Do You Have Enough Room For A Water Feature At Your Central Florida Home?

The answer might surprise you, if you have 3 feet of open space you can have a water feature to enhance your Florida landscape. 

You’re wondering what’s possible to make your home more of an escape from reality. Well, try adding water! Here are a few ideas of the possibilities that can be done to the average home’s landscape.

























Water Features do not have to take up your entire backyard, often ponds and pondless waterfalls are incorporated onto Florida Lanai rooms

 

Don’t have much of a yard to deal with? How about incorporating a fountain? Enjoy the sights and sounds of splashing water as your mind drifts away from the daily stresses in your life. 

 

Live in Downtown Orlando or only have access to a balcony or rooftop? Take advantage of a smaller contained water feature. A fire fountain bowl would make a great option to introduce the benefits of soothing water into the hustle and bustle of the city life.

So are you ready to fully submerge yourself in the water garden lifestyle and transform your entire Central Florida backyard into a beautiful aquatic getaway?

Maybe you prefer relaxing in your front yard? A Pondless Waterfall could be a great option that is sure to turn heads as people stroll by.

Think about it, when you start to drift off while relaxing on that wooden swing of yours, do you imagine an unadorned landscape or do you dream of being alongside a gentle stream, a calming pond or the beautiful colors of the ocean hitting your toes as you sway back and forth? Bring part of that dream to life and take advantage of the many benefits water has on relieving the tensions of life that come upon you. 


Pondtastic has the right feature to fit any space and budget
Contact Pondtastic today to begin living your dreams.


 



How to make your dream a reality?
If you’re considering adding a water feature to your home, CONTACT US for a free phone consultation. We can provide you with details and options for your particular design and budget. 

Pondtastic is Orlando's only Master Certified Aquascape Contractor

Pondtastic serves all Central Florida Counties Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Polk and Brevard.




                                                                                         Jim & Theresa

Waterfall Wednesday from Groveland, Florida

This weeks Waterfall Wednesday feature is the focal point of this large Groveland, Fl courtyard.
Guest are drawn to cross the custom built bridge and are often stopping as they cross to interact with the koi swimming about. You get the feeling of being closed off from the world as you sit and relax at this pond.

The home owners had just taken possession of their new custom built home so we had no sod to remove and no trees or shrubs to work around.
Just think no grass to mow in this area.

Big boulders were used to add character as well as to add scale and dimension to the waterfall, we  didn't want it to "get lost" up against the courtyard wall.


Several upgrades were added to this pond oasis to reduce time and maintenance for the home owners.
2 waterfall Biofalls were added for additional flow and filtration. An Iongen system was added to reduce the amount of algae growth on the rocks. Aeration was added to increase oxygen levels in the pond.
Upgraded lighting was added both inside and outside the pond.
2 pumps were installed to give maximum flow over the falls, and a UV system was installed in insure clear water at all times.

The pond looks and sounds amazing.
Due to the location of the pond being in the courtyard, the walls "trap" the sound inside.
When the windows are open the sound travels through the entire home.

If you are considering a water feature at your home, look no further than Orlando's only Master Certified Aquascape contractor. Big or small Pondtastic Water Gardens can design a water feature to enhance any Central Florida landscape. CONTACT US to set up a free phone consultation so we can help you design your custom water feature today

Pondtastic serves all Central Florida Counties Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Polk and Brevard

Orlando Certified Aquascape Contractor, Pondtastic Water Gardens shares views on water features ...

What is a water feature?

At first you might think that is a simple question that could easily be answered in a few words.

But my hope is that after reading this you will have a new appreciation of the REAL question and the answer.

You see, a water feature is according to Wikipedia:      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_feature

a water feature is one or more items from a range of fountains, pools, ponds, cascades, waterfalls, and streams.

.... but to us it is really much more.

On my office wall I have a quote by Loran Eisely:

If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in Water

I have seen the magic of water with my own eyes...

