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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PROGRESSIVE POND PEREGRINATION PROVES PLEASANT FOR ALL
In other words, our FIRST ANNUAL North Coast Water Garden Club POND TOUR was a lot of fun! Sunny skies, short drives, diverse ponds and friendly people combined to make this an event worth repeating.
About fifteen participants began with a rendezvous at Doug and Patti Rose's delightful in-ground pond complete with hungry mealy worm-eating bluegills. In addition we got explanations on pond biology, pressurized filtering systems and a quick demo of the Pond-Vac bottom cleaner they are marketing through their business, Rosepond Aquatics.
Also in abundance were lots of single and double and triple small container water gardens all flourishing with water lilies. Finally, three large above ground nursery ponds for plant propagation at a good working height gave us an insight into the complex logistics of growing plants commercially. Thanks, Doug and Patti for the tour!
Next we dodged McKinleyville's Azalea Days Parade and headed out to Dows Prairie where Julian and Gail Barbash presented their 18,000 gallon pond complete with some of largest Koi (we're talking 3 to 4 feet!) I've ever seen. Julian's pond is set amongst the naturalized plantings he and Gail have installed in what was once was just a two-tree lot. Now it presents large growth right to the water's edge with pathways scalloping the shaded border so that each return to the pond offers another spectacular view: a bridge, a bench, a waterfall, the home and deck and a constant background shift of bright leaved tall trees.
Julian dug the pond by hand over a six month period and mounded the earth to create a three dimension landscape who's Gail textures are reminiscent of Monet's Gevernie paintings. Thanks, Julian and Gail for the tour!
Our third stop was at John and Adrianne Bradley's 1,200 gallon in-ground backyard suburban pond. John extended a fence into the front yard to make room for a rock, paver and path defined water garden complete with waterfall and tadpole pond.
Hiding the skimmer and bottom drain plumbing under the cedar deck (with a pneumatic lift) got the mechanics things out of sight. Now in its third year, the pond is getting plantings in the rocks to grow and anybody who wanted one got a pink water lily for a take-home memento. (Thanks to the plant division techniques we learned at our April meeting of NCWGC).
About that time we all needed a snack so Adrianne provided a few munchies and John's cookies disappeared in record time. Thanks John and Adrianne for the tour!
Our final pond was a recently completed pond at the home of Jess Morales, a local ceramic artist with an impressive studio and some wonderfully crafted objets d'arte.
Jess had Keith Hamm of Living Earth Landscapes convert his ideas into reality. Together they used a flexible liner and wall design to convert a steeply sloped area between the studio and the home into a bright and inviting courtyard.
Keith chose a submersible pump with valve controls to adjust the three formal horizontal copper waterspouts exiting a arch-topped wall and the flagstone waterfall feature. Jess's ceramicist mind inventively utilized 24" kiln vent pipe sawn to a coping shape to create a very comfortable full-length seating area along the entire width of the pool.
Future additions may include a biological filter, a few more plants and fish. Thanks Jeff and Keith for the tour!
The next meeting of the NCWGC will be on July 9, 2008 at the Adorni building in Eureka. Meetings start at 7pm and you are welcome to bring a guest. Our topic will be an in-depth critique of each pond on the tour with photos and observations by participants. So, even if you missed the first one, here is a chance to benefit from the observations and expertise this club is designed to provide.
Hope to see you there and until then,
Happy Ponding!
John Bradley
NCWGC President
North Coast Water Garden Club
Meetings
The North Coast Water Garden club 2008 meetings will be held the second Wednesday of each month through November from 7 to 9 PM, at the Adorni Recreation Center, Eureka CA. As meeting speakers and topics become available they will be posted here. Here are the dates and topics:
June 11 no meeting, instead June 7, water garden tour,
July 9 an in-depth critique of each pond on the June pond tour with photos and observations by participants. So, even if you missed the first one, here is a chance to benefit from the observations and expertise this club is designed to provide.
