Outcroppings

We love working on projects we can record and share through the Internet. At The Pond Digger (Yucaipa, Calif.), we’ve always believed that these videos help our prospective clients make informed decisions about what they want to do in their backyards. That’s why we generally keep them pretty basic.

At the same time, we’ve always believed that our videos have value in a professional context, particularly for training of new staff in what happens on the job site as a pond project unfolds. That’s why we’ve worked with WaterShapes for a couple years now, linking to videos while offering brief introductory texts that underscore key points we see as having value to those who design and build ponds for a living.

I’m confident that we do everything at a high level and communicate our processes with conviction, but I’m also grounded enough to know that some probably see our videos as no more than an instructive point of departure: “This is how these guys do it; this is how we do it better.” However it works, my hope is that great ponds are the result.

In this new video series on waterfall construction, however, there’s a sharper edge: This time, we explicitly address folks who stand somewhere between typical pond consumers and pond professionals – that is, the do-it-yourselfers who want a pond and have the ambition to make things happen on their own. But not exactly: Our sense with this particular class and scale of project is that it’s out of reach for all but the most determined amateurs, and we want even those super-do-it-yourselfers to know just how hard it is to produce naturalistic results when it comes to outfitting a long slope with a series of pools and cascades.

Take this video’s discussion of reservoir sizing: We’re completely clear in defining what’s needed, but the concept of water in transit is intimidating to novices, and we don’t pull any punches in expressing how important it is to nail this part of the project. We also talk about leveling and the need for extensive overdigging – the hard, dirty work involved in such a project – all by way of persuading untested amateurs to think twice before jumping in.

Our last video series, on frog ponds, covered something within reach of any ambitious homeowner. But the hillside project we’re covering this time? My desire is to teach the capable (including professional watershapers) while convincing those who might be getting in over their heads to call in the cavalry.

To get the lay of the land and see how this project starts, click here.

Eric Triplett is founder and chief executive officer at The Pond Digger Waterscape Design & Construction in Yucaipa, Calif. He may be reached at eric@the ponddigger.com.