

@@collllroossk Ong ants Canada is mad annoying

[@rippy4freedom]

Peaceful Pond.... with frogs, fish, insects and plants, rocks, water flowing.... I love your project

[@samgerarden-uz7cx]

I’d love to see you incorporate more native plants into your outdoor projects. I think you could do some awesome things with them! Great job on this build!

[@Hannah_Becton]

Seconded! As much as Tanner loves animals, he would deeply enjoy the sheer amount and variety of animals he would attract with the food they evolved to eat!

[@taramansion]

Yes! My yard is basically a wildlife park now b/c it's almost 100% native plants.

[@JRyan-lu5im]

This. I was rather disappointed when he loaded it with Koi and generic plants despite the premise being an "ecosystem" more than a upscale backyard pond.

[@raerohan4241]

​@@JRyan-lu5im Agreed. Especially if that pond floods and we yet more invasive goldfish ending up in more bodies of water and turning them into wastelands...

[@JRyan-lu5im]

@@raerohan4241 There are Tiktok channels dedicated to purging carp overrun rivers too, and the quantity and mass of them is huge. They decimate what they invade. So terming it an "ecosystem" pond is like calling a sewage plant environmental. Sure, in the loosest sense.

[@BearSwipes]

This is almost Nat Geo level cinematography. Absolutely beautiful. It's also amazing as an Australian seeing cane toads (American toads) in their native habitat. They are a pest here that cause significant destruction, so it's just nice to see them living in a proper balance and doing their thing =)

[@olliek6709]

yeah! i thought they looked like cane toads, except the ones in australia are a lot beefier lol

[@BearSwipes]

@@olliek6709 They are apparently the same species! =D

[@felixmakesart]

@@BearSwipesnot sure where you heard that, cane toads (Rhinella marina) and American toads (Anaxyrus americanus) are definitely not the same species

[@SkinkKing14]

Cane toads are extremely toxic, these aren’t really. They are also about a quarter of the size.

[@raclark2730]

On the Australia cane toad situation, there are some more signs of natural predation. I have a temporary pond for frogs. Just before it dried up, a group of Ibis AKA Bin Chickens were using it as a toad wash. Turns out this is quite common, they do this to soak out the poison before eating them.

[@bryane1582]

An idea for what you could do with that empty space on the right side - do a video setting up a pollinator garden with native wildflowers. Good chance to flex your landscaping muscles and do some education about the value of native plant/insect species

[@thomvantilburg7599]

The cinematography in this video is really top notch!

[@rc8rsracer1]

Fantastic! Never seen a true "follow up" on these natural ponds. I still want one! I figured the algae chaos would begin just as it does in my aquariums. Can't wait fir the next video

[@lostpony4885]

Excessive algae is often because of high nitrogen. Once a lot of nitrogen consuming life develops the algae should diminish.

[@Dirt-Fermer]

You can plant trees that shade the pond a bit and it stops most algae

[@wolfe1970]

This is TV quality editing, this was by far the best video ive seen you produce

[@chadso1368]

Agree

[@TheSeptemberRose]

I was going to say that too! The editing and production quality of this video is top notch!

[@DeadPlantSociety]

I agree

[@SoleLifeMPLS]

Hey Tanner, I have a suggestion for helping with that run off if you’d consider. I recommend native plants to your area to border the pond (absolutely gorgeous btw!). They’ll send taproots considerably deeper into the soil, which helps lock in that earth as well as filtering the runoff!! I hope you consider the challenge of going native and piecing together a landscape that will harbor even more life, from beneficial insects to birds and other wildlife. Have a great weekend! ✌🏽🌿

[@IvanIvanoIvanovich]

I was about to leave a comment to that effect and saw yours. There are a few commercial nurseries that sell natives in bulk specifically for bank stabilization and stormwater erosion mitigation.

[@SoleLifeMPLS]

@@IvanIvanoIvanovich right on! Also worth researching Keystone Plants. Things like Oaks that harbor 2300 different species of life, and 326 of those are entirely dependent on those trees, for example. Needless to say what we choose to plant in our yards can make a difference!

