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Ask most any homeowners what they would like most from their landscape and they envision a beautiful, private spot where they can relax and enjoy themselves in their own personal paradise.
Suzi and Bill Janic of Sandy had a chance to create their paradise when some large homes were built behind them.
Not wanting to lose their sense of place, they started looking for solutions.
"We moved to this home about 14 years ago and had a field behind that gave us a great view," Suzi relates. "When we lost that view of the mountains we were sad because the large homes behind us meant we had no privacy in our back garden."
After the homes were built five years ago they needed a solution. They thoughtt about what it was that would return the privacy and enjoyment they had once enjoyed. After doing considerable research, Suzi formulated a plan.
"I first started by reading some books on ponds," she said. "I went to the library and found some (books) and then started to look for other information. I then looked up the Utah Water Garden Society on the Internet and that really changed things."
After she met Richard and Rosie Cobbley (active members of the society who lived near her) Suzi really got excited. She is now on the Society board and helps direct its activities.
"I met a lot of people that do ponds. They offered many good suggestions, and some even came over and made some good suggestions and helped us when we were digging the hole."
"We started with a smaller pond and then decided we needed something a little bigger. We did not have a lot of space but we made it about as big as we could."
Building a pond does not have to be a complex process.
After the couple decided on the size and shape, Bill then dug out the soil, making the hole the desired size and shape.
After shaping the hole, they installed a felt liner and then the waterproof liner over the top of that. From that point they then started to personalize their pond.
"We wanted our pond to look mountainous, so we built the waterfall," Suzi said. "We used the flagstones and then the river rock on the top. We then planted the red twig dogwood so it looked like the waterfall was coming out of our pretend mountain."
"We wanted an outdoor look within the city," she said.
"That meant we wanted a natural look with fish and with plants."
Adding fish was great but not without challenges.
"Up until this year, I had great water lilies. However, the koi have grown big enough that they ate the stems on my lilies," Suzi said. "That's why you never see water lilies in Japanese gardens, because the koi eat them." Even so, the pond is full of fish.
In addition to the koi, we have some goldfish and two orfes. We also have some shunkins (sometimes called calico goldfish) in there. Our latest addition is a small turtle that we have named Shelly."
"The koi have changed out plant species because of their feeding. We now have water iris, and other plants they do not like. We have some cannas and some other plants that are protected by the stones."
The pond is not the only feature that sets off this small intimate garden with wonderful secluded seating areas.
She explains that her husband built the beautiful arbors covered with the wisteria and trumpet vine.
A beautiful purple smoke bush glistened with some recent raindrops, and numerous other trees and shrubs add to the garden beauty.
The colored gravel garden paths are perfect additions to the pond rockwork and the other accessories.
With all her glowing reports, I asked her if they had any challenges with building or maintaining the pond.
"There really have not been any, except keeping it clean. We have to do an annual spring cleaning."
"Even that is not really hard because we run our waterfall all winter so that helps keep everything clean.
We have a tiny heater that we also run during the winter to help the fish."
"Water gardening is for anyone who wants to do it," she said. "It is for people who are wealthy and people who are not. I have learned so much from people who are willing to help you."
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Join members of the Utah Water Garden Society on this year's annul pond tour Aug. 13 and 14. The tour, which takes place at various locations, features numerous exceptional water features. For more information on the pond tour or the Utah Water Garden Society, log on to www.pondutah.com.
Written by: Larry A. Sagers Extension Horticulture Specialist Utah State University Thanksgiving Point Office