• I have seen the intense emotion from a child with downs syndrome when he sits and watches the fish in our display pond and listens to the waterfall.
• I have seen the faces of the families as they sit searching for peace and answers by our pond at the Give Kids the World Village.
• I have seen grandchildren smile and run to see the pond at gram and gramps house and see how their favorite fish is looking.
• I have seen friends as they sit by our pond in rough times with tears in their eyes.
• I have seen teenage boys reconnect with nature... not a video game version , the real thing!
• I have seen my nieces go flying through the house headed to the pond every time they visit.
• I have seen couples sitting and smiling on more waterfalls than I can count.
• I have seen a bench moved closer so a husband can see and hear the waterfall better.
• I have seen friends smile, laugh, woot and holler as I held a friends hand and walked her into the pond to play with our fish.
• I have seen a husbands eyes fill with tears as he remembers the love of his life.
• I have seen a mother on her hands and knees with her children at the edge of the pond talking with their new fish.

I could go on and on....

What is a water feature?

Well to us it is much more than a fountain, pool, pond, cascade, waterfall, or stream.

I don't think it can be said better than it is said here by our good friend Scott Hammond.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQZyBhdPm0o

I encourage you to watch this video...

to us it is gold......

Top Ten questions asked during our recent Home Show

Pondtastic was recently featured in the largest Home Show in our area.

We built and amazing waterfall and pond and complemented it with a breathtaking slate staked urn with with water pluming from the top splashing down among 25-30 tropical water lilies.

Putting together a display like this is ... well the only way to put it is to say , Its hard work !

We then get the opportunity to talk with hundreds of people a day. Talking about ponds is fun for us... we kinda like em if ya haven't noticed.....

But we thought it would be funny to make up a  
Top Ten List of the questions asked at the Orlando Home Show
... in Letterman style !

Number 10... How much is something like this?
Answer: Every pond we build is custom. That means that every pond has a different amount of rock, pumps, filtration, fish, plants, labor, lighting..... as you can imagine that is a difficult question to answer in such broad strokes.

Number 9 .... where are you located? are you local ?
Answer: Yes we are local. We are located right here in Orlando.

Number 8.... how difficult is it to maintain a pond like this?
Answer:  We LOVE ecosystem ponds !  Nature works !  10-15 minutes a few on the average pond.

Number 7... are these rocks real ?
Answer:  Yes they are real!  In our display this year we used about 20,000lbs of Tennessee field stone and river rounds. It always cracks us up when people walk up and knock on the big rocks.... yeah their real.. real heavy!


Number 6... what kind of fish are those?
Answer: We prefer to stock a pond with Koi. They are really Japanese carp and carp are scavengers by nature.. so they help us to maintain the pond ( see number 8)

Number 5... can you build a waterfall like that into my pool?
Answer: Sorry we don't do pools. In most cases the decks of the pools are not built to handle the weight of the real rock we use. We recommend building a feature near the pool or create the illusion that the waterfall is entering the pool.

Number 4...how long does it take you to build this display?
Answer: We begin the preparation months in advance as the design stage begins... but actual building time is usually about 30 hours.. all hands on deck!

Number 3... how do you get the water in there?
Answer: Yup...people really ask that. You know who you are!

Number 2...Is Pondtastic Water Gardens a chain or a franchise?
Answer: Nope we are a family owed and operated company. We believe that family is important and our pondtastic family is always growing!

Number 1... can you put this in my backyard?
Answer:  SURE  you grab that side and Ill grab this side and we can load it in your truck !


On a serious note we had a blast talking with so many people about ponds, waterfalls and water features.

Look for us in a backyard near you !

I'm Happy !

This past week was our annual pilgrimage to St. Charles Illinois for the pond industries largest gathering of water feature professionals, Pondemonium.

The first words from Greg Wittstock in the opening speech were " I'm happy "
He then went on to expand on the many reasons he has to be happy.... it kinda made me think.
 
You see as a small business owner in today's climate (and I am not talking about the weather ) it is easy to get down or let the stress of the day wear you down.  It is easy to NOT be happy.

I am sure that applies to you too, no matter what you do for a living.
So I started making a list as I sat listening Greg,  ( in no particular order )

I am Happy because:

• I have a healthy family 
• I have a loving family
• I have a thriving business
• I have an amazing wife who shares my passion and dreams and is always by my side
• I still have a business
• I get to do something I LOVE everyday
• I get to work with people that share my dreams
• I get to change peoples lives in ways they didn't ever foresee
• I have created so many friendships that I would never had :
• Clients/Customers
• Pond builders all over the country
• Pond hobbiests all over the world
• I am happy I work in an industry full of people who are inspiring people who are willing to share their successes and failures to help us all be better

Now that was just a quick list I jotted down and I am sure there are so many other things I should be happy for. 

How about you?

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.