background preloader

Pools/Ponds

Facebook Twitter

Pools

Swim pond is a family delight: Backyard resort. Backyard resort Barb Bauman used to look out the kitchen window and watch her husband, John, hat in hand, stand on the sharply sloping hill that was their front yard and ponder the landscape. "He'd stand there for the longest time, just staring at that hill. At the time, it was just a holding ground for small trees and some plants for our nursery and landscape business -- nothing real special," she says. It's special enough now. Some neighbors dubbed it The Resort. One friend said, "John's going to be disappointed when he gets to heaven. It won't be as nice as this! " The Baumans transformed the highly erodible steep hill into a working waterfall and 70x52-foot swimming pond. "I built a small pond up by the house a year earlier, and it was easy to keep clean with a little waterfall system," says John.

It's a traffic stopper "The kids are getting used to people stopping and taking pictures," Barb says. Squeals of delight from the kids enjoying the swim pond punctuate the air as she speaks. Hawaii Vacation Rentals: Search Results. Your search returned 0 categories and 2 Links. Big Island Hawaii Vacation Rentals Ocean View Pualani Tropical Dream House in Kapoho, Hawaii - This tropical home features open-beamed ceilings and panoramic tropical and ocean views.

You can see whales, dolphins and giant sea turtles from the lanai! There's a full kitchen, generous living and dining area opening onto the lanai, a queen-bed bedroom and bath. For extra guests, the second bedroom has two double beds. And for your evenings, there's a Satellite TV/VCR, a nice stereo with CD and tape players, an assortment of video and audio tapes and CD's, and for those who would rather curl up with a book, there are lots to choose from. Outside in a gazebo near the house is a full-featured spa for your relaxation and enjoyment! Swimming Ponds ... Friend or Foe in the Pond Industry? The Daily Muse. Soul of the Garden www.soulofthegarden.com Images of Japan: Kamakura and Hase There are three districts in the Kamakura area: Kita-Kamakura, Kamakura, and Hase. We spent the majority of our time in Kita-Kamakura and so I have devoted a separate page to the images that I took there.

Kamakura's legacy as the former Capital of Japan still shows in its magnificent temples. Hase, just a short train ride from Kamakura, is home to the Great Buddha statue that is one of the most recognizable symbols of Japan. Hase-dera, a gorgeous temple that faces the sea, is one of the most striking and poignant pilgrimage sites in all of Japan. A dramatically pruned pine tree outside of a temple in Kamakura.

A young boy feeding pigeons at the Tsuru-ga-oka Hachiman-gu shrine in Kamakura. I couldn't resist this shot, on the tourist drag in Kamakura. The gardens of Hase-dera are centered on a large pond bordered by carefully pruned trees ands shrubs and this lantern. The gardens ascend the hill behind the pond. Again. The swimming pond -Summer 2010 « Ramblin’ through Dave’s Garden. I’ve had several recent inquiries about my swimming pond, so I figure that it’s about time for an update. This is my favored spot in the garden, where I spend my most relaxed time, and (on rare occasions when I’m sociable) where my wife and I entertain friends and family.

There are six ponds in the one acre garden, one a dirt bottomed wet weather pond, four small ponds with streams and waterfalls, and the swimming pond, though this is a bit of a misnomer since I’m too lazy to swim. Instead, slip into the back garden on any summer weekend day and you’re likely to find me floating on my inflatable lounger, hungry koi circling like sharks.

The swimming pond was constructed in 2006, is nearly forty-five feet from the waterfall to a shallow filtration area, and thirty-five feet wide. Filtration There are two sections to the pond, the main area of deeper water, and separated by a stone wall a few inches below the water is a two hundred square foot area filled with small bluestone gravel. Fish. Why pools are showing their natural side. Raise your hand tif you’ve ever dreamt of ‘the perfect house’. Perhaps it’s an Italian style villa, a penthouse, or even a little cottage surrounded by trees, but what is certain is that the dream house will contain a pool. Far from reality however visions of a silent and calm stretch of water tend to omit the smell of chlorine and maintenance issues, which is why those in the know are opting for natural swimming pools. Natural swim pools (also called natural swimming ponds or biopools) combine the commodity of a pool with the elegance and the natural cleaning system of a small lake filled with plants.

A thousand times easier to maintain, a biopool creates a natural ecosystem which constantly purifies water without the need for chemicals. Rather like a large aquarium: water passes through a filter that eliminates organic waste, and creating mineral elements that can be absorbed by the pool plants. Giuliano Federico.