[@annemurphy9339]

The scary thing about lots of plants encircling a pond is that it could hide snakes that will inevitably be drawn to the sound of splashing water. These ponds are just beautiful, but that’s a genuine concern.

[@SoleLifeMPLS]

@@annemurphy9339 ​​⁠ snakes are all around us, and they’ll leave you alone as long as you leave them alone. Like all living things, they too have an under appreciated role in our environments.

[@IzItShiny]

How much does Tanner love his animals? "This is Petey," he says, circling one goldfish out of a container of dozens of identical-looking (to me) goldfish. Dude. How?

[@GardeningCookingNature-zx8np]

I'm most impressed that you can identify Petie 👍🐟

[@SerpaDesign]

It's getting tough now that he's in the pond with more fish, but it was easy before because he was the only one that size. The other babies were either smaller or larger than him.

[@MrEmory1980]

The production in this video would make a filmmaker proud.

[@Urnotdanimal]

Sooooo good you inspired me to try and build fish tanks and grow up to try and be a marine biologist thanks younserpa your awsome 🥺☺️😊

[@athela2023]

What a video... Tanner I'm completely blown away at the cinematography and story telling here. The whole thing drew me in like an expert documentary, I was sad to see it end so soon. I'm looking forward to the next episode! The pond looks amazing, loving the updates and seeing Petie living his best life with the gold fish group :) We have a neglected (very small) water feature after the extreme weather last year and this year, and this really inspires me to get to work on it. You're the best!

[@GregWittstockThePondGuy]

Tanner what a pleasant surprise to wake up in London to this beautiful update of your first season with a full bore Aquascape Recreation Pond! 👏🏻 So glad we were able to help you begin “Living the Aquascape Lifestyle” five years ago now! “I ❤ MY JOB!”

[@Lazy_Fish_Keeper]

Greg, I'm grateful you did that initial collaboration, or I never would have known about you or your company. I'm now working on gathering signatures from the residents of our apartment complex to replace our wasteful water feature, with one of yours. Living in the desert, water really is life!

[@GregWittstockThePondGuy]

@@Lazy_Fish_Keeper that’s awesome!!!

[@cjyoung7372]

I work offshore and I can tell you one of the things I look forward to the most when I get home is sitting by my little pond with my head in another word

[@inlesinlet]

Oh wow. I didn''t know frogs could make me cry... but... I live in Northern Norway, in a particular pocket of the landscape where it doesn't rain a lot. Amphibians have been scarce, and are becoming even more so. I can't remember the last time I saw a frog. Seeing so many frogs in your garden, I don't know, it's making me really sad and also happy at the same time. I'm sad there's seemingly no frogs around here, and happy that you're creating more space for frogs over there.

[@tritti96]

What a video, probably your best video so far. Big congratulations for the quality of the production, I can't wait for next week

[@reyymontano]

Why did I get teary eyed? This is better than anything on Netflix, Hulu, Prime, etc. Thank you!

[@nyleme2310]

Your pond series is really turning into one of my favourites tbh! Excited for next week!

[@tomwaltondc494]

Man, your production quality really jumped on this video! Not to say that your previous videos were no good, but this one felt like a nature documentary!

[@kinshasa2001]

Having lived in Western PA for over 40 years I think that was the first time I got to see what was making the phoebe sound! Which is awesome because they also have a nest above an outside light at my home. Tanner your videos are amazing! I have also never seen a toad swim! I honestly thought they didn't like to be in the water. I can't wait to see what you end up doing with this space.

[@robertpeach4044]

Tanner! This was so beautifully narrated. Thank you for always producing such high-quality content. Can't wait to see what's in store for next time with this pond and beyond!

[@LadyLuck363]

I love how beautiful it is and then the symphony at night! Just perfection. All your hard work and planning is truly appreciated by the animals, and by those you share it with

[@MeanOldLady]

It's all fun & games until they park outside your window & REEEEEE all night long. =p

[@SerpaDesign]

It's music to our ears! The best white noise to sleep to by far.

