Water Features ...... what does that mean to you?

Water features can mean different things to different people.

A water feature can be as simple as a fountain placed along a walking path in your backyard or a bubbling urn placed by the entrance to your home.

They can turn your yard into something special., provide a focal point or create a intimate area hidden with your property.

We have all seen the huge koi pond  that takes the entire back yard... like mine. haha

We have all seen HGTV episodes when they are adding in the small bamboo water garden in a corner.

A water feature is as personal a choice as anything else... everything from the type of feature to the location where it is placed.

At Pondtastic Water Gardens we can help you make the right choice and find that prefect item... with so much to choose from it should be easy.

We have the opportunity to talk with so many people everyday about water features and it never ceases to amaze me all of the neat ideas that people can dream up. I LOVE IT !

Some ideas work and some need some adjustments .... but in the end our roadside sign says it all !

Pondtastic Water Gardens

Ponds,Fountains, Waterfalls, Streams and DREAMS !

Its all about your perspective....

Many hands make light work   Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Look before you leap.  He who hesitates is lost.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder   Out of sight, out of mind.
The more the merrier  Two's company, three's a crowd
Look before you leap    Strike while the iron is hot
Birds of a feather flock together  Opposites attract
Que sera sera Life is what you make it
Nothing ventured, nothing gained  Better safe than sorry
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts  Never look a gift horse in the mouth
The clothes make the man Don't judge a book by its cover
You're never too old to learn  You can't teach an old dog new tricks
The pen is mightier than the sword  Actions speak louder than words
An eye for an eye Turn the other cheek
It’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game  Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing
Haste makes waste  Make hay while the sun shines

If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all  Honesty is the best policy

It takes one to know one  You don't have to be a chicken to know a rotten egg.

Still waters run deep  The calm before the storm

The end does not justify the means   All's well that ends well.

Great minds think alike   Fools seldom differ.

The early bird gets the worm, It's the second mouse who gets the cheese.

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread   He who hesitates is lost.

Knowledge is power   Power corrupts

The squeaking wheel gets the grease  The quacking duck gets shot.

Variety is the spice of life   Go with what you know
The road to hell is paved with good intentions  It's the thought that counts
The Devil is in the details   Don't sweat the small stuff

Little Victories

Yesterday I was not having the best day... chalk it up to  Monday ...

I had a long time customer stop in our Orlando store I had just returned from a job site in Kissimmee when he stopped in. Ya see, this customer is the guy that has been doing ponds since before i was alive and nothing I said was correct.
But I didn't give up.

He is the guy that would stand in the store and tell potential customers that koi are overpriced and over rated and that all this ecosystem stuff was a bunch of ****.

When I saw him walking around the store yesterday I greeted him and he shook my hand and said " Thanks, My pond has never looked so good !" I almost fell over backwards....

After many talks about the ecosystem and benefits of natural filtration he had actually tired what I told him and it worked.... imagine that.

So in the mist of a typical Monday ...I had a reason to smile ... a new happy customer and a little victory !

Trade Offs

We all are faced with choices all day , everyday. Some of these choices are easy ones.. some require more thought. Some we are able to make in a split second and some of them keep us up at night as we agonize over each detail of the outcome.Most of the time we are dealing with " trade offs " , weighing out the pros and cons, looking at it from all angles.

We all deal with a different set of trade offs. I think that the basis for these decisions going back to our core values. What do we believe to be right and wrong and what sacrifice are we willing to make for our values.

The bigger the choice the more time and energy we devote to it.

Since we all have different ideas of what is right and wrong and we all have different core values that means that we all have a different set of " trade offs" we are willing to make. It is not a black and white issue... it is not as easy as right and wrong.

It is a trade off and after you are done making your choice... all you can do is hope you made the right one.

Squares and Triangles

Is your schedule as full as mine?

If you were to get a look at my schedule you would see that when looking at it in month view it shows in the corners either a square or a triangle. This indicates at a glance how much of the day is scheduled.

Theresa and I use the same calendar system and then we share between each other.. that way we know where each other are. (does that makes sense?)

The reason I share this with you is that our friends tease us about our calendar and trying to schedule time with " The Prices".

We as a family have decided to really make an effort to make more time for us as family. The reality of owning a small business especially in these times means working harder and longer and never ever taking your eye off the ball. But we have done a good job in spite of all of that.

Why have I decided to share all of this..... well this weekend we are having a " get together " at our house and we have friends coming from all over. Friends that have moved away over the years and friends that have their own squares and triangles....

I guess I am really looking forward to having a couple of days with no squares or triangles .. just spending time with friends , relaxing , telling stories and enjoying life.

"Every choice you make has an end result". .....Zig Ziglar

 This could not be more true than for the project we started yesterday.

