Part of the design process of determining the location of the pond was preserving the great view from inside the house. There is a wetland area behind her home, and we wanted to incorporate the pond with the view. Now with plants maturing, they help make a smooth transition from the house to the pond to the wetlands. We used mostly perennials and grasses, many of which were native to the area. The photo at the left shows the main waterfall feeding one of the two streams we constructed. That’s Joe Pye plant and Back-eyed Susan around the waterfall.
Even though the picture doesn’t show it, the stream in the photo is one of two streams. It exits in to a small upper pond, which in turn cascades into the main pond. Peg told me she even saw some baby Koi in the upper pond!

The view from her picture window has now become a real focal point in her home. Peg does a lot of work out of her home for people that have mind-body coordination issues (she uses a process called Brain Gym therapy), and the view of the pond and waterfall provides a very relaxing atmosphere for her clients.
The two streams have been a real nice touch. They have created more interest, and the sound of the two streams adds a lot of dimension to the sound of the water. The photo to the left shows the other, larger stream headed down to the main pond.

Peg has really done a great job on her pond. I’m looking forward to watching it grow and mature.”Hey Peg… I could use some Koi for my pond, and I see that you have a few to spare…..”

Right: Peg and I checking out some new baby Koi.

“Hey, Douger!”

“Hey Pegger!”

“Say, I was wondering… I know you build ponds and water features, and, well, I think I’m ready for one myself. How ’bout coming over to Portage and putting one in my back yard? You’re free this weekend aren’t you? I’ll make it worth your while…”

“I dunno, Peg. I just don’t know if I can make it over there so soon. Anyway, it’s in the upper 90′s.That’s a little warm for a weekend job, don’tcha think?”

“Ya know Doug, football season is coming up pretty soon, ya know. How ’bout if I trade you a big screen for your labor?”

“I’ll cancel my appointments.”

I only had a weekend to do it, so my wife Mary Jo came along to help. Peg recruited 4 or 5 high school football players and her 2 daughters, Sydney and Elise. She also called a local backhoe operator to do the initial excavation for the pond, and rented a loader so I could move the dirt and boulders.

Peg has a beautiful back yard which overlooks a large wetland that attracts a lot of wildlife, and is also a nesting habitat for cranes. I wanted to put the pond and waterfall where she could still enjoy it from her patio and living room, while at the same time taking advantage of the beautiful view. The photo at right shows the view from Peg’s patio during construction. You can see the wetlands in the background. (Click photo to enlarge)

Peg gave me a lot of creative freedom, so I decided to put in 2 streams along with a small upper pond that cascades in to the larger lower pond. Because her lawn slopes away from the house, we decided to haul in several truckloads of dirt and build a retaining wall behind the pond, so the waterfall could face her patio and living room. It also made room for a higher waterfall, longer stream, and the upper pond. We used fieldstone that we found at a local quarry to build the wall. (See photo at left. Click to enlarge)

Several gallons of sweat, 5 sore backs, a scraped elbow, 2 black and blue fingernails, and approximately 368 glasses of water consumed, (not to mention some prayers for a miracle mixed in with it all), we were able to get the pond, waterfall, streams and rock retaining wall finished by late Sunday afternoon.

That’s my wife Mary Jo and I after a long day’s work in the photo on the right (After we cleaned up!). The pond is finished, but the landscaping is yet to come. Notice the two streams and the upper, smaller pond cascading in to the lower, larger pond. I will update you with the “finished product” this spring!

Even after all the hard work, we had to admit that we all had a good time. Sometimes the biggest challenge can be the biggest rewards. And family memories are the best kind to have, aren’t they? Thanks for the big screen, Peg.

That’s Peg in the back, “orchestrating the work”. Right photo: Mary Jo and Sydney hamming it up

Dick and Hongyuan had a large mound of soil left over (left photo, click to enlarge) from the construction of their home, and instead of wasting the soil, they wanted to put it to good use.

Hongyuan had seen some hillside gardens and terracing when she and Dick went to China, so she knew she wanted a series of elevated gardens, with retaining walls and a step system involved. There was already some fieldstone on the site, so we decided to use those in combination with some timbers, similar to another wall we built in the back of the house. (Right photo: John Larson and Matt Grove working on the boulder wall.)

I think the combination of wood and stone that Hongyuan chose created a great look for her wall system (left). The use of the boulders and the wood makes it much more interesting and brings this 6′ terracing system in to scale very nicely. The boulders do a nice job of visually “holding” the system to the ground.

I give Hongyuan a lot of the credit for how this project turned out. She had a vision for what she wanted and was able to communicate it to me during the construction process.

We also added several watering spigots (right) to make it easier to get water to the different terraces without Hongyuan having to drag a lot of heavy hose where she wanted it.

I’ll post an update on the completed project later this spring.