pond design
Author's note: In January as part of a previous article in this series, I briefly discussed the process of selecting stone material with clients. Here we'll expand on that process with a look at why checking out rocks can be so much fun, and why it can be so important. Smiling changes things, but what on earth does that have to do with building ponds, or any other type of watershape for that matter? That answer is simply everything! In fact, this simple truth about the power of smiling might just be the most practical idea that exists in the world of watershaping. I believe it's right there with
It is rare that any of us are asked to build a swimming pond for horses. But why not? They are admittedly much bigger than Koi and certainly larger than humans, yet I am assured they are considerably cleaner than dogs and genuinely do benefit from the leg-relieving buoyancy that comes with immersion in water. The first pond I built for equestrian swimmers came along in the late 1970s - just after I'd completed several large gravel-filtration ponds for trout: It seemed at the time that the same principles that worked so well for
Oase (Corona, CA) offers quiet, energy-efficient waterfall pumps for pond systems. Designed for reliability, the…
Aquascape (St. Charles, IL) manufactures faux-log fish caves as heavy-duty, natural-looking shelters that protect pond…
Solus Décor (New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada) manufactures waterfeatures that combine clean-edged metal scuppers with…
Pond installation offers lots of opportunities for straying off the naturalistic path, but to me, there's no more problematic detour than the unfortunate "string-of-pearls" effect. When this happens, the edge of a pond looks more like Wilma Flintstone's rocky necklace than it does like the banks of a natural body of water. And it's a double shame, because the installer went to all the trouble of sourcing and placing natural material - but ended up with completely unnatural results. I've seen too many of these nightmare ponds through the years. Some are the result of a do-it-yourselfer's lack of awareness. It also happens with
