The Tranquil Pool

By far, this had to be one of our favorite little garden pond projects to date. When we were approached, our clients' complaint was that they had purchased this little inner-city home within the last twenty-four months, and the previous owner had left the backyard a disaster. These particular clients were lovers of all things natural, and had visions of transforming this eye-sore of a back lot into something that resembled the Shire out of one of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels. That meant green gardens, honey bees, and flowing waters.

They had hopes of a stream and pool design, but were not certain if something like that was attainable considering the limited amount of space and lack of elevations or gradients within the area desired. For us, that was no problem at all. We designed a ten foot by ten foot layout that took advantage of the excavated Earth from the pool. This dirt was used to create a set of terraces, within which garden plants or flowers could be planted, that led up to a fourteen inch spill box. This design created a small waterfall that then allowed the water to cascade roughly four feet into the pool below. The music of this design was a lovely melody of trickling water; which was soon accompanied by a harmony of regular songbirds that would visit almost daily to bathe and drink. Now adorned by flowering raspberry bushes and lavender flowers, this pool is the centerpiece of these clients' urban unwinding.

On the fence about building a water feature of your own? Take a look, then give us a call and tell us what you think!