Happy Memorial Day Weekend! We are open this weekend AND on Memorial Day
Hours: 10am to 6pm
The first day of Summer is right around the corner on June 21st, and Falling Water Designs and Falling Water Gardens are ready to turn your garden into your dream escape! We are having our Annual Father’s Day Celebration on June 18th AND 19th.
If you are looking for a little summer getaway, check out the Glamping tab to learn more about booking a stay in our glamping tents!
Nursery News
Falling Water Gardens is ready for the great weather and fun ahead! We have hundreds of fish available and we are getting new plants in weekly.
We are open this weekend and on Memorial Day from 10am to 6pm! We will be kicking off our wedding season with our first wedding on Sunday, May 29th.
On June 18th and 19th we will be having our Annual Father’s Day Celebration. We will have fun activities and a free fish for dads!
The first day of summer is June 21st, which means temperatures will be rising. Make sure you are prepared, check out the Koi Corner tab to learn more!
Wedding Season at Falling Water Gardens is under way!
Begin your special day by getting ready in two luxurious glamping tents. These tents include plenty of seating, a full-length mirror, a microwave, and a fridge. Then, exchange your vows in one of the many picturesque spots on Falling Water Gardens’ perfectly manicured lawns. The gorgeous surrounding landscape will provide a breathtaking backdrop for your outdoor ceremony.
We still have Saturdays available for 2023 and a few dates left on our 2022 calendar!
Email us at Weddings@FallingWaterGardens.com to schedule a tour and learn more about our venue!
Glamping
Have you heard of the term Glamping? Glamping, also known as luxury camping or glamorous camping, is that escape you’ve been meaning to take. It’s that little break from the hustle and bustle. When you’re glamping, there’s no tent to pitch, no sleeping bag to unroll, no fire to build. Glamping is a way to experience the great outdoors without sacrificing luxury!
Set on ten acres in Monroe, Washington, Falling Water Gardens is home to gorgeous display gardens and water features. Feel free to walk through the property and enjoy the heavenly sights. There is also all sorts of farm life to keep you entertained. You can even feed and pet the koi!
There are 2 fully-furnished glamping tents available for rent. One tent sleeps 2 and the other tent can sleep up to 4. They both feature 1 queen bed in each tent with comfy comforters and pillows, they have electricity, coffee makers, water, and a small fridge.
You’ll find a spacious front porch with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside. There is a common area with a BBQ and gas fire-pit.
These tents are perfect for couples or even families. Linen and towels are provided. Please bring additional towels if needed. Laundry is available at an extra cost.
Glamping is available June-August
Rate: $125/night
Huntsman Tent – Sleeps 2
- Queen size bed w/mosquito netting
- Couch
- Table
- Water, Coffee Maker & Small Fridge
Satterley Tent – Sleeps 4
- Queen size bed w/mosquito netting
- Daybed with pull out (forms 2 twin sized beds)
- Table
- Water, Coffee Maker & Small Fridge
No pets. No smoking or open flame inside tents.
Things to do in Monroe, WA
- Go Hiking (Links to a few locations 1|2|3)
- Ride your bike (Map of a few routes)
- See a Movie in town
- 5 mins away from the River and Swimming
- 30 mins away from Redmond Town Center
- 40 mins away from Downtown Seattle
- Evergreen State Fair (Aug. 27th – Sept 7th)
- Evergreen Speedway
To book your stay please visit airbnb.com or click here. If you have any other questions please feel free to contact us.
Featured Design
Our clients wanted a small water feature for their ducks to play in so we created a “pondless” waterfall feature. There is just 4” of water for the ducks to paddle around in and a 15’ waterfall along with a new flagstone path to the future bird aviary. The pond and path were installed in three days.
Contact us today to schedule your landscape design
consultation! Info@FallingWaterDesigns.com
Featured Koi: Kujaku
Kujaku, meaning peacock, is a metallic (Ogon) koi with the net-like pattern of the Asagi on its back. This is then overlaid with gold, yellow, orange, or red Kohaku-like pattern creating a striking look.
