liner
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
We've come to the part of the installation process that's my personal favorite: finishing up the plant placement and setting the edges. This is, of course, part of every pond-installation project on one level or another, but with a frog pond, my approach is a little different. As you'll see in the video linked below (and may have noticed in previous installments), the profile of this frog pond is
There are many kinds of swimming pools and spas out there, and maybe even more specialized types of fountains. So it shouldn't come as surprise that there's also plenty of variety when it comes to ponds. From huge agricultural retention basins to the smallest birdbaths and everything in between, the broad spectrum
Earlier in this sequence of articles and videos, I mentioned how much I enjoy the fact that pond installation is an improvisational art form: You can roll through a design in your head and sketch it until your pencils are worn to nubs, but the reality is that working with boulders is a process of placement and on-site adjustment that ultimately brings a design vision to life. That's particularly true with waterfalls, which is why this single part of the series encompasses four videos and nearly 40 minutes of running time. And as you will notice, there are probably more
With the excavation of the main pond area complete - that is, with all shelves cut and compacted and niches prepared for caves and hiding places - it's time to insert the underlayment and place the liner. The underlayment is something of an unsung hero in pondcrafting: It keeps sharp stones from gouging the liner as it's being set in the hole and, longer term, deflects roots that might try to penetrate the liner to get easy access to a huge source of water. Our goal is to prevent any such problems, so we
With the excavation of the main pond area complete - that is, with all shelves cut and compacted and niches prepared for caves and hiding places - it's time to insert the underlayment and place the liner. The underlayment is something of an unsung hero in pondcrafting: It keeps sharp stones from gouging the liner as it's being set in the hole and, longer term, deflects roots that might try to penetrate the liner to get easy access to a huge source of water. Our goal is to prevent any such problems, so we
As a long-time pond installer, I have no fear when it comes to tackling large projects. In this case, a garden center in our area asked us to convert a derelict swimming pool on the property into a showpiece pond/waterfall complex the center could use to entice customers into thinking about aquatic settings and plants. We
Every so often, a project comes along that evolves as it rolls along, and what starts out as one set of tasks and parameters morphs to become something entirely different before it’s through. That was certainly the case on this residential-lake project: Located in the hills above Napa Valley, Calif., the job put us in touch with affluent, intelligent, fun-loving clients who had initially contacted us about the straightforward restoration of a dying lake located at the base of a ravine beset with unchecked plant growth and rattlesnakes. None of that was new to us: We
It certainly doesn't happen very often, but sometimes the addition of a watershape can completely redefine the way a property is perceived. In the case seen here, a nine-acre estate in the mountains above of Malibu, Calif., was zoned for agriculture. The owner's intention in buying it was quite appropriate: He wanted to turn it into a working vineyard brought to life visually by a big stream, pond and waterfall system. Once the watershape took form, however, the owner was so inspired by what he saw that his vision for the property changed and he recast the place as a venue for weddings and other events that would be enhanced by the bucolic, utterly romantic surroundings. In a very direct way, in other words, the watershapes served to increase both the aesthetic and financial value of the property. I'm a romantic at heart, so the notion that the work on display here will be a backdrop for special, memorable occasions has made the big, complicated project even more
