The very popular subject of adding water features to a garden is one that Jamie Beyer brings a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm to. Jamie is a Lifetime Master Gardener from the Ames/Boone area and is founder and President of the Central Iowa Water Garden Association. Water gardening has been a passion of Jamie's for over 45 years and, currently, he has three 10,000 gallon ponds and one 27,000 pond which contains many kinds of water plants and fish. He combines this experience with his Master's Degree in Fish and Wildlife Biology to become uniquely qualified to be one of the Midwest's foremost experts on the subject. His broad background of fisheries, dynamics of water, wildlife ecology, and horticulture gives him impressive credentials. Jamie frequently speaks and writes on all aspects of water features and water gardening to gardeners in the Midwest. In addition, he also has a consulting/installation business, called Midwest Waterscapes, which he works as a water garden, fountain and pond consultant/installer. Jamie has considerable experience installing ponds, diagnosing water garden problems, teaching classes and helping do-it-yourselfers, do it right. Since the late 80's, he has been involved with the design and installation of over 700 water gardens and features. Jamie and co-author Veronica Fowler, wrote the Ortho Book "All About Garden Pools and Fountains". Over a half million copies of the book has been sold since its publication.
water garden with diverse plant life

Understanding Aquatic Succession

By Jamie Beyer / December 26, 2022 / 1 Comment

Maturation of a water garden Whenever a water garden owner asks me about water clarity or algae problems, I always ask them when the pond was installed. What has been done to improve water clarity, control algae or even clean the pond? Have they added any chemicals? If so, which ones, and when were they […]

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Pond Planning and Building

By Jamie Beyer / April 28, 2022 / 1 Comment

Things to Consider Before You Start Most pond builders who have built even one pond have probably wondered, “If only I had checked ‘X,’ I would have saved so much time and money!” I have gone through this thought process so many times myself that I have created a checklist of things to consider before […]

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Creating Stability and Beauty with Pond Edge Design

By Jamie Beyer / June 29, 2021 / 2 Comments

When the subject of edges on water gardens comes up, I cannot help but think of the phrase “sedges have edges.” In other words, if the stems of a marginal water plant have distinct edges, you can be reasonably sure that it is a sedge.  All ponds also have edges, and each type of water […]

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‘Up-Close & Personal’ with a Water Feature

By Jamie Beyer / December 28, 2020 / 0 Comments

Water gardening and the entire experience of having one can become a passion, if not an obsession. It can consume a person’s thinking to the point that some non-water gardeners might question the person’s sanity. (To be clear, we who have this passion would never question it!) So, what makes the hobby so pleasurable? For […]

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Using Filtration to Remove Sediment From Ponds

By Jamie Beyer / June 25, 2020 / 1 Comment

By far, one of the most common challenges that water gardeners collectively face is how to handle sediment — or, should I say, the “muck” that builds up over time in all bodies of water. But is sediment always bad? It is completely natural for sediment to build up, and most natural pond systems deal […]

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How to Control (and Benefit from) Pond Algae

By Jamie Beyer / August 26, 2019 / 0 Comments

Anyone who has been involved with water gardens for even a short period of time understands how algae can be a curse. When you think about what to do with string algae, such as filamentous algae and blanket weed, or pea-green soup algae, which is the same as planktonic and single-celled algae, it can create […]

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Fish and Plant Quarantine to Prevent Disease

By Jamie Beyer / April 29, 2019 / 0 Comments

Most of us who have been in this profession for a long time have had the experience of adding newly purchased fish or plants to an existing population, only to see them start dying within a couple of weeks. Holding new fish or plants in a quarantine tub for a length of time before placing […]

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Keep Your Plants & Feet Wet With Versatile Bog Gardens

By Jamie Beyer / April 30, 2018 / 2 Comments

There are many different kinds of gardens — vegetable gardens, flower gardens, rock gardens, butterfly gardens and, of course, water gardens, just to name a few. But a type of garden that many people do not regularly consider is a bog garden, or gardening with plants that like “wet feet.” Bog gardens are normally associated […]

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Natural Ponds Attract Wildlife to Your Water Garden

By Jamie Beyer / December 27, 2017 / 1 Comment

We water gardeners generally enjoy seeing nature and the ecosystems that surround us. Adding a water garden to a landscape is a great way to add more nature that is up-close and personal. While many enjoy the sound of water and others are drawn to the beauty of waterlilies and fish, there are other ways […]

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Successful Winterization Techniques for Outdoor Ponds

By Jamie Beyer / August 28, 2017 / 0 Comments

Just when I start to think that there isn’t much more can I write about keeping fish outside in brutally cold winters, I get a question that makes me realize that there are still some things I have not considered putting into writing before — even though I have been overwintering koi and goldfish outside […]

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