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Deck-side Water Feature in Ballwin
Photo by Wayne E. Malon for the 2007 Old Trails Historical Society
Garden tour.
Water
falls from a small upper pond (hidden), tumbles down the 15-foot
stream flowing under the stone bridge and into the main pond, providing
soothing background sounds to those sitting on the deck.
Overview:
- Owner:
Joan Woelfel
- Location:
Ballwin, Missouri
- Installed:
October, 2000
- Designed
and built by: Nies Landscape Contractors
- Size:
Lower pond is 1200 gallons
- Equipment:
BF4000 Biofalls, CS2000D Skimmer Box, Aquascape high efficiency
pump (2300 gallons per hour), CVA4 backflow prevention valves
- Special
features: Waterfall, stream, stone bridge, small upper pond,
larger lower pond, 4 Koi and about 20 goldfish
The
pond was on the Pond-O-Rama tour in 2002 and 2003. The owner is
always delighted to welcome visitors to see it.
This
water feature curves around the deck providing the soft sound of
water and enabling those in the house to look out the window to
watch the fish year 'round. In the spring, frogs and toads sing
loudly, a treat to the homeowner. Plants are greening up, and hardy
water lilies send their first leaves to the surface, reaching for
the warmth. Neighbor children come to see the millions of polliwogs
covering the rocks at the bottom. A few weeks later as they get
legs, you can see hoards of miniature toads hopping around the yard.
In the summer, there's lots of activity. A pair of mallards visits
each year as they raise their young elsewhere. Butterflies drink
from the splashes filling the small hollows in rocks, while birds
delightedly bathe noisily in the stream. Damselflies hover, landing
on a nearby iris, and waterwalkers skate across the pond. A toad
often lives under the stone bridge. Several years ago, two Black
Labs would race to the pond whenever they escaped from a nearby
yard for a cooling dip. And last summer, a large groundhog made
its home under the back steps, happy to have water close at hand.
The
tropical water lilies and parrots feather provide shelter for the
fish, and when threatened by a predator, they hide under the protective
rock tunnel in a flash. Romeo and Juliet, Speckles and Lemon Drop
are always begging for a handout when anyone walks by, and the goldfish
have learned to eat quickly before the koi grab it all.
The
large leaves of the Black Magic taro provide a contrast to the grasses,
flowers and other marginals edging the pond. The water hyacinths
placed in the biofalls filter the water before it spills into the
small upper pond, which sports canna, taro and a water lily. Since
the stream is in full sun, there is usually a good bit of string
algae to provide further filtering, so the pond water is very clear.
(But the string algae is periodically pulled out manually to keep
it in check.)
Having the pond has been a delight. Even in winter, when the plants
have died, it is bare as you can see, but we can always watch the
fish.
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