What may be happening to your pond right now:
Problems with ammonia:
Ammonia in ponds is common and can be extremely toxic to your fish, causing illness or death. Causes of high ammonia are:
- An overstocked pond
- Overfeeding your fish
- An improperly functioning biological filter
- A Biological filter that has been cleaned “too well” or with chlorinated water from the tap
- No biological filter at all
Every time a fish breathes he creates ammonia, just like when you breathe you create carbon dioxide. Other contributors to high ammonia levels are excess fish waste from overfeeding and excess food and plant material decomposing in the pond.
A large pond with only a few fish can deal with the ammonia that is created because it is changed through a chemical/biological system into “fertilizer” that the plants in your pond can use and thus eliminating the ammonia from the pond.
In small ponds or ponds with a lot of fish we add a piece of equipment called a biological or bead filter. We grow beneficial bacteria on the filter media that happens to love to eat ammonia. The bacteria and the fish live happily together both taking care of the other.
In winter much of the bacteria dies so every spring we need to “seed” our biological filter by adding beneficial bacteria to the pond. Falling Water Gardens sells several varieties of beneficial bacteria for you to use. You typically add the bacteria to the pond. It is then pumped through your filter and begins growing in the filter. We suggest adding the bacteria three times in a row with three to seven days between applications.
It is imperative that you unplug your UV sterilizer, if you have one, during the time you are trying to seed the filter.
That’s because the UV kills both algae and bacteria, which we are trying to get to grow in our filter. Once the bacteria is growing in the filter we can plug the UV sterilizer back in.
A common cause of filter problems is the desire to over-clean the biological filter. Bacteria grows in a microscopically thin film. When we blast the filter with water from our tap we blow all the bacteria off the filter and we instantly kill it with the chlorine in the tap water. Now the filter has to be re-seeded for another three weeks! If you need to clean your filter during season just lightly clean the filter with pond water.
What are the signs of high ammonia? Fish gasping for air at the surface and acting irregularly. How do we test for high ammonia? With an ammonia test kit purchased from Falling Water Gardens.
What do we do when we have a high ammonia situation?
- Immediately change 1/3rd to ½ of the water in the pond to dilute the ammonia. When you do this drastic of a water change you must add de-chlorinator to the water or you will burn the gills of your fish causing irreparable damage. That’s why you should always have a bottle of de-chlorinator on the shelf for emergencies.
- Stop feeding your fish immediately until you can rectify the ammonia situation. feeding your fish means more fish waste that adds to the problem.
- Figure out if your filter is dirty or if it wasn’t seeded properly in the spring.
- Add a filter if you don’t have one. Falling Water Gardens sells many high quality bead/biological filters.
- Cull out the least desirable fish in your pond to get the stocking level to one the pond can support.
KOI SPAWNING
“My fish are pushing and bumping each other. It looks like they are almost fighting! What is going on?!”
This is common spawning behavior. When the water warms up, the fish get frisky. The males will follow the female fish around, bumping and pushing her to encourage her to drop her eggs. The males are all competing to be the one at the front and it can get rough.
Fish Out Of Water
It is possible for your fish to be pushed out of the pond during this time. If you find a fish out of the pond, and the fish is still moving, pick him up and put him back in the pond. Keep a close eye on him. If he isn’t moving but he is still soft and slimy, he might not have been out of the pond for very long and you can put him back in the pond and then holding his tail pull him backwards through the water. This is similar to mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. It forces water across the fish’s gills and can sometimes bring a fish back from the brink.
In need of an ammonia test kit? Visit Falling Water Gardens nursery in Monroe, Washington!
Have more questions? Email us at info@FallingWaterDesigns.com.
Featured Plants
Here are this month’s featured plants. We think this selection would look great in your garden right now. Visit our plant database to learn more about aquatic & terrestrial plants.
Aquatic Plants
Aponogeton distachyos
Water Hawthorn is known for its strange white flowers, spotted with black pollen and strong vanilla fragrance. Its oblong leaves will rest on the water surface, as this very bizarre plant prefers cooler waters, often blooming in the Spring and Fall, while going dormant in the Summer.