[@leopardgeckotalk]

So much wildlife, it's great to see 🤩. I tried to make a small wildlife pond but it does feel like the algae rapidly takes over. Great work Tanner!

[@jmarshal]

My dream would be to have a beautiful property like this backing onto a forest with such a grand pond teeming with life. Watching those deer must be magical.

[@tuvelat7302]

We had an Eastern Phoebe nest in our patio overhang this year. It was fun to watch the babies grow up.

[@ice_125]

the video is crazy good ! it's more a documentary than a youtube video , it deserves to be watched in a movie theater . thank you, you made my day and keep up the good work

[@L4busaures]

The sounds in the evening are gorgeous. Can’t wait for the next episode

[@birchmoss7232]

I just watched the original video a few days ago, and was hoping you'd post an update! Thanks for this-- I loved seeing the fish and frogs enjoying the pond, and can't wait to see how it develops further!

[@glub9075]

Hey Tanner, would you ever continue making any saltwater aquariums? If so, you should make a shallow lagoon type aquarium with mangroves and macroalgae as well as driftwood and leaf litter - basically. like a freshwater aquarium but cooler!

[@Xtry333]

I'd actually say you are not exactly a DIY person with all that experience and tools. Your channel became completely professional guide to aqua/terra/vivarium, meanwhile the materials you use don't really matter. One can create a something with what they have at home and no tools, this would be DIY. You create masterpieces

[@stampinturtles]

I don’t know about you but watching Serpa Design videos is very satisfying. ❤ Thanks for the update Tanner! Love seeing the deer and turkey and everything. You are truly a blessing to so many. God bless you and your wife and all the critters. 🙏🏻

[@juanitahamilton9523]

It's his voice 👍⭐🌟

[@Andrew_Cannistraci_Music]

Giving David Attenborough a run for his money on narrating. Digging these time lapse videos.

[@MsLeenite]

Excellent video, Tanner! I loved seeing the release of the koi into their new habitat, and the toads & frogs that came to play. Looking forward to the further adventures of The Pond.

[@morganw.4711]

This project has been such a joy to watch and I love this follow up! Please continue to share annual updates like this! Your nature videography is absolutely gorgeous, and your love of nature is palpable.

[@Kittylynx101]

The frozen pond looks absolutely magical. It’s beautiful

[@DanteYewToob]

Okay.. part of me wants to call BS.. lol how the hell do you recognize the same goldfish?! Especially when it changes color and pattern?! That’s crazy… especially considering you have hundreds or even thousands of animals in your brain already! Hahaha

[@renee1741]

Beautiful pond! I love seeing the progress. It's nice to see someone who appreciates and cares about goldfish, too! Science is showing how intelligent fish are now, and goldfish are sentient beings that are often neglected and abused. So yeah, that made me really happy to see how you have taken such amazing care of them and built such a beautiful pond for them. Couple questions though - are the lights causing any problems for the environment (light pollution)? I was wondering if you can find some native plants to add around - monarchs need milkweed and their numbers are shrinking. Other native plants will support native butterflies and provide berries and food for the birds. You'll see a lot more animals and cool insects like dragon flies!

[@thexyz8429]

man what a mood, I'm jealous. Keep us posted with the pond my friend!

[@spiinniing]

Spring peepers! I live right in an evergreen wetlands in the midwestern U.S. and hearing these little guys is a part of every spring for me and the sound is so familiar and nostalgic. I love spring peepers. ❤🐸

[@Tripl3Point]

In my climate the average frost line depth is 36 inches. And I suppose I'd need to go at least another 8 inches down to provide unfrozen space for the critters. That would be a lot of digging!

[@LaurelCanyonMojo]

Natural pond sealing with bentonite / clay is a more natural approach if you want to build wild, non-toxic habitat. Sepp Holzers method is letting pigs wallow in the dug out basin during wet weather months. They do an amazing job. Your work is beautiful. I just thought I'd share alternatives to plastic. It definitely takes longer to use these natural methods, but I hope I don't offend you by sharing. Sepp Holzer, a famous pond builder in Austria.

