Hi...we are finally going to put in a brick patio this year, and I
hope to put in the water garden I've always wanted.

I have Ortho's All About Garden Ponds book.

Are there any websites that you experts recommend for tips and How
To's, especially for helping me to plan?

I'd also like to find out which brands are best as far as liners,
pumps, etc.

Google comes up with so many sites, but most of them are retailers
with a couple of paragraphs of How To.

I live in northwestern IL, so we get cold winters, and I'd like to
have fish.
I've put this off for years because I've been intimidated by it, but I
hope this year I can put my back into it and get it done.

Thanks,
Mitch

Take a look at MSN groups http://groups.msn.com/TheOldGardenPond

wrote in message
...
Hi...we are finally going to put in a brick patio this year, and I
hope to put in the water garden I've always wanted.

I have Ortho's All About Garden Ponds book.

Are there any websites that you experts recommend for tips and How
To's, especially for helping me to plan?

I'd also like to find out which brands are best as far as liners,
pumps, etc.

Google comes up with so many sites, but most of them are retailers
with a couple of paragraphs of How To.

I live in northwestern IL, so we get cold winters, and I'd like to
have fish.
I've put this off for years because I've been intimidated by it, but I
hope this year I can put my back into it and get it done.

Thanks,
Mitch

Many of us have links in our sig files that show our ponds. Though there
may not be exactly the pond that you are looking for, you will find a wealth
of ideas and information, and then can question for specifics. There is no
one book that is right for all situations, but there are several that may be
listed that are good starting points.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
wrote in message
...
Hi...we are finally going to put in a brick patio this year, and I
hope to put in the water garden I've always wanted.

I have Ortho's All About Garden Ponds book.

Are there any websites that you experts recommend for tips and How
To's, especially for helping me to plan?

I'd also like to find out which brands are best as far as liners,
pumps, etc.

Google comes up with so many sites, but most of them are retailers
with a couple of paragraphs of How To.

I live in northwestern IL, so we get cold winters, and I'd like to
have fish.
I've put this off for years because I've been intimidated by it, but I
hope this year I can put my back into it and get it done.

Thanks,
Mitch

Many of us have links in our sig files that show our ponds.

I started with your own. :-)
Very nice.

My biggest problem is not the work, but the design.
I would love to be able to find a picture of a water garden that I
like, get a materials list, and just build it.

The total area I have to work with is about 8' x 20'.
I really want a small waterfall, and I'd like to have fish.

On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 15:22:15 -0500, rasta wrote:

snip

i forgot to add this link, it's the home page of a previous link i
posted. *much* info here.

http://www.webspace4me.net/~mikehill/index.html#build

positive vibes, rasta
http://rynholland.tripod.com/
http://rynholland.tripod.com/pond/id2.html
http://rynholland.tripod.com/pond/id1.html

Thanks for all the links.

A guy who goes to my church is a landscape designer, and he does lots
of water features for the wealthy. I'm friendly with him, so I called
him today and asked how much it would cost for his design expertise
only, if I do all the work.

He said he would charge me $25/hr, and that he estimates a total of 10
hours, but that includes all the design, delivering the rocks and
boulders, and checking up on me while I'm building it to make
corrections.

Sound pretty good?

I've seen his work...he does beautiful stuff.
I told him the space I have to work with, and he thinks a waterfall,
short stream, and pond with fish will cost me about $2500.

$250 doesn't sound bad for someone who designs stuff that you think
looks beautiful. That's what is important anyway, what you think about it.

wrote:

Thanks for all the links.

A guy who goes to my church is a landscape designer, and he does lots
of water features for the wealthy. I'm friendly with him, so I called
him today and asked how much it would cost for his design expertise
only, if I do all the work.

He said he would charge me $25/hr, and that he estimates a total of 10
hours, but that includes all the design, delivering the rocks and
boulders, and checking up on me while I'm building it to make
corrections.

Sound pretty good?

I've seen his work...he does beautiful stuff.
I told him the space I have to work with, and he thinks a waterfall,
short stream, and pond with fish will cost me about $2500.

MItch,

You will certainly get a professional opinion from a professional. If you
like his work, that is good!

May I suggest that you run his ideas by the folk in this ng? You would
educate us and might get some practical insights from people who have
spent a while figuring out how to do it or how to fix it or how not to do it
next time.

When we see TV stuff from designers, many of us choke on the impracticality
of their designs.

Proverbs says the king wins battles by having many wise counselors. While
not in the king and wise categories, we might apply by 'Ponders get nice
pools by consulting others.' When we built our pond, I did not know about
the ng. Some things would have been easier if I had checked here. My
filter system benefitted from being installed a couple of years after the
rest...I knew a lot more, learned from experience and from other ponders.

Other ponders, thanks!

