Building Natural Ponds: Create a Clean, Algae-free Pond without Pumps, Filters, or Chemicals
If you've ever pictured a garden pond and immediately felt daunted by the tangle of pumps, pipework, filters, and chemical treatments that most installations seem to demand, this book might be exactly what you've been waiting for. Robert Pavlis makes a persuasive case that the conventional backyard pond, with all its mechanical fuss and ongoing expense, is working against the very thing most of us actually want: a calm, living corner of water where frogs bask, dragonflies hover, and songbirds come to drink. His solution is the natural pond, one that functions as a genuine ecosystem rather than a glorified fish tank on life support. No electricity, no filters, no bottles of pH corrector. Just water, plants, and a thoughtfully chosen site doing what nature intended. The book walks readers through the whole process in a logical, well-illustrated sequence. It opens with a grounding in how pond ecosystems actually work, including how algae is kept in check without chemicals, before moving into planning, positioning, and aesthetic decisions. Practical construction guidance follows, covering everything from plant and fish selection to ongoing care and troubleshooting. There's also solid coverage of scaling things up to larger features such as swimming ponds, bog gardens, and rain gardens. Pavlis brings real authority to the subject. A Master Gardener with more than four decades of hands-on experience, he runs Aspen Grove Gardens, a six-acre botanical garden home to over 2,500 plant varieties. His writing appears regularly in publications including Mother Earth News and Ontario Gardening, and his blog GardenMyths.com has built a loyal following for its clear-headed approach to horticultural fact and fiction. Whether your ambition is a modest wildlife feature or a full-sized pond for swimming and irrigation, this guide offers a genuinely practical, nature-friendly path to get there.
- Author: Robert Pavlis
- Publisher: New Society Publishers
- Genre: Architecture
- ISBN: 978-0865718456
- Pages: 184 pages