This customer was considering a pond about 2 years ago and  came to our store to check us out, however at that time we were still closing early on Saturdays. They came after hours and we had gone home for the day.

Unfortunate for both of us....

Ya see they had seen several of our ponds in their neighborhood and they knew what they wanted but before they had the opportunity to come back and see us again, another contractor ( the screen guy) recommended a friend of theirs ( a landscape company ) to build the pond.

They met with the landscape company and decided to hire them to build the pond.

At this point I had no knowledge any of this was even going on... it wasn't until months later when they started having problems with their pond that I heard this story. ( Needless to say we no longer close early on Saturdays.)

But the real point of this post is not the decision of operating hours but rather the customers decision on who they hired to build their pond.

Of course the landscape company that built this pond is no longer in business ( surprise surprise) and we started the complete demo and rebuild of this pond yesterday.

I knew their were problems with this pond but I had no idea the extent. WOW talk about a complete mess. I wont get into specifics but only to say that it really kind of made me angry to think that this even happened.

The whole idea that these people paid hard earned cash to have paradise created in their backyard only to get ... well lets just say " less than paradise" bothers me.

We work way to hard to do things the right way and to break down the myths about ponds to have this kind of stuff going on under our noses. But I guess we cant be everywhere....

 As we begin the rebuilding process today. I know that our team has already become friends with this new client and will make their pond both beautiful and functional, so they can finally start enjoying the pond lifestyle.


I know this family has now made the right choice !

Gentlemen start your engines...

I am really not a Nascar fan but with the Daytona 500 going on yesterday  I did catch some of it on TV.

I dont know if you saw it or not but if you did not, the race was delayed 2x due to problems with the track.

Are you kidding me? Problems with the track?
To me the Daytona 500 is the biggest name in racing. (forgive me if I am wrong but that is just my opinion )
The big race that happens once a year... they have all year to prepare for this event and what happens....

Well I couldn't help but think that is how it works for me also. Ya see, we plan plan and then we plan but no matter what something happens... ( we have problems with the track )  a bearing goes out on the forklift, the battery goes dead on a truck, a delivery didn't come in on time, one of our team is sick or injured... I could go on and on.

Where am I going with all of this.... well to me it is all about your state of mind. Maybe it is due to the nature of what I do for a living and the lifestyle that we share with so many people but I find the victories in the things that go well or as planned. I take note of the daily defeats and try to adjust my plan for the future without dwelling on them or carrying them from day to day.

Each day is new and the possibilities for victories or defeats are equal. Sometimes all we can do is start our engines and get going!

I think we will have a victorious day !

Customer Appreciation Day at Pondtastic

WOW  what a day.....

I can admit it now,  I was nervous. We had put alot of time& energy into this event and the weather was not looking good at all.

We had bad rainstorms yesterday and a temperature drop this week had people bundling up and staying indoors.

It could have potentially been a disaster.

But once again our customers are the best customers any small business could have.  We had crowd sitting in the cold listening to our guest speakers teaching their mini seminars. We had crowds of people all day long.


I know today was deemed " Customer Appreciation Day " but in the end of the day it is truly us that are thankful for all of you....

Thank you all !

rain rain and more rain

Well today is our last day of preparation for Customer Appreciation Day . This has been a very challenging week. We had alot of new items come in and 6 truck loads of trees!  Yeah you heard me right.. Trees !

We have gone into the tree business also. We figured it is a great addition to the pond business. We can offer our customers an instant landscape.

Hey we have to staff,trucks and equipment .. why not right?

More than anything else there is a demand in this area for quality trees and reasonable prices.

But today we have had nothing but rain rain rain ! It is making it miserable to work outdoors.  Our guys are troopers thou... they are all out there in the cold and the rain getting everything ready for tomorrow!

I just watched the weather report and the rain is suppose to go away soon.. and be clear tomorrow and we are happy about that.

Jim

Welcome to my pond... relax and stay awhile

Well this is my first ever blog.....

I hope I am doing this correctly haha

Ok, so tomorrow we plan on our new website going live. This is very exciting for us because we have been planning and working on this website and the concept of it for about a year now.

We finally have it finished and I have to say I think it looks PONDTASTIC.

We are also just 2 days from our biggest event of the year here at our Orlando showroom. We are hosting a Customer Appreciation Day on Saturday Feb 13th.

Our staff has been working long hours to prepare for this event. We have brought in so many new items... we have guest speakers all day long... specials... and FREE HOT DOGS haha

I plan on using this blog to talk about everything.... we will discuss the pond industry, environmental issues, the weather, client questions, new products and virtually anything else that pops into my head.

Nothing is off limits !

I plan on this blog being current and informational and at all times.... entertaining.