Ponds, Streams & Waterfalls
I’m generally a low-key guy, but I love almost everything about building waterfalls. I like discussing a site’s potential with my clients. I like going to the supply yard and selecting stone. And while I don’t mind letting others take the lead with the digging, I do like laying out shelves and setting the pond’s interior contours in ways that will maximize
This is the third and final article in a series on auto-fill systems for ponds and watergardens. Although relative cost is certainly a key factor in the selection and installation of an auto-fill system for a pond or watergarden, there are practicalities that come into play in the decision – not the least of which will have to do with how the device is to be mounted. Float valves, for example, come in a variety of forms – some with large float bulbs attached to pivoting arms (as with common toilet valves). Not only are these devices fairly unsightly, but they also operate in a horizontal plane and need
Pond ownership comes with a range of responsibilities, not the least of which has to do with making certain everything is ship-shape at some point before the weather gets very warm in the spring. That’s particularly true if the pond carries a good population of
This is the second of three articles on using auto-fill devices with ponds and watergardens. Auto-fill devices for use in managing water levels in ponds and watergardens come in three main forms: mechanical float valves, electromechanical timed valves and electronic sensing systems. In this article, we’ll take a look at each system and weigh advantages and disadvantages. Let’s tackle price first: Of the three
More and more people are enjoying the way ponds and watergardens help them keep in touch with nature, enjoy tranquility and slip into peaceful reflection. But these watershapes are small ecosystems and can pose a range of challenges – some of them, as we shall explore here, related to maintaining proper water levels. The average pond can lose its water in a number of ways, anything from small leaks or wicking from waterfalls to evaporation or small animals taking their share. Pond professionals and pond owners all know this, of course, but most rely on manual refilling methods – that is, a bucket or a nearby garden hose – instead of devising more elaborate filling systems. To be sure, the classic manual methods are tried and true, but some have
Every once in a while, we come across a client with a special interest in supporting something other than the fish and plants that generally inhabit the ponds we design and install. Occasionally, for example, we’ll get a request to build a watershape that will be particularly attractive to non-fishy wildlife – everything from birds and frogs to various mammals and even insects. In most cases, no special features are required: The pond becomes a known, habitual part of the local ecosystem and various creatures will just show up, so all we really need to do is make certain the water is deep enough and that we’ve installed enough caves and hiding places that the fish will be able to elude predators. Turtles, however, are a different story. Where frogs and birds and raccoons and butterflies will just appear, pondowners generally need to bring in turtles – and then
Most people know that an ecosystem is, by definition, an ecological community that, together with its environment, functions as a unit. Fewer probably know that the word ecology comes from two Greek words: oilcos, meaning “house,” and logos, meaning “the study of.” Together, the word literally means “study of the home.” The result is a word packed with meaning and power, both emotional and practical. Its implications reach everywhere, even into the realm of watershaping and especially
It was a job that forced everyone involved to be on exactly the same page at all times. The landscapes and watershapes at the Shady Canyon Golf Club in Irvine, Calif., were developed by the Irvine Company as the heart of an upscale residential community. The wilderness area set aside for the course and its immediate surroundings had a
I wouldn’t mind being able to hibernate through the coldest part of winter, but as a professional in the pond business, I know I’ll be spending some time out in the cold helping see my clients’ watergardens through the worst of winter’s chill. Fortunately, there’s really not a whole lot to be done – the plants are dormant, the fish are quiet, and the systems
When you work on projects in which stone is commonly measured in the thousands of tons and streams are frequently described in fractions of miles, you’re not easily impressed by size. This job, however, was remarkably vast – a project driven by creative passion and a client’s desire to