[@pux0rb]

I had no idea those peeper frogs were what made that sound. Every year early in the spring, I hear thousands of them peeping in the wetlands near my home. They've never come to my pond even though its just across the street, but the toads and green frogs come to spawn in the wetland filter every year. Occasionally a few bullfrogs show up as well.

[@lisanetgark415]

With my pond we added the water then pumped it out. All of that muddy water was removed. I then refilled my pond and added the bacteria and KH. My pond water has been crystal clear ever since. Mud and dirt are all over the rocks and pebbles. Hose off the rocks and pump out the dirty water.

[@Guffalo]

If i had a garden this large and a pond this good i would spend 99% of my free time sat by the pond with nothing but my ears !

[@Yeah-wf8rp]

Please do more for the wildlife!!! Plant a wildflower meadow and stuff. You will have a lot more birds, insects etc...

[@zombi3907]

I love the sound of the frogs. Also you are in firefly territotry, which is another awesome spring benefit of the mid atlantic area. Looks amazing, and this is one of my favorite series and is inspiring me to think about my own pond or aquaponic ideas.

[@cedricl.marquard6273]

Why do artificial ponds always use plastic lining? Isn't that a long-term bad solution?

[@christiecurtner2024]

I love that you show the animals, along with their names and scientific names. Beautiful pond.

[@geitenkaas8029]

I love the pond videos!! Seeing all the wild animals that get attracted to it.. it's truly awesome to see! Keep it up

[@ThomasBarry-kt5bt]

Please can you get another reptile like emerald tree skinks or something because it would look really cool in a jungely terrarium

[@shaneyoung0557]

Finally an update on the pond! I’ve been waiting to see how it was doing, excited to see it next time

[@mellie4174]

Omg! This is now my favorite video! Born and raised in Michigan but having moved away since, i miss those choir frogs!! I'm going be listening to the frog part over and over!

[@CrossCultural-c7f]

Your diligence to set out cameras for time lapse photography, your storytelling is so wonderful. Thank you!

[@MoldbugReads]

Dude... Why would you put something toxic like that into the soil?

[@rabbitsandphilodendron]

those goldfish have a better live than me, im kinda jealous of their beautiful habitat

[@klcpca]

I have followed Aquascape Ponds and the crew for years... Ed builds wonderful nature ponds. With his foundation and your skills, I have NO doubts your pond will be a gorgeous thriving ecosystem in no time!!!

[@lindachenoweth9002]

I just want to say, what a beautiful place you've been blessed with, and please continue showing us the progress of all your projects. Keep on keeping on Tanner!

[@steve-adams]

3:45 The opening is fish-shaped, and some of the ice looks like gills 🐟

[@alisonchan645]

Reminds me of Stephano Laniro. Love this style!

[@Dayfitnl]

Music, Editing, Narration is top notch, what a great channel to find!

[@kennabrienn4437]

You're such a great example of what it looks like to be an animal lover AND an environmentalist. Well done!

[@cHilLy-chEEzdAWg]

Been looking forward to a pond update! Looks great!

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

I love watching your videos ❤🦭❤

[@katem3961]

This was such an exceptional video,Tanner. My dream is to have enough land to create a very large pond one day. I currently live in the city and have a very small one in comparison to yours.Though it still attracts wild birds to it, my favourites are the Pacific black ducks, thus no frogs. Frogs are indeed one of my favourite species. Many thanks for this update series 💚🪺

[@Bisudo]

How TF you recognize petie

[@Dinosaurprince]

He doesn’t.

[@888fluffy]

Would really appreciate seeing some native flora planting. Also more submersed plants would make the water crystal clear. Unfortunately you have little chance of keeping a clean water wildlife because you added goldfish. Not only will they eat the plants but also any toad and frog spawn. Sadly it won't stop the amphibians from coming back next year, so you're basically making a population sink. Goldfish ponds are quite bad for the ecosystem.

