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Cool, Refreshing Beautiful Water:
Enjoy it in Your Backyard
By Bridget Avila
Life in Annapolis is bound to water. The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries permeate our region, providing work, recreation, food, and natural and political boundaries. Whether our daily routines involve interacting with the water around us or not, they set the tone and timing of our community. For native Annapolitans, life on the water is reason enough never to leave, and for newcomers, it's a primary draw.
Not all of us can live on the waterfront. But however far a home may be from the water; the water can come home to us in the form of outdoor features like swimming pools, waterfalls and water gardens.
Ponds and Water Gardens
For some homeowners, adding water to their landscape means adding a pond or water garden. Paula McFarland of Annapolis and her late husband James actually built a swimming pool and a pond to resemble free flowing, dark-bottomed Koi ponds, designed for the brightly colored carp. "We lived in Japan and Hawaii since my husband was stationed there with the Navy, so we got used to a lot of water and fish," says McFarland. The effect in their Annapolis home, which backs to woods, is of a large natural water setting surrounded by the lovingly tended flower gardens she has planted over the years.
Even owners with small lots can incorporate the natural look of ponds. Leslie and David Coble of Annapolis actually have ponds in both the front and back of their home, situated on only a quarter-acre. Mrs. Coble says, "When we moved in, we knew that the grade of the front yard (which slopes toward the house from the street) would be perfect for creating a waterfall." They built their first pond in the backyard as a sort of learning experience. The pond in the front of the house consists of a higher pool that cascades into the lower, larger one, which is home to a family of Koi.
While homeowners should keep in mind that water gardens are actual ecosystems that depend on proper maintenance and filtration to function well, Mrs. Coble says that the ponds and their surrounding plantings actually require less maintenance than the lawn areas of their property. "Mostly we just have to pull a few weeds, since it's mulched. And in the spring we have to clean out the leaves in the pond that accumulated over the fall."
Homeowners with larger properties may consider clay bottom ponds as large as one-quarter to one-half of an acre in size. Such large ponds can be beneficial for conservation purposes as well as aesthetics. They create habitat for native flora and fauna that might otherwise be swallowed up by vast expanses of lawn. The larger the pond, the less relative maintenance is required, especially compared to a grass lawn of the same size. Larger ponds also lend themselves to accompanying features like gazebos or bridges-some even accommodate paddleboats for the ultimate romantic experience.
Sharon and Harold Made's home sits on five acres in Upper Marlboro, and they installed a large pond in their back yard. Mr. Made says they spent about $40,000 on the pond construction, some surrounding landscaping, and an adjacent tiki hut. But, he says, "That's the best-spent money we put into our house."
The Mades enjoy the view of the pond's waterfall from their bedroom, where they often open the windows at night to hear the peaceful gurgling of water. Mrs. Made adds, "All of our friends who come over are amazed at how natural it all looks, especially considering this used to be crop land."
Like pools, ponds require maintenance. Water quality is a must to keep plants and fish or frogs alive. Products such as filters and skimmers do much of the work to maintain proper water chemistry.
Ponds also require some security measures, to prevent predators from attacking fish. Great blue herons and even raccoons are known for swiping Koi from water gardens for a meal. To protect your fish, the depth of the pond needs to be a minimum of two feet. Some experts recommend three feet in order to provide enough space for the fish to evade their natural predators. A wire mesh may also be used to cover the pond in winter when other food sources may be frozen over.
Swimming Pools
High on everyone's list come mid-summer is a place to cool off. To the rescue: swimming pools, which have long enhanced home exteriors with the opportunity to relax, exercise, or just escape soaring temperatures. According to the Association of Pool & Spa Professionals (ASPA), the rise of property values and accompanying rise of smaller lots with bigger houses has led to a Jeffersonian approach to pools-small is beautiful.
Some pools are actually meant to be small. So-called endless or infinite pools are generally about 7 feet by 14 feet and use a current of water to allow swimmers to swim but stay in one place. An alternative for avid swimmers is the hybrid swim spa. In addition to exercise, owners can use the spa for relaxation, as they can be three to four and a half feet deep at their deepest point.
Options for the pool's security, maintenance, and appearance are becoming more sophisticated. Security is an aspect that any pool owner must address. In addition to fencing in any swimming pool, the Anne Arundel County Fire Department recommends placing alarms on house doors that access the pool area. Shauna Husby of Annapolis added such an alarm when she and her husband purchased their home in 2004. They also added an alarm on the pool itself. "We have two small children and pets, so we installed a pool alarm. It's an infrared sensor that scans the surface of the pool, and if anything over ten pounds hits the surface of the pool, it goes off."
Keeping a clean pool is also necessary to enjoy it thoroughly. Automated cleaning systems long ago decreased the need for pool owners to clean their pools themselves or hire someone to do it. While the older pool systems could clean either the walls of the pool or the surface, new systems do it all. Floor systems are also gaining in popularity. They work by duplicating the motion created by swimmers enabling the filters to work more effectively.
Beyond the security or maintenance of pools, a priority is to create a pool look that is both aesthetically pleasing and fits the lifestyle of its homeowners. Many options are available to help a pool visually integrate into its setting. One trend in pool design is to use an infinite or vanishing edge. Jay Graham, an Annapolis landscape architect, says that while expensive and technically challenging to design, these edges create the illusion of a pool meeting a larger body of water, or fading out into the horizon. "They create a connection between the pool and the drama of the natural landscape," he says.
Another way to blend a pool's appearance with its surroundings is to customize the color of the pool's bottom. Traditionally, swimming pools had white plaster-finished bottoms that reflected the color of the sky, creating a brilliant Caribbean sort of blue. While beautiful on its own, this azure tone might stand in stark contrast to a neighboring body of water like a river. In order to achieve a color that blends in with the environment in which the pool is installed, a color additive is mixed into a concrete aggregate used for the finish of the pool bottom. While the price for the custom color may be slightly higher, the finish is more durable than the standard plaster finish.
Beyond the edge of a pool lies the remainder of a property, which, depending on the tastes of the homeowner, can be made to look like a garden or left natural. Plants, plants, and more plants are a great way to enhance a pool's look and incorporate it with the surrounding landscape.
When planning a pool's plantscape homeowners have a number of different options. To accommodate smaller yards, homeowners should consider growing vertical plants that provide height and privacy. Vines can be trained to climb trellises or fences, or to cascade over balconies. The trend of environmentally sensitive gardening that avoids dependence on chemical controls and heavy watering makes particular sense in the Bay watershed. Using native plants or plants that are naturally suited to local conditions has the added bonus of requiring less maintenance. For visual impact, take advantage of the bold bright colors of tropical plants like hibiscus or ornamental peppers all summer long. Kept in containers, these plants can be brought indoors in the cooler months.
Homeowners throughout the area can benefit from the aesthetic or recreational benefits of adding a pool, a pond, or both. It's a beautiful way to bring the water home to you.