Finding connection, purpose and peace
Some things in life you can plan for. Others, you can’t. When I started building water features, I thought I was simply creating beautiful landscapes. I didn’t fully understand at the time that I was creating connection between families, between people and nature, and between the past and present.
Over the last 13 years, I’ve witnessed firsthand how water transforms lives, bringing people closer in ways I never could have imagined. And through it all — through loss, healing and personal discovery — I’ve found that water has not only connected my customers to something deeper, but it has connected me as well.
More Than Just a Pond: Stories of Connection
I could talk for hours about the technical side of what I do — how to build a proper waterfall, balance an ecosystem or design something that lasts. But those details, while important, aren’t what this is really about.
It’s about the grandparents who build a pond in their backyard, not for themselves, but for their grandkids. The pond gives them a reason to come over, to toss food to the fish, to make memories by the water. I’ve had customers tell me their pond became the one thing that pulled their grandkids away from screens and into the outdoors.
It’s about the people who work from home — people who once felt trapped inside, staring at screens all day, until they got a water feature. Now, they start their mornings outside with a cup of coffee, listening to the water. Suddenly, they don’t feel so disconnected. They tell me they take work calls outside now, that they feel different, more present, more at peace — all because of the space we created.
It’s about the retired business owners who spent years grinding away, always moving, always chasing the next goal only to find themselves, finally, sitting by the pond with a glass of wine, learning how to slow down for the first time in their lives. Or those who are transported back to childhood memories of a ranch with a creek or lake. It’s about family gatherings, quiet moments and unexpected impact.
Even in my own life, I had no idea how much a water feature could change things until I built one for my kids. What I thought was just a backyard project turned into something much bigger. It became the place where our family naturally gathered, where friends came over and never wanted to leave, where we spent summer evenings together — just being. No distractions, no rushing — just connection. Real connection.
Lessons From the Water: What 13 Years Have Taught Me
For more than a decade, I’ve watched how people interact with water. I’ve seen it become a source of peace, reflection and joy in ways I never anticipated when I started this journey. And it’s made me ask myself, how can I create more of that connection in my own life?
Because the truth is, water isn’t just something I build for other people. It’s something that has deeply changed me.
Losing my brother changed everything about the way I see life. He was one of my biggest fans always supporting me and always believing in me. When I won Water Artisan of the Year, it should have been one of the biggest moments of my career. But losing him that same year made it feel significantly insignificant. That experience shifted my entire perspective. The things I once thought were important suddenly weren’t. I questioned everything and everyone. It forced me to look at my life in a different way.
It made me realize how short and fragile our time is. It made me appreciate every moment I have with my kids, my family and my friends. It made me see that the most important things in life aren’t things at all — they’re the moments, the people, the experiences that stay with us and water has a way of pulling people into those moments.
I feel honored and humbled to be able to do this for a living — not just because I love building water features, but because I know what they mean to the people who have them. I know what it feels like to find peace by the water. I know what it’s like to step outside and just breathe, to let the sound of moving water quiet the noise of the world.
A Purpose Greater Than the Work
If you had asked me years ago why I do what I do, I probably would have said something about my passion for design, my love for the craft or my desire to create something unique. And while all of that is still true, my answer now is much different.
I do this because I’ve seen what it does for people.
I do this because I’ve felt it in my own life.
I do this because water isn’t just an element — it’s a connector.
It connects families.
It connects people to nature.
It connects people to themselves.
And every time I build a pond, a waterfall or a stream, I know I’m not just installing a feature. I’m creating a space where life happens. Where kids grow up with memories of catching frogs and feeding fish. Where people find stillness in a world that never stops moving. Where the sound of water becomes the backdrop to their stories, their healing, their connections.
This career has given me something I never expected: a front-row seat to the power of connection.
I get to witness families spending more time together, people rediscovering their love for nature and individuals finding peace in a way they never knew they needed. I get to watch lives change — and I can say, without a doubt, that it has changed mine too.
After 13 years, I can say with absolute certainty:
This isn’t just a job to me.
It’s my purpose.
It’s my passion.
It’s my life.
About the Author
Landon Malave is the owner of LCM Waterfalls & Ponds, previously known as LCM Landscape & Design. Operating out of Elbert, Colorado, he services the front
range and is taking his efforts nationwide.
