Natural Wonders: Landscape Installation

The trickles and splashes of clear blue water in a fountain, waterfall or pond help transport homeowners to their own fantasy vacations on a secluded beach or perhaps fishing in a quiet Colorado stream. More often, people are seeking sanctuary from the stress of daily life by enjoying water features in their own backyards. Their increasing awareness of water features and the value they add to property is allowing landscape contractors to take their designs to a new level.

The healthy U.S. economy and increased interest in ways to reduce stress and improve the quality of life is boosting business for contractors who install ponds. One contractor reported that his pond installation business has doubled in the past three years, and another estimated that in the last four years, installation represented 20 percent of his business.

Pond installation can be a great profit generator. “It is an added niche that not too many people in our market can successfully do,” said Terry McNeill, president and landscape architect, Innovative Landscapes, Lubbock, Texas. “Ponds have added a whole new spectrum to the business. (Installation) is an inroad to additional landscaping. There are patio spaces around ponds and hardscapes. The trees, shrubs and groundcovers are the icing on the cake.”

Several contractors, including McNeill, Dave Duensing, owner of D.B. Duensing in Algonquin, Ill., and Brent Annis, assistant manager and pond division head at Cross Creek Gardens in Westerville, Ohio, shared their thoughts on pond installation and design.

Q: What are the benefits of pond installation?

Duensing: Water features allow the free flow of artistic interest and ability to be developed in the whole scope of the landscape. There isn't just one element.

Annis: Pond installation is a change of pace. Contractors can be a lot more creative installing ponds and can include every aspect of landscaping – rocks, plants, mulch, pavers and patios.

The profit is obviously the biggest benefit if you know what you’re doing and have a good crew. The economy is good, so people can spend more on the things they enjoy. They can see the benefits of ponds for themselves and in the resale value of their homes.

McNeill: I think the key benefit is the relaxation you get from the sound of water. Our society is becoming more stressful because we are more work-oriented and seem to have less free time.

Q: Can you describe some of your most recent and unusual work?

Duensing: We finished an indoor pond last February at a corporate office. They built the building around the pond. The pond has game fish, bass, bluegill and catfish. It is indoors in the lobby.

Another project we did in Colorado was at 9,000 feet elevation, and we had to bear-proof it. You protect the rubber from the bears that come to drink water on the property. We used some substantial rocks to cover the rubber and create the edge of the pond and stream. A 180-foot-long stream cascades into waterfalls and goes into an irregularly shaped pond.

In Chicago, we took an area of a yard that was part of the entrance to the property and took it from being boring to very eye-catching. When you develop the water feature properly, you typically don’t design it so you can see it all at one moment. As you drive past the feature, you see portions of it and more is revealed. When you’re at the house and you look back, there is a whole picture you haven’t seen before. The feature is 50-by-60 feet at the bottom of the basin, and we have cascading ponds interconnecting that cascade to a main pond. Most of the smaller ponds are 15 to 25 feet in diameter.

Annis: The most unique pond was one we put in at my house. We had a build-a-pond day seminar at my house where we hosted 60 contractors. The pond was 20-by-16 and had two streams and two waterfalls.

In November, we had someone come in and together we designed a pond with one 30-foot stream and another 12-foot stream that drained into an 11-by-16 pond.

Most people who want ponds really get into them. We involve them in the design process. Many need education. Some are only acquainted with the do-it-yourself kits from Home Depot.

McNeill: We did a residential property that sits on a bluff overlooking a lake. We created the waterfall at the top of the property and dropped it 18 feet down into a courtyard environment we created. The feature was a series of three ponds and three waterfalls, with a final fall of 9 feet. That particular feature has 20,000 gallons per hour going over it and we used in excess of 60 tons of stones.

The project took five months to complete. There were five crew members out there at any one time. The feature had monstrous multilevel retaining walls. This was a fun project and more of a challenge than we are accustomed to.

We just finished a project with a water feature at the entrance of a doctor’s office. The feature is the first thing you see as you walk in the door. The plastic surgeon wanted to create an environment to give patients’ families a place to sit and relax without being worried about their loved ones. Even on a winter day, they will be able to comfortably sit out there. The pond will be stocked with fish and have a complete night lighting system.

Q: What are some keys to successful installation?

Duensing: The project needs to be done to scale with the site and the elements that surround it. Many times, the feature looks like an afterthought.

Develop focal points. Design the feature to take advantage of the focal points.

Design it so the owner can interact with it to some degree – maybe walk to the edge. The feature should be inviting and safe.

Know how to naturalize the feature. Use the right type, shape and size of stones. Use plants in and out of the water. Try to hide the pond edges.

The liner for the pond is critical. A whole variety is available, but the only way I’d go is with a rubber liner. Rubber will always stay pliable. The biggest critical items, besides the rubber liner, is a skimmer and filter mats. Contractors also need to know that there are now pumps designed for the water garden industry. High-efficiency pumps are designed to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Annis: The keys are educating yourself and your crew and having the same crew do the work every time. The labor shortage is our primary problem. Also, have everything you need at the site.

McNeill: Take the time to install it properly so you don’t have a problem later on.

Q: What are some trends in water features?

Annis: Ponds must be clean, clear and look natural. The pond should not be a black plastic tub with a fountain in the middle.

McNeill: The major trend is that you’ll see more people doing water features because of their (relaxing) effect. I think you’re also going to see more refinements in how they are built. The ways ponds were built 10 years ago is prehistoric compared to how they are built now. Ponds have come a long way. You can enjoy them with little or no maintenance involved.

The author is associate editor of Lawn & Landscape magazine.

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