OK, get ready — I’m going to gush a little bit. I’m officially a mother-in-law! My son Evan got married to sweet Maggie in September at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul, Minnesota. The beautiful bride (and handsome groom, I might add) had to share the spotlight with a breathtaking waterlily collection, which you could see as you walked in, or if you stepped onto the outside balcony and looked down. I can’t tell you how many people came over to me to make sure I saw them and tell me how much they enjoyed looking at them. How cool is that?
I’m starting to come down off Cloud Nine after all the festivities —of course, being on deadline with this November/December issue helped. That being said, let’s talk about what’s in store as you turn the pages of this issue.
Continuing with the theme of “fall festivities,” we’ve got reviews of three of the season’s major industry events — Aquascape’s Pondemonium, the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society’s Annual Symposium and the Atlantic Professional Conference. From all the photos, it looks like the shows had great turnouts, and much fun was had by all. If you’ve never been to an industry show before, check out what you’re missing out on!
With the fourth annual Water Artisans of the Year (enter here) contest right around the corner, we thought we would ask winners from previous years to write a pond construction feature. Gregg Sawyer — last year’s Best Waterfall winner — obliged and submitted a fascinating profile of his company’s stacked-flagstone edge treatments. Don’t forget to visit our website and enter this year’s contest for a chance to win and showcase your company’s construction capabilities in a future issue of POND Trade.
Beyond these stories, we’ve still got a jam-packed issue covering a wide range of topics. Definitely don’t miss the cover story, which explores how terrestrial plantings can help to naturalize a waterscape, and check out Rick Weidman’s piece on the importance of year-round aeration — and how to sell it.
Happy PONDering!
