2013/12.2, December 18 — Winter Water Spectacles, Perfect Landscape Lighting, Thwarting Reindeer and more

December 18, 2013 www.watershapes.com

ESSENTIAL

Shaping the Night

Effective landscape lighting requires a careful balance of several key elements, explains Janet Lennox Moyer, the chief among them being the fine art of lighting plant material. In this feature, one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject of exterior lighting describes the way she approaches this part of her projects, revealing the thought processes and practicalities involved in making greenery come alive when the sun sets.

This article, originally published in March 2005, has been digitized for all readers. Click here to see the full text and enlarge the images to study the craftsmanship in detail.

TRAVELOGUE

Frosted Plumes

If you are among those who live where it gets really, really cold this time of year, Jim McCloskey recommends bundling up, braving the great outdoors and seeking out local watershapes that present their viewers with rare and wondrous winter spectacles. [more]

PONDCRAFT 101

A Pond After Dark

It’s a simple fact that many working homeowners see their backyards after the sun goes down more often than they see them in daylight. That’s why Eric Triplett installs lighting in almost all of his ponds — a process he covers in splendid detail in this video. [more]

WATERSHAPES CLASSIC

Reindeer-Proof Holidays

The holiday season is a time for caring and sharing, observed Scott Cohen at this time last year — but feeding Santa’s reindeer when they stop by is asking too much. Here are some timeless planting suggestions that will help guide these marauders elsewhere. [more]

PLATINUM REFLECTIONS

Eastern Eclectic

Years in the making, this project pushed its designers to their creative limits. The result, says Ben Dozier, is a set of French- and Asian-influenced garden rooms highlighted by plants, sculptures, garden ornaments and fine hardscape treatments — oh, yes, and plenty of water. [more]

WHAT IS IT?

#10: Acrylic Pool Wall

Those thick, clear acrylic panels that are being included in more and more pool projects these days are definitely as cool as Mike Farley declares in this recent video. But as he points out here, success with the look requires the installer to be fully up to speed with a few key details. [more]

The True Spirit of Sportsmanship:

Florida Boy Gives Swim Meet
Trophy to Hospitalized Rival

[more]

WATERSHAPES WORLD

On the March

Progress with WaterShapes.com is coming so steadily that it can go unnoticed, observes Jim McCloskey, which is why he’s calling attention here to the completion of a major project that promises to bring WaterShapes to a new generation of aquatic professionals. [more]

Now at WaterShapes.com . . .

A long time coming, the digital archive of all 131 back issues of WaterShapes is now complete and ready for reference by watershapers, their clients and everyone else who wants to know more about a fascinating art form. To gain access and have a look around, click here!

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Young Swimmers Evacuated from Changing
Room Because of Prosthetic ‘Pool Pervert’

Many water-related stories have been in the news of late – including reports connected to the three questions below.

1. When staff at a swim center saw a foot sticking out at the bottom of a changing room cubicle, they evacuated the youngsters who were getting back into their street clothes after a swimming lesson. But, the website of the Mirror newspaper reveals, “…when they opened the changing room door, they saw the suspected pervert was a prosthetic leg innocently left by a disabled man while he went for a swim.” Where did this amusing case of mistaken identity take place?

a. USA b. France c. Italy d. UK

2. And speaking of alleged pool perverts: Dailytelegraph.com.au reports that an Afghan man seeking asylum in Australia has been arrested for “indecently assaulting” a number of teenage girls at a Sydney swimming pool. The man allegedly grabbed “the girls around the waist, touching their thighs, bottoms and breasts.” What, according to his lawyer, is his defense?

a. Bad eyesight b. Bad swimming skills c. Bad nutrition d. Bad English

3. Around two-dozen feral pigs that inhabit a tiny Caribbean island (now referred to as Pig Island) love to go swimming in the warm waters surrounding their home. What country does the island belong to, according to deepseanews.com?

a. The Bahamas b. Jamaica c. Dominican Republic d. Grenada

To find out how many you got right, click here.