Is It Live, or Is It Memorex: Building Natural Water Features
by Bob Dews
Remember that commercial promoting a cassette tape that had such recording clarity it would shatter a glass with a taped opera singer? Their slogan was, "Is it live or is it Memorex?" The commercial went on to interview people on the streets to see if they could distinguish between a taped performance or the live performance and most could not tell the difference, thus authenticating the tape's superior quality. That's the same goal we should be trying to achieve when creating a water feature. Getting people to ask whether it is real or not should be our primary objective. If a customer asks you to build them a pond, it should be assumed that they want it to look natural. If that were not the case, they would be asking you to build a pool or fountain instead. Therefore, in our trade, we should strive to create the most natural looking water features possible to exceed the expectations of our customers.
Since we are not dealing with a natural occurring body of water, we have to create illusions that will personify that effect. An illusion is defined by Webster as "An unreal or misleading image presented to the vision; a deceptive appearance." To apply Webster's definition to the pond industry, we are trying to create a "misleading image" to "deceive" the thoughts of the beholder. Now don't worry, you won't get busted for fraud or anything of the sort, but it is imperative to distract the viewer’s mind from the artificial necessities of a water feature and focus them on the more natural components in your creation.
First of all, let's get on the same page in determining "artificial necessities" and "natural components." Artificial necessities include filters, skimmers, pumps, liner, pipes, valves, etc. These are the items that are necessary to make your water feature function as a system. Because the water features we create recycle water over and over, it is necessary to mechanically return water to the head of the system, therein lies the need for pumps and pipes. On the same note it is equally important to clean the recycled water physically and biologically, which requires the use of filters. Last, but certainly not least, is the need for some sort of liner to retain the water in the system. Hence the need for the artificial necessities in all man-made water features.
The "natural components" include rock, water, vegetation, fish, etc. These are the things to be housed in, displayed throughout, or utilized by the artificial necessities. It should be obvious to anyone that if we could build our ponds using only natural components, it would be no problem to make them appear natural. However, unless you are God, this is impossible to accomplish without the use of the artificial necessities. The trick is to create illusions using natural components that will overwhelm the presence of artificial necessities. Therefore, the beholder marvels at the naturalness instead dwelling on the fake.
Comprehending this theory leads us to the topic of creating illusions, which will greatly increase the believability of your water feature's natural characteristics. Although creating illusions in a water feature can be very complex, there are a few simple theories that can be implemented in almost any design.
Concealment
First and foremost is to conceal the liner. If you leave any area of the liner exposed, it will kill the illusion. Therefore, yes, I'm in favor of rocking my complete liner (there, I said it). Rubber is not natural! Therefore, it must be concealed to avoid detection as an artificial element. However, contrary to popular belief and practice, rocks are not the only things used to conceal liner. A combination of many natural elements used to cover the liner will give the most believable situation. Plants, logs, stumps, dirt, moss, and other elements intermixed amongst the rocks help blend the water feature into the surrounding landscape. Using only rocks to conceal the liner creates questionable believability, as there will be an obvious contrast between the water feature and the surrounding landscape.
Next in importance is covering the pipes. One would think that this is a no-brainer, but think again. It's easy to bury the pipe from the pump to the top of the feature, but then what? Too many times I have seen the return pipe emerge out of the ground at the top of the feature and flop over the side of the liner, spewing out its contents like a fire hose … illusion kill. Try concealing the water entry-point by bringing the pipe up through the bottom of the liner, creating an illusion of a springhead. Another option is utilizing one of the many biological filtration devices on the market these days. Many of them are designed to simulate a waterfall.
And what about those big filter boxes, how do you disguise them? Most manufactures have a spiffy lid that looks like a rock. That's great, but you still see the skimmer weir opening somewhere along the side of the base pond, which looks like a swimming pool. Try setting the skimmer filter back several feet from the edge of the base pond. Then create a canal leading to the opening of the skimmer. This way the skimmer can be concealed by plantings and goes unnoticed. This can also be accomplished with the bio-filter at the head of the system.
Asymmetry
Another theory in naturalizing is the understanding of symmetry, or the lack thereof. It is very rare to see a series of waterfalls in a natural setting that looks like the steps leading to the front porch of your house. Therefore, use different drop heights to create the falls. Most importantly, use different size, shape, and textured rocks to create your falls. This will force the water to move, roll, and splash rather than fall over in one flat sheet. This will enhance the diversity of water movement in your system and excite the senses visually and acoustically. The lack of symmetry also applies to any rocks used in your feature. Using rocks with different size, shape, and textures will greatly add to the diversity of the complete project. Finally, avoid straight and curved lines. This will create a necklace effect that will certainly give away the authenticity of a natural design. Natural settings are sporadic and random. As ironic as it may seem, each rock placement must be carefully selected as to not coincide with one another.
Successful naturalizing of a water feature is achieved by utilizing many illusion techniques, combined with a well thought out design to hide all the artificial necessities. The old saying "out of sight, out of mind" applies greatly to this strategy. Apply one skill to your next water feature and see the changes it makes to the appearance. Master all the skills of naturalizing and you will find your customers asking, "Is this live, or is it Memorex?"