Go for it!

Jim


wrote in message
...
Thanks for all the links.

A guy who goes to my church is a landscape designer, and he does lots
of water features for the wealthy. I'm friendly with him, so I called
him today and asked how much it would cost for his design expertise
only, if I do all the work.

He said he would charge me $25/hr, and that he estimates a total of 10
hours, but that includes all the design, delivering the rocks and
boulders, and checking up on me while I'm building it to make
corrections.

Sound pretty good?

I've seen his work...he does beautiful stuff.
I told him the space I have to work with, and he thinks a waterfall,
short stream, and pond with fish will cost me about $2500.

On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 20:36:18 GMT, wrote:

Hi...we are finally going to put in a brick patio this year, and I
hope to put in the water garden I've always wanted.

I have Ortho's All About Garden Ponds book.

yup, this one's in my library also. the thing about these books i they
make it look *so easy*. there are many fine points they don't cover. i
learned that preparation is the single most important process. we need
to have the pond planned in our heads and use mental storyboards each
step of the way.

Are there any websites that you experts recommend for tips and How
To's, especially for helping me to plan?

this link is especially helpful for locating manufacturers' sites.
these are hard to google (as you already found out).
http://www.mikebentley.com/ponds/pondlinks.htm

I'd also like to find out which brands are best as far as liners,
pumps, etc.
Google comes up with so many sites, but most of them are retailers
with a couple of paragraphs of How To.

this is where google shines. a simple string of key searchwords in
this very group will bring up a wealth of info. also google is handy
for searching for pond pics, using their "images"page.

another useful resource:
http://www.webspace4me.net/~mikehill...struction.html

positive vibes, rasta
http://rynholland.tripod.com/
http://rynholland.tripod.com/pond/id2.html
http://rynholland.tripod.com/pond/id1.html

May I suggest that you run his ideas by the folk in this ng?

Sure. He did the water feature outside the local bank. I'm going to
go take some pictures of it, because I think it might be real close to
what I want.

He also has books of photos of his installations, so I'm going to
browse through those, too.

My biggest problem is not the work, but the design.

In that case, look at all the websites in sig lines and then ask the
specific ponder(s) how to go forth. I think many of us would agree that the
best advice, imho, is not just the pond design, but the filter design. I
thought I was just going to put in a water garden with a few fish. HA! So 4
ponds later...... ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

If the $2500 includes a really good filtration system, then yea, with fish,
plants, etc. sounds about right. Rocks/boulders probably are pretty pricey,
something I didn't have to purchase.

Since I don't know your designer personally, the one thing I'd recommend is
talking to people where he's installed ponds and find out the maintenance
needed.

A pond with a good filteration system, skimmer(s) & bottom drain(s)
requires very little "hard core" maintenance. Where you have to drain and
tear down the whole pond yearly, and yes, unfortunately there are systems
that require this. ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

On Fri, 23 Apr 2004 20:39:06 GMT, wrote:

Thanks for all the links.

A guy who goes to my church is a landscape designer, and he does lots
of water features for the wealthy. I'm friendly with him, so I called
him today and asked how much it would cost for his design expertise
only, if I do all the work.

He said he would charge me $25/hr, and that he estimates a total of 10
hours, but that includes all the design, delivering the rocks and
boulders, and checking up on me while I'm building it to make
corrections.

Sound pretty good?

I've seen his work...he does beautiful stuff.
I told him the space I have to work with, and he thinks a waterfall,
short stream, and pond with fish will cost me about $2500.

"~ jan JJsPond.us" wrote in message
s.com...
If the $2500 includes a really good filtration system, then yea, with
fish,
plants, etc. sounds about right. Rocks/boulders probably are pretty
pricey,
something I didn't have to purchase.

Since I don't know your designer personally, the one thing I'd recommend
is
talking to people where he's installed ponds and find out the maintenance
needed.

A pond with a good filteration system, skimmer(s) & bottom drain(s)
requires very little "hard core" maintenance. Where you have to drain and
tear down the whole pond yearly, and yes, unfortunately there are systems
that require this. ~ jan
snip

I'd also add to that, ask him what some of his design ethics are...

Does he like rocks at the bottom of the pond?
His he militant about using UV?
Does he prefer one style of filter over another?

You can learn a lot about a pond guy based on his pond religion. I for one
am a fundamentalist VF'er.

--
BV.
www.iheartmypond.com

In that case, look at all the websites in sig lines and then ask the
specific ponder(s) how to go forth.

Yeah, I'm reading everything I can now.

Here's a question: any tips for finding good deals on boulders?
I know they are very expensive at landscape and garden centers.

http://www.mikebentley.com/ponds/pondlinks.htm

I just noticed that this place:
http://www.nwgponds.com/tour.htm

in only a half-hour from me!