Marsilea mutica variegata
The foliage on this species resembles a four-leaf clover. This particular variety has reddish-brown stripe that splits the darker green on the top half of the leaflets and the lighter green of the lower half. When the four leaflets are open, the pattern on the individual leaflets come together to create a charming design.
Nymphaea ‘Sunfire’
Sunfire waterlily is a newer peach waterlily that will do fine in containers but shows its best color as most lilies do in an earth bottom pond where it can stretch its legs (or rhizome) and grow to full potential.
Scirpus tabernaemontani sebrinus
For those who love the variegation of Zebra Grass, Scirpus tabernaemontani ‘Zebrinus’ offers that same color combination in a rush to complement the other bog and marsh plants in the water garden. Zebra Rush has tapered tubular stems that are horizontally banded with green and white and grows to 30″. It performs best in wet soils and full sun.
Terrestrial Plants
Delphinium elatum ‘Aurora Lavender’
Delphinium yield elegant and exquisite, colorful flower spikes that add a majestic touch to your garden. Taller varieties such as Giant Pacific Hybrid Delphiniums will require staking. They make exceptional cut flowers, will attract hummingbirds and come in several different beautiful colors!
Lithodora ‘Grace Ward’
This is one of the finest rock garden plants. It prefers a sunny location. Deep blue, small, funnel-shaped flowers renew themselves all summer long. Evergreen leaves are narrow, up to an inch long. Both stems and foliage are hairy. Performs best in loose, well-drained, acidic soil with ample summer water.
Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings’
Angel Wings is a succulent with showy silvery-white leaves that will light up a border or container. It is drought tolerant once established and is happy growing outside or inside as a house plant. The flowers are not ornamentally significant and can be trimmed to promote additional basal leaf growth.
Spiraea betulifolia ‘Tor’
An elegant and versatile garden shrub with tiny white flowers appearing atop a compact, rounded gray-green form; fall color is a showy mix of red, yellow and copper; dwarf habit for use in smaller gardens and rock gardens, very low maintenance.
Spiraea x bumalda ‘Goldflame’
Dense, upright mounded shrub features attractive bronze-tinged new growth in spring, maturing to soft yellow-green. Fall foliage color is brilliant coppery-orange. Provides wonderful contrast in shrub borders. Good heat tolerance. Deciduous.
Plant Database
Have you checked out our plant database? It contains information about the plants that we sell at the nursery and more!
We have even taken it one step further and have incorporated QR codes into the database to help you save and recall information on the plants you are interested in at home or have bought from our nursery. You can bring us the saved plants from this data base to help us locate the ones you want. As well as when you come to Falling Water Gardens you will be able to scan the plant signs to get further information about the plants and flowers.
What is a QR code? In the simplest terms a QR code is a bar code. Most smart phones come equipped with a bar code/QR code reader that will scan the QR code and bring you to the web page of information about our plants. From there you can bookmark the page. If yours does not contain a QR code reader already, you can download one for free through your phone’s app store.
Gift Shop & Decor
Here’s a sample of items we think you’d enjoy this time of year. Be sure to visit the nursery to see ALL of the latest products and plants! We have a huge selection of décor and gifts to choose from!
We are hiring!
We are currently hiring for Nursery Sales and Gardener positions! Review the positions listed below, apply to come work with us!
Nursery Sales Position
Our company has an immediate need for FULL OR PART-TIME SEASONAL nursery workers.
Enjoy working outside while developing your nursery skills and growing with a great, well-known company in Monroe, Washington.
Applicants who can demonstrate previous retail experience and/or plant knowledge are preferred. Previous retail sales experience is required.
This position assists the Nursery Manager in maintaining the plant material, surrounding gardens, and fish tanks. This is a very physical job requiring frequent lifting of 50 lbs. You must be able to work outside in rain or shine, cold or hot.
