North Coast Water Garden Club
Welcome to the North Coast Water Garden Club (NCWGC), a nonprofit community organization. Our goal is to provide quality information so people will be knowledgeable and enjoy their water gardens.
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Info for NCWGC
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President's Message
March 2009
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
President's Message - March 2009
I was signing my work order when I noticed the mound of small black wet pebbles and heard the burp of tiny splashes all returning to the flat ceramic bowl on the counter. Who would have expected a fountain in a sign shop? The effect was immediate: calm, cooling and a welcome touch of beauty.
In February, at our first North Coast Water Garden Club of the year, we learned how easily made and pleasing an inside water feature can be.
Mary Barber of Miller Farm's Nursery was our featured speaker and she brought a box full of indoor water feature essentials: a few stones, a container, some plants and a small pump. Faster than bibbity-bobbity-boo she created two distinctly different fountains that would fit nicely in several places in anybody's home.
Common to both was a little ingenuity to close the hole in an attractive ceramic pot. She used quick set epoxy with a masking tape dam on one side to retain the mixture while it hardened. A small pump (about 80 gallons per hour did nicely) was set within an inverted mesh basket which was covered with small stones or slate. The stones supported and directed the discharge hose to cascade down the piled stones and splashing a few well-placed plants. In one version, burnished copper tubing looped above the cobalt pot and plants before the water danced down through itself and disappeared into the bowl.
Consider the elements of Feng Shui encompassed in a small water feature: Balance of space and focus of attention; soothing sounds and the attractive visual appeal of circulating water. You might try your fountain in a new place after several months. You just might like another.
Next month we'll venture into the realm of bigger ponds and re-circulating fountains. Rudy Gutierrez, owner of Earthscapes Landscaping will discuss some of the big and small ponds he's designed and built over the years with a nod to his current favorite, pondless features. He'll bring photos and discuss everything from earthmoving to plumbing. A great way to get started planning a pond.
The North Coast Water Garden Club meets each month to share knowledge and the experiences of water gardeners of every persuasion. Please join us. Our website, ncwgc.org, has information on this year's programs and links to featured sites and photos that will interest everyone.
Next Meeting: March 11th, 7 pm at the Adorni Center - Waterfront Drive and "L" St. in Eureka. I hope to see you there.
Until then, keep on splashing
John Bradley
NCWGC President
North Coast Water Garden Club
2009 Meetings
The North Coast Water Garden club 2009 meetings will be held the second Wednesday of each month through November from 7 to 8:30 PM, at the Adorni Recreation Center, Eureka CA.
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