Open the gate and enter the backyard of Burt and Bernadette Weller’s Marietta home and you’ll be greeted by comfortable shade, structured garden paths and Albert, the goldfish. Albert is one of several goldfish who reside in the Wellers’ pond.

The Wellers weren’t satisfied with the smaller pond that was once centered in their backyard. It was troublesome and hard to manage. The Wellers decided they knew best what they wanted and went about re-building the pond to their liking all by themselves. With a few pointers from us on how to plumb the system they constructed a low-maintenance pond of several thousands of gallons that is completely state-of-the-art.

And what a beautiful job they did!

As one strolls along the garden paths he can’t help but marvel at the use of sun and shade to create a restful but colorful atmosphere. Although the pond is located in mostly shade there is enough speckled sunlight to permit a huge lotus to bloom readily. Irises, water lilies and parrot’s feather combine to create a wonderful water garden.

The Oriental fisherman pictured on the cover is my most favorite part of the water garden. I also love the comfort of the swing under the planted arbor. There one can savor a great view of the flowers and hear the splash of the pond while being enveloped by Black-eyed Susans. I would imagine it’s a great sleeping spot and even the most engrossing novel wouldn’t be able to stop me from dozing off.

The external pump is most efficiently installed close to the pond and utilizes a flooded-suction application so the Wellers are benefiting from the best performance an external pump can give. The water is filtered by a ProBead filter and, even though there is quite a bit of shade, the Wellers placed a 65-watt ultraviolet water clarifier on the system to insure their water remains clear as a bell.

This pond was featured on Sunday’s Tour de’ Ponds last August. This year the Wellers are wanting to place koi in the pond but are a bit hesitant since koi tend to be more “playful” than goldfish and a bit naughty with the plants. Keeping smaller koi in the pond will cut down on the amount of boisterous behavior and being careful not to allow food onto the floating pads of the water lily will insure that the koi do not eat through the pad to get to the food.