Water Arts Consulting - Natural Swim Ponds. Here's a natural swim pond that encompasses both natural & modern aesthetics into the landscape. Click on the images below to enlarge: Natural swimming pool - Ecological and biological swimming ponds. Natural Swimming Ponds Ditch The Chemicals. This gorgeous swimming pool isn’t a typical chlorine-filled watering hole–it’s actually a natural swimming pond that relies on plants to filter the water. (Don’t worry, you’re not swimming among the plants and stepping in squishy mud; the plant regeneration area is kept separate from the swimming area.)

Even if you already have a swimming pool, you can enjoy the benefits of a chemical-free pond and relaxing natural environment using the structure you already have with a few design changes. Natural swimming ponds are already quite popular in Europe and are gaining interest in the US. Companies like Clear Water Revival (UK) and Total Habitat (US) can help you design your perfect dream pond, or revamp the pool you already have. The cost of new natural ponds versus conventional swimming pools is said to be comparable, but maintenance costs for a chemical-free pool will be much lower.

(Just think of the increased health benefits as an added bonus.) + Clear Water Revival + Total Habitat. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the Largest LEED Platinum Non-Profit Building in the World. The new campus occupies a site located in downtown Seattle across the street from the Space Needle. Formerly an asphalt parking lot, the site was restored with more than 40 percent of it turned into 2 acres of living roofs and native landscaping around the buildings. “The project started seven years ago with the initial target of LEED Silver, in support of the City of Seattle’s green building mandate,” said Margaret Montgomery, principal and lead sustainable designer at NBBJ.

“Our main goal was to design the right building for the foundation staff and surrounding community. It just so happened that the best solutions were also the greenest.” To achieve LEED Platinum, the Foundation and its design team worked diligently to incorporate a number of sustainable strategies into the project. Reduced energy usage was achieved by installing energy efficient mechanical systems and lighting, along with occupancy and daylighting sensors, use of natural ventilation and high performance glazing. Natural Swimming Ponds.

Natural swimming ponds are fast becoming the most popular home property accessory throughout the world. They are a beautiful natural-looking feature, made to you design and taste. you can swim in them or just look at them as beautiful garden art. Their advantages over chemical swimming pools are numerous. stunning natural focal point to any garden no planning permission needed no use of chlorine or chemicals whatsoever environmentally friendly extremely low running cost uses the latest proven filtration technology from Evolution Aqua blends in with your garden rather than looking unsightly individually designed to your taste and garden If you would like to know more and receive information about having a natural swimming pond please email us on naturalswimpond@evolutionaqua.com if you are a professional landscaper or pond builder and would like to know about our training schemes and leads/referrals, email us on construct@evolutionaqua.com.

Erik's Swimming Pool to Pond Conversion. Welcome to my swimming pool to pond construction web page. I thought I would share with you a project I undertook converting a swimming pool to a pond. I moved into a house with an swimming pool near Portland, Oregon. I was always fond of ponds, and in fact, had built my first fish pond at my previous house. I always wanted a larger pond and here was my chance. I started with this 24' x 16' x 7' deep Doughboy pool. The swimming pool had a plastic liner. The pond took me about five months of pacing myself to complete. I made a clay model to scale (left), 1/4?

I used four truck loads of dirt, 400 sandbags, and countless hours of wheel barreling to fill in the swimming pool. I used a 30' x 34' piece of EPDM pond liner. After filling the pond I used about 3 tons of Camas Gray 4? I was very concerned about having such a huge amount of water go bad on me that I planned on a pond filter. Natural Pools - Natural Swimming Pools and Ponds. Austin - Hamilton Pool. Natural Swimming Pools AKA Swimming Ponds | ForUsToBe. Swimming can be great exercise and a lot of fun, not to mention an exciting sport at the Olympics. But the chlorine used in most pools can have some negative side effects, not the least of which is reliance on toxic (and finicky) chemicals. Chlorine’s damaging effects on hair are well known, but few people realize that a number of studies have linked inhalation of the chemical by swimmers to increased asthma rates (in fact a new Irish study published this April reported a significant link between the number of years a boy had been swimming and the likelihood of the child being wheezy in the past year).

A Norwegian study also documented an increased risk of wheezing among children who swim in pools before 6 months of age. Further, in an unpleasant reaction, pee and sweat in water can react with chlorine to form toxic breakdown products known as chloramines. Filed Under: Environment.