My Japanese rock garden – I added the new elements (pictured below) to my whiskey barrel water garden theme.

How-to: I made a mountainous region out of various shapes of rock that looks like a volcano with ornamental grass bursting over the top. Below the mountain is a sandier piece of flat rock (I got from a local gravel pit) that represents the lowlands. I added a few rounded rocks (I picked up at a beach) to soften the jagged edges of the landscape to bring balance. All these elements blend into this water feature…making the scenery complete.

Whiskey Barrel Garden Parts – In the following video you can view the circular chain with filtration and pumping.

Completed Whiskey Barrel Garden

Notes: If you increase the size of the pump box and UV filter/bio-media box you could add another 80 gallons of water to the system, what would this do? With more water you have a healthier environment for fish, frogs and turtles. Hidden, in-ground pump and filter boxes also cool the water. I plan to make this system more consumer friendly and install it locally in Massachusetts as part of a water gardening service. I will also offer it online as a complete kit, barrels are my business, need some? Talk to me!

Testing: Always test things above ground before they are installed.

Completed Pond Liner Waterfall- Notice how all the hoses, cascade and pump box are hidden?

Notes: The only thing I will change when I make one of these again is to increase the size of the connecting tubing between the whiskey barrel liner and pump box. I had to turn the pumps transfer speed down because it was emptying the pump box faster than the water could be pumped up to the cascade, over the small waterfall, into the liner tub and back into the pump box. This waterfall can be made with any size liner, think of the possibilities!

Here are the parts I used to make my pond liner waterfall:

MacCourt Polyethylene Streamlet Cascade – Lowes $10.98
Whiskey Barrel Liner – Amazon $21.92
75-GPH Statuary Pond Pump – Amazon $14.99
¾ x ½ Adapter, Male, MIPT x Inserts – Home Depot, Lowes $1 each
1/2″ PVC Tubing – Amazon $10
3/4″ Pipe Tap – Amazon $17.99
7/8″ Drill Bit – Amazon $8.22

Introducing the painted turtle to the pond means that the pond needs to conform to a certain shape, size and depth.

This also means that the inner structure of the pond or water garden floor must have variations. Painted turtles in the Northeast are most active from May to October but will hibernate during winter. They require a foot or two of mud to survive a harsh northern winter. If you do not have (or want) a natural water garden pond with a mud bottom using an indoor fish tank to keep your painted turtles during winter can be nice. There is nothing more enjoyable than bringing nature in, to keep you conscious of the coming spring when your pond comes back alive!

The plants you will put back in the water garden after the shape of the garden has been changed is important, adult painted turtles eat vegetation so make sure your pond has an adequate amount of plants. You will also have to feed any hatchlings with store bought food if there is not an adequate amount of worms, beetles and other bugs in and around the water feature.

It is important to be sure there is enough vibrant vegetation to satisfy there hunger and numbers.

Turtles are also a bit messy. They leave food particles everywhere, and defecate in water as well.

Create a pipe drain that lets the water out into a rain garden that you construct in a descending way. This will filtrate that excess water back into the water table aqua way below where you live. Purchase the best filtration system for your pond with UV sterilization and particle containment/ removal.

The best time to make this transition to introducing painted and other turtles into your water garden is when you are repotting your plants anyway.

This way doing the landscaping necessary for the turtle readying is not going to disrupt the life of your pre-existing plants.

The back of the water garden needs to be steep: Nearly a sheer drop straight down.

This encourages the turtles to walk out of the pond in one direction when they are eventually introduced.

It is important to note that the plants in your garden will need to be in water pots self contained with the depth of the water garden is slowly increased as the first generation of turtles is introduced into the pond.

The bottom of the water garden needs to have several different levels as well as ledges init. This is so the turtles can rest at different spots under water as the temperature from the sun changes.
The main side of the water garden will need to have a gradual incline out of the water. The slant is for the turtles to able to easily and gradually walk to dry land.

The same barriers used to keep raccoons and other predators away from pond and water gardenfish need to be used to protect the turtles. The added thought that needs to go into this barrier planning is: Turtles also need to be kept in, so that they don’t just walk off.

These animals need a place to dry themselves in the heat of the sun each day and bask. Placing a branch big enough for turtles to climb out of the water In the middle of the pond is agood idea. Once the water garden pond has been gradually refilled, after the first generation of turtles mature, there will be a small island for the turtles to enjoy.

Heaters can be used to warm the water when it is colder outdoors but it is best to have deep enough mud and allow the painted turtles to hibernate. At 60 degrees a painted turtle will stop eating and get ready for winter, let them do what is natural or bring them in before the temps. drop.

Underwater pots are good for turtles since they add ledges at another level for turtles to enjoy.

Having turtles in the water garden is rewarding, and interesting to watch.

How to Build a Waterfall has the most basic critical steps including location selection, visualization, and plumbing, placing rocks inside the house or outside and creating a natural look that is both aesthetically pleasing as well as sensible.

As informative for landscapers as it is to the novice, this kind of video has a user-friendly format that can be easily reviewed as many times as necessary, learning at your own pace.

Director/producer Bill Meakin helps you determine the best location for your waterfall, how to design for your unique site, create streams and stone working, all in DVD-Video for the US and Canada only.

Recorded and published by Over The Garden Wall LLC this region 1 video is rated as NR.

How to Build a Waterfall will teach you how to make a waterfall by scratch, where to put it and how to make it blend in with the surrounding scene to create the alluring and fantastically sensational effect of falling water, that brings out the peacefulness in all of us.

This Water Garden DVD comes with all the basics for building a custom-designed water garden right in the comfort of your own backyard.

Every little detail from marking the pond, to laying the last stone, sharing the secret knowledge you need to do-it-yourself.

Your Basic Water Garden DVD even comes with its own reference guide that even includes landscaping tips.

With digital sound, letterboxed, NTSC, color and in AC-3 format, Your Basic Water Garden DVD is region 1 (US and Canada only), a single disc.

A basic step-by-step introduction to building the water garden of your dreams, Your Basic Water Garden DVD has everything in a simple easy 22 minutes.

How To Build Your Own Water Garden takes the viewer step by step through the creation process that initiates the first drawings and notes that later transforms into a beautiful water garden.

Choosing your pond site, size, excavation liners, edging, filtering plants, certain fish forcertain habitats and temperatures, water treatment, waterfalls, lighting, general pond maintenance accessories and even a quick-reference guide that makes quick work of calculation varies depending on the size of the pond and water volume.

How to build a water garden video or How To Build Your Own Water Garden is both entertaining and instructive, perfect for the beginner.