Tasks include:
Assisting customers with purchases, including use of point of sale system
Stocking the benches and gift shop
Digging, Edging, Mowing, Pruning, Planting, and Watering the nursery
Our nursery is open 7 days a week, from 10am till 6pm. You will be required to work AT LEAST ONE WEEKEND DAY per week.
Interested applicants should respond to this email with a resume and must answer the questions at the end of this ad. Please mention the Nursery Sales Position in your email. Please, no phone inquiries.
Position pays DOE. Nursery Sales $15-$17 per hour.
Applications without the following questions answered will not be considered.
Question #1: What applicable experience have you gained at previous jobs that you think will be helpful to our company?
Question #2: What has been your most physical job to date, or why do you think you will be able to handle a job as physical as this one?
Please answer the questions above and send your resume to info@fallingwaterdesigns.com.
Gardener Position
We are a destination nursery located in Monroe, Washington with many established garden beds and turf. Our company has an immediate need for PART-TIME or FULL-TIME SEASONAL gardeners.
Enjoy working outside while developing your nursery skills and growing with a great, well-known company in Monroe, Washington.
This position assists the Nursery Manager maintaining the surrounding gardens, turf and fish tanks. This is a very physical job requiring frequent lifting of 50 lbs. You must be able to work outside in rain or shine, cold or hot.
This position is primarily responsible for weeding, pruning, and planting new and established garden display beds throughout our nursery as well as maintaining the turf. This position requires frequent stooping, squatting, kneeling, bending and twisting. This position requires an individual who can work without direct supervision and who can take initiative and keep busy.
Tasks include:
Digging, Weeding, Edging, Mowing, Pruning, Planting, Watering, Occasionally assisting customers with loading.
Our nursery is open 7 days a week, from 10am till 6pm. You will be required to work AT LEAST ONE WEEKEND DAY per week.
Interested applicants should respond to this email with a resume and must answer the questions at the end of this ad. Please mention the “Gardening Crew” position in your email. Please, no phone inquiries.
The position pays DOE. Gardening Crew $14-$16 per hour.
Applications without the following questions answered will not be considered.
Question #1: What applicable experience have you gained at previous jobs that you think will be helpful to our company?
Question #2: What has been your most physical job to date, or why do you think you will be able to handle a job as physical as this one?
Please answer the questions above and send your resume to info@fallingwaterdesigns.com.
Lead Gardener
We are a destination nursery located in Monroe, Washington with many established garden beds and turf. Our company has an immediate need for a PART-TIME or FULL-TIME LEAD GARDENER.
This job requires previous maintenance gardening experience to be considered for the position. Applicants must be able to demonstrate several year’s professional experience working on a maintenance landscaping crew through their employment history.
**This is not an entry-level gardener position.
Have you worked on a landscape maintenance crew in the past and would enjoy working at the same garden every day? Tired of starting work at 7am? Our nursery opens at 10am! You can work full or part-time, your choice.
This position assists the Nursery Manager in maintaining the surrounding gardens, turf, and fish ponds. This is a very physical job requiring frequent lifting of 50 lbs. You must be able to work outside in rain or shine, cold or hot.
This position is primarily responsible for weeding, pruning, and planting new and established garden display beds throughout our nursery as well as maintaining the turf. This position requires frequent stooping, squatting, kneeling, bending, and twisting.
This position requires an individual who can work without direct supervision and who can take initiative and keep busy.
Tasks include:
Digging, Weeding, Edging, Mowing, Pruning, Planting, Watering, Occasionally assisting customers with loading.
Our nursery is open 7 days a week from 10am until 6pm. You will be required to work AT LEAST ONE WEEKEND DAY per week.
Interested applicants should respond with a resume. Please mention the “Lead Gardener” position in your email. Please, no phone inquiries.
The position pays DOE. Gardening Crew $18-$24 per hour.
Applications without the following questions answered will not be considered.
Question #1: What applicable experience have you gained at previous jobs that you think will be helpful to our company?
Question #2: What has been your most physical job to date, or why do you think you will be able to handle a job as physical as this one?
