We've had a water feature at every home we've owned. In fact, a pond is usually the first thing installed in the backyard and then the landscaping works around it. We've also had at least one birdbath and several fountains at each house. No matter what the feature, though, we incorporate movement... even in birdbaths. Being in an area with a huge mosquito population, we've got to have good turnover in anything that holds water or we'd never be able to enjoy our time outdoors. We'd also be creating a safety hazard for ourselves and our neighbors.
In this house, we have the most water (and the most upkeep) of any house to date. There is a 600 gallon pond with waterfall and a small footbridge over it that is the focal point of the brick courtyard. When we purchased the home, this pond was filled with mud, leaves, snakes, toads, broken pumps, and a covering of ivy that completely obscured the waterfall formation and surrounding rocks. All we could see of it was a sea of tangled green vines with a center hole of brown, mosquito-filled goo. The people who owned the home at the time were most definitely not gardening folks and had let everything outdoors fall into disrepair. They didn't even mention to us that this feature had once been a waterfall. When I got to work clearing away the vines and draining the goo, I discovered the hidden treasure below and was thrilled! Talking with the neighbors, we found out who had first installed the pond, and I contacted them to hear about the history.
The pond was lovingly built about 35 years ago by the second owner of the home. The rocks were hauled here from the farm of her grandmother in the Ozarks, near Hot Springs. That is the exact same place that my family vacationed during all of my childhood summers, so I was thrilled to hear the history of how rocks filled the second owner's trunk on every return drive for years and years, until they had enough rocks the build the pond and waterfall. The addition of the small wooden footbridge provides a shady and protected spot for the fish and also reminds me so much of happy times around Lake Catherine with my own grandparents. I love the sound of the water flowing steadily out there. What I don't love about the pond is the maintenance required to keep it clear and relatively algae free. A very large live oak now overhangs this pond, which is beautiful but a pain. The tree drops tons of pollen and leaves in spring, with more leaves continuing to drop on a regular basis year-round. The sun filters through in the morning to provide light for robust algae growth, and the afternoon shade keeps it cool enough to prevent algae burnoff... so I regularly need to give it a thorough cleaning with the pressure washer. Four times a year, I spend a full day on the cleaning. First I fill a huge tub with water from the pond and proceed to move the 15 koi from the pond to the tub. Then I use a sump pump to empty most of the remaining water from the pond, pressure wash the rocks, rinse and pump, rinse and pump again, refill, dechlorinate, and condition. By the end of the day, the water is safe for the fish to be returned to the pond. It's a really messy and exhausting job and I've often wondered what I'm going to do when I'm older and can't physically manage climbing in and out of the pond to clean it (it's deep with no ladder, and surrounded by very slippery rocks). I do a full cleaning of just the pump and filter once a month. Though this is by far the most maintenance-intensive feature, it's also my favorite... so I will keep going through this ritual as long as I can.
In addition to the pond, we also have a decorative sunken fountain constructed from a blue rippled ceramic jar. By sunken, I mean the water reservoir is buried in the ground, obscured by a grill and rock covering, so it looks like water is flowing into a hidden spring. In the "man cave" (the covered patio by the pool where the barbecue grill is located), we have a wall fountain. In the opposite corner of the yard, a salvaged fish-shaped chiminea serves as a sunken fountain, with the water gurgling out of the fish's mouth. In the "secret garden" on the side of the house, we have a gently bubbling birdbath and a small bronze, tiered fountain. And finally, there's a 35,000 gallon pool in the backyard. The only chlorinated water is the pool. The rest of the spots attract lots of wildlife... both delightful and scary. I always wear long protective leather gloves, long sleeves, and long pants when cleaning the sunken features, as I have had to clear out snakes many times. The water also attracts many toads and frogs, as well as the occasional opossum or other rodent. It's a downside we're willing to take because we love seeing the birds and hearing the gurgling sounds all around our home.
