Our motto at Falling Water Designs is “Balance in your life, through beauty in your garden”. Our goal is to provide our customers a space to recharge and re-energize, or to relax and reflect. Getting back to nature doesn’t require a trip to the mountains or the beach, it can happen in your own garden. We don’t want you to just have a beautiful garden that you enjoy from the kitchen window, but an outdoor space that calls you out into it to spend time there. One way to get you to spend time in your garden is to ensure that you purchase comfortable outdoor furniture. When you choose bargain furniture like those pre-formed plastic stacking chairs or other uncomfortable furniture you’re likely to sit in it for only a few minutes until you decide you’d be more comfortable on the sofa inside the house. So choose furniture that is both comfortable and made for the outdoor environment. Some outdoor furniture is made to be under-cover in a protected space. Other furniture can stay out in the rain and still be fine. Choose first on comfort, then style. You should sit in the furniture before you buy it and really see if it is as comfortable as it looks. Sometimes the backs of the chairs are too reclined or the seat of the sofa is too deep to be comfortable, so try them out before you purchase.
Choose padded furniture that has UV protected cloth like “Sunbrella” fabric. Frames can be powder coated aluminum or hardwood such as teak. When possible choose hardwoods from managed forests. Sometimes it’s called plantation grown hardwood. This ensures that your teak furniture is not part of the de-forestation of the rain forests. It’s tempting to purchase those bold beautiful stripes or a bright print fabric, but it may be more sensible to choose a neutral colored fabric for long life, and spice up the furniture with inexpensive throw pillows that can be replaced or recovered when you tire of them. If you do choose a bright fabric or print, make sure that the covers are removable so when you tire of the fabric you can keep the frame and recover the cushions. You can spend a little or a lot on outdoor furniture, and I’ve noticed an increasingly wide variety of outdoor furniture in many of the “big box” retail chains.
Many of the ponds we install include an auto-fill valve. This device keeps your water level consistent as ponds loose water due to splash and evaporation. We commonly install a simple water timer on the hose spigot, in order to feed the auto-fill every few days. Be warned! If you have one of these timers it is essential that you disconnect it during winter. Otherwise water will freeze, expand and break your nifty water timer. If you need any further help with your timer, try browsing the instruction manuals of some of the more popular models below.
The pond winterization process actually begins in fall. Towards the end of October as the water temperature drops to 50 degrees your biological filter stops functioning as the bacteria dies off, and your aquatic plants start to die back. Dead organic matter dropping to the bottom of the pond creates an anaerobic situation and releases gasses that can become toxic to fish. Your fish can no longer digest high protein food and should be fed either cool weather food, or not fed at all. Your UV sterilizer should be turned off and your skimmer cleaned more frequently. To ensure better water quality and preserve your investment certain tasks need to be done.
UV Sterilizer: As the water temperature approaches 40 degrees algae growth becomes less prevalent. We suggest that you turn your UV sterilizer off by unplugging it on or about October 15th. If you turn it on in April and turn it off in October you can use the UV bulbs for two full seasons and replace the bulbs every third year. If you don’t turn off the UV by unplugging it, then you should replace your UV bulbs every season. If you keep your pump running all winter then you don’t usually have to drain your UV. If you plan on turning the pump off during the winter then the UV sterilizer valve should be closed and the UV drained to protect it from freezing.
Many of you have been asking about the maintenance of your Ultima II filter. We’ve posted the instruction manual for you here. 
We now stock Radius NRG garden tools at our nursery! Radius’ advanced ergonomic design minimizes hand and wrist stress while maximizing power and comfort. The unique curvature and contour of the grip encourages a safer, natural, wrist-neutral approach to gardening. People with conditions like arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome often find this grip greatly increases their enjoyment of gardening. Choose your weapon for just $13.99!
We use natural stone for our water features almost exclusively. Our signature three basalt column feature contains some heavy rock – heavy enough that our guys can barely wrestle them into place without resorting to machinery. But what if you’re not six feet tall, 200 pounds, strong and able bodied? What if you have limited access to area where you want your water feature? These obstacles can be overcome by the use of faux rock.
Rain chains (‘Kusari doi’ in Japanese) offer a highly attractive and unique alternative to traditional downspouts. They are hung from the corners of your roof or canal to guide the flow of water into large barrels to catch the water from the roof for household purposes and gardening. They have been used for hundreds of years in Japan, and are a perfect expression of the Japanese knack for combining aesthetics and practicality.
Having a water feature doesn’t always involve having an actual pond. Dish stones are a fantastic way of bringing water into your garden. Pictured on the right is a stone that’s fed by a bamboo spigot. You can take this entire kit home for just $600! If you’re not so taken with the bamboo, there are many other options for fountains, perhaps a whimsical frog fountain or spitting turtle? Some people enjoy the look of copper with a nice patina. Go with what you like.
Core drilling a dish stone opens up new possibilities for the flow of water. An overflowing dish stone fed from below provides the effect of a naturally bubbling spring. We sell core drilled dish stones starting at $240. We can set you up with everything else you need to help you build this style of feature.
We’ve just installed a new rain garden at the nursery. A rain garden is a natural or landscaped basin that captures and soaks up water that runs off your roof, driveway, walkway or other hard areas around your home. A rain garden is planted with a variety of trees, shrubs, flowers and plants that can withstand very wet conditions in the winter and a somewhat dry medium in the summer. Because a rain garden is planted with a thick layer of mulch on the surface, it collects rain water like a sponge and allows it to slowly filter into the ground before it becomes polluted storm water runoff, resulting in healthier waterways and habitats.