New water features are exciting and always enhance a property — but the gardens that accompany them are often the real show-stoppers that can put the entire scene over the top! Start with the consideration of vertical elements. Would a deciduous tree (or several of them) be desirable to provide shade, shelter and nesting sites …
A career in water has introduced me to many different industries. I am fortunate to have been involved in several of them over time — water features, natural lakes and ponds, and even wastewater — with water flow, filtration and aeration equipment the common factors. Working with water features led me to aquatic plants, and …
Bonsai, ponds and waterfalls go together like peas and carrots. So a couple of years ago when I received a call from a gentleman who said he wanted a koi pond with his bonsai trees in mind, I didn’t think much about it. It turned out, this wasn’t just another bonsai collection. I realized when …
Water in the landscape creates many opportunities for habitat creation and enhancement. After all, the enjoyment that open-water habitats, backyard ponds and water features provide for amphibians, fish, birds and humans alike is well known and at the core of mainstream gardening. A large and often overlooked opportunity can be found in gardening the wet, …
We like to say that anybody can dig a hole and fill it with water. But to master the craft of building water features that function properly with simple maintenance and a proper biological balance, all while exuding a lasting aesthetic beauty — well, it can be a bit more complicated. When I became a …
How to Master the Art of Building Water Features Read More »
So, you’ve just created and built an amazing showcase pond, complete with the best waterfalls and master stonework. Why would you just throw in some random green plants when you could integrate some standout plants and flowers that other installers often overlook? Your water garden will have everyone talking! I find it amazing that some …
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 …
The Greater KC Water Garden Tour will take place on July 11th and 12th, 2020. The tour is a fundraiser hosted by the Water Garden Society to fund their educational & restorative outreach efforts. This 2-day tour has been the highlight of Kansas City summer events for 27 years. Plan to visit the metropolitan area …
27th Annual Water Garden Tour July 11 – 12, 2020 Read More »
Plants with colored foliage are a luxury, an anomaly, and quite often, just the right splash of color or contrast to make magic happen. There are several ways they can effectively transform a display. Foliage, by any definition, has the ability to shape a landscape with its color, form or shape. Botanically speaking, variegated foliage …
Variegated and Colored Foliage for Water Gardens Read More »
For the first time, in 2019, the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society (IWGS) held its New Waterlily Competition at Naples Botanical Garden in Naples, Florida. Tim Jennings of Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, the host of the competition for the past several years, confidently passed the torch to Danny Cox at the Naples …