[@dbbrbc]

Oh Tanner! I have special feelings for ponds and frogs. You are building my dream!! Thank you for sharing, i will live vicariously thru you and your pond. Thank you so much!! Much love to all the crews that assisted you! And I'm so glad you moved your frog with you. I'm glad you didn't leave him behind. ❤

[@ostahlarune]

Easily one of the best series on this channel, love these

[@nancydenmark1614]

This was such an interesting recap of the pond but also showed the wildlife living in the area. Even though it wasn’t the usual type of video you usually post, I found it soothing to watch and learned something new. Thanks for sharing this update and I hope to see more of this type of content.

[@paranoiarpincess]

Holy cliffhangers Batman!

[@franklinfon]

Don't the frogs and toads attract snakes

[@LittleSpaceCase]

I would really recommend using at least 70% native plants in your landscaping, because I think You'll be thrilled by the sheer biodiversity of native insects you'll get to experience when you choose this option

[@demetriusgallitzin8859]

OzPonds will save you with bog filters made of rocks and slow flow. You can speed things up with Seachem Stability (nitrifying bacteria) and API Accu-clear (one-time flocculent for silt). I just had an explosion of fathead minnows recently. (Pennsylvania native)

[@katanikoneko9036]

Once this series catches up with the present, I would love an hour long video of those frogs and toads at night :) They sound so relaxing to listen to!

[@FakhriaNoori]

I’m getting AntsCanada Giant Ecosystem Vivarium Vibes. The storyline, the surprises, the cliffhangers (what happens to the birds?)

[@kinciscorner]

I watched you build tiny terrariums. Then tanks. Then giant tanks. Then it gets ever more complex. Then outdoor real ponds. Year 2060. "I've built this piece of ocean. I found this little pink dolphin and decided to give it what it deserves. I also added 10 members for it to form a pack."

[@kathleensauerbrei5199]

Oh my goodness I can’t wait for the next one. How nice of you to show us from the beginning till now evolution is so much fun to watch.

[@tessastaubly8148]

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS POND UPDATE!!! I'm delighted by the critters, especially the frogs.

[@MissChelle]

So beautiful! Have you ever wondered how those tiny little frogs, with tiny little legs first found your pond? It’s always intrigued me. Where did they come from? How did they get there? How far did they travel, and most importantly, how did they avoid being eaten along the way! Great job as always Tanner 🇦🇺❤️

[@JoyandSerenity.]

Its rude how short this video is.. I wanted to see the baby peepers!! Jokes aside I live in the middle of the UK and have gained a fish pond by way of house move. It was my parents in-law's house and pond but now I am its main caretaker, what I am finding out from all my research is that its essentially just a hole in the ground with no real prep work done and a very minor leak.. Manual filtration, no bog, consistant blanketweed, almost always green water, so I have my work cut out for me fixing it up! Despite all that, the fish don't really seem to mind too much, it was originally stocked with ghost koi about 15 years ago and there are 4 massive ones left, at least the length of my forearm! There are also other smaller koi looking fish (probably the ghost babies) and some goldfish which were added later, so around 10 fish altogether. I say "around 10" because until literally this week I had never even seen one of them and its about half the size of the monster koi, so still quite large. Your videos have been really helpful trying to figure out this new world of fish, so thanks for the content, now show me the frogs!!

[@earthn1447]

Our lands used to absorb more rain filling our auquifers, now too many ‘yards’ allow the rain to channel straight into the larger streams. With your skills, we need you to put in rain gardens! To slow rain run-off. No pumps, no non-natives but lots of good for our world. Escaped gold fish are destroying some of our rivers and lakes. Too bad you aren’t using this to clean your brown water from the house, too bad you couldn’t put this in an area that needs a wetland and catch rain water rather than have to pump it. These types of projects often backfire over time. Do you use any fertilizer on the lawn? Or plants? That causes algae. Unless it is just the fish poo. I really hope you start using native plants as well!

[@bwood6337]

I enjoyed this but I do feel like it could've stood to have been longer. I don't know that I'd call it rushed, but it still somehow felt like it would've benefited from a slower pace. Again, love your videos (this included). Just sharing my perspective : )

[@gregoryb7595]

Wow! Great commentary and editing as usual! I love how much Im constantly learning from your videos. Really looking forward to the next update video. Out of curiosity, if the goldfish cant digest in cold temperatures, how do they sustain themselves over the winter. Do they go through some form of hibernation that drastically slows their metabolism or something?

