I received an email a few weeks ago from Blake Mullins, the consulting producer of a reality television show called “Home Free” on Fox. Its second season, which is hosted by professional contractor Mike Holmes and former NFL player Tim Tebow, began airing in June. Blake took a particular interest in one of the contractors, …
Reality TV Series Showcases Southern Pond Builder and Tim Tebow Read More »
If you have been in the water gardening business for 10 years or more, you’ve certainly had a front-row seat for the evolution as well as the devolution of our industry. We’ve gone from an era of seemingly every contractor having a pickup truck and retailer having a storefront doing and carrying water features, to …
Perpetual Pond Passion In the last issue, I was super excited about “Living the Pond Life” and wrote my column about it. Well, it happened again. I’m not sure how much excitement this publisher can take in one year! I received an email out of the blue from the gentleman in the photo below, Blake …
I first met Terry and Wanda when they attended one of Andreatta Waterscapes’ pond tour events several years ago, where they fell in love with our style of building. “It soon became clear by the insightful designs and quality of work that we were viewing water features that were not just irrigation troughs flanked with …
Pond Construction | The “Picasso of Rock and Water” Spawns an Oregon Sanctuary Read More »
Creating beautiful water features is probably your passion. You’re good at it. It’s your niche. But today’s customers are often wanting more than just a water feature – they’re also wanting a place to enjoy it! You’ve already likely added things like outdoor lighting and planting to supplement your water feature installations, so including hardscapes …
Hardscaping Offers Clients the Total Pond Package Read More »
For many contractors, business is good, or at least far better than it was several years ago. When things are good, it’s smart to ask yourself a critical question: Are you prepared for the next downturn? It’s a given that we have up and down cycles in this industry and in the economy in general. …
Four Tips for Surviving the Next Economic Downturn Read More »
Koi of the Doitsu variety have few to no scales. Doitsu goi are old, yet new — they were developed more than 100 years ago, but many new varieties keep coming from Doitsu varieties. Because of their characteristics, they can be crossed with almost any koi variety. Like the diamond-scaled Ginrin, Doitsu has contributed to …
If you’re reading this magazine, chances are you’re at some point of your professional pond-contracting career. And I’d guess that the odds are also pretty good that, just like I, you are continually looking for ways to improve your craft. In this article we are going to talk about ways to utilize some of your …
Wood Elements Blend the Aesthetic Worlds of Hard and Soft Read More »
Pond maintenance is often overlooked as a revenue stream for pond builders and water feature specialists. The landscape industry as a whole is a $77 billion industry in the United States, and while ponds are a small segment of the industry, this figure still shows how large the opportunity can be for pond services. With …
>> Read the related feature article to this sidebar, “Boost Your Revenue Stream with Pond Maintenance.” Here are some items we keep in our pond maintenance trucks. While this works for us, make sure you tailor this list to fit your specific needs. Water Parameter Test Kit Extendable Net Poles (2) Pool-style Nets (4 to 5) …