[@robbied5898]

Building a “wildlife pond” then filling it with a non native invasive species because they are pretty is unbelievable. Does’t look like there are many native plant species either. There was probably a better ecosystem in the grass before you built the goldfish bowl. But hey, at least you and the goldfish breeders made money, and that’s all that matters right?

[@AG-in1nr]

Ive been watching for maybe 2 years at this point, but haven't ever commented -- just wanted to say the channel is awesome, and I really appreciate the hard work you do to give some really entertaining, educational, and inspirational content. I may never have an animal room, but I've grown to appreciate the hobby a ton just through this channel. On another note, have you ever looked into hydroponics or aquaponics? It's obviously a different idea and equipment, but I feel like it's related enough that you could do something really interesting in a setup if you looked into it -- even something similar to this that relies on a pond (but a bit more of a closed loop system), and I've seen people use some of the fish I know you're a fan of, like goldfish, koi, and gourami

[@Sylkis89]

What grass do you use? IDK about America, but in Central Europe (Poland) people are moving away from using typical lawn grasses for it's unnatural and relatively difficult to upkeep and just generally comparatively hard maintenance and bad for environment. What people opt for instead are local low-growth meadow plants like clovers, daisies, marsh marigolds, various perennials, and all sorts of other ground cover plants. Usually people don't start that from a 0 but when they get sick of how often they need to mow the grass and seed more to fill the inevitable bald patches, they just start seeding mainly clovers, and enough so so they at some point started to outcompete regular grass (that is going to still be a part of the final mix forever, never gonna disappear, just won't be the only nor even main species anymore). Then they supplement that clover/grass mix with daisies and other low-growth flowers and meadow ground cover plants, but very subtly so, just to add a touch of variety to the mainly-clover coverage. And when you have a meadow type lawn like that, the inevitable weeds like dandelions are no longer weeds, they become an internal part of the garden. And you can also start growing all sorts of mints and other hebs in some sections as well, grow them gor your own consumption besides being an ornament. Oh and wherever there is some permanent shade, mosses are the best friend of owners of naturalistic low maintenance gardens. I'm not sure how much that would need to be adjusted for North America for it to work with your natural environment, your local species, but surely the same principles/basic concept could be exercised? I can't think of anyone better than yourself to explore this and make it into pma video or possibly even several, since I think you might like the idea. I would be really curious what you'd have to say about it. Even our cities are slowly moving away from regular grasses in favour of such mixed, though it also depends on a part of the city cause people with allergies (be if hayfever or allergies to bites of bugs living in meadows!) need to be taken into consideration, so parks still usually have large grass lawns in between alleys of trees, but small patches of greenery between a sidewalk and the road will usually have the meadow mixes instead of grass cause they're way more sustainable and they're small and aren't supposed to be walked on, so human comfort of families having a picnic is not a concern. This idea needs to be promoted. There's plenty of misleading memes and infographics online showing dangerous tall growth type meadows saying that this is "natural biodiversity" and it's just peak irresponsible bambism when people say these are viable alternatives to lawns in human habitats. I'm sure you understand what I mean when I criticise these and say that the low growth meadow lanws that are primarily based on clovers are the way to go, why regualr grass lawns are better than the tall growth meadows for places where people live (and I imagine it would be even more so true in America where your snakes and spiders are way more dangerous than ours, same with your overgrown rodents and stuff like possums and such that we don't have and yet our rodents and wasps and garden spiders such are enough of a problem) and the low growth meadow lawns are just the best thing ever that really needs to be promoted for people to have a proper understanding of the topic of how to make the best of both worlds to create both comfort and safety for humans as well as low cost low maintenance sustainability and also make it environmentally friendly. I'm really curious of your thoughts on this topic if you could make ab educational video explaining why the memes with tall growth meadows are dangerous abd irresponsible to promote and how to do it right and with low growth cover plants and why it's better than grass lawns. I'm sure you would do a far better job at it than I ever could.