Why a Pond?

Over the past couple of decades we have visited a number of countries in Southeast Asia and have always been impressed by the beautiful water gardens you see almost everywhere. After a Summer '97 revisit to Bali I decided I wanted a water garden/fish pond of my own and after exploring some of the great pond links on the Internet, decided that I could and would build one at my home here on Saipan.

Click here

for a Bali pond tour.

Above is chief engineer and bridge builder, Chicha Newman, making the first crossing of the newly completed bamboo bridge.

The close up shot at left shows an orchid hanging over the pond. Above is a stone sculpture we brought back from Bali over ten years ago. After that long in the garden it has acquired a nice coating of moss and lichens. The floating plants are water lettuce (Pistia). You can also spot a small purple lily, and a couple of bronze cranes,

The water in this pond has been remarkably clear from day one. This in spite of the fact that, against all advice, I put in some fish before I had any plants. The pond now has Elodea canadensis and Ceratophyllum demersum as oxygenators, the Pistia, two tropical lilies a "Momo Botan" lotus and six ordinary goldfish. When there are more flowers I'll add a shot here.

I climbed up on the roof to get the overhead shot at the right. The main pond with "Rock From Hell" (see below) is in the center. The pond surface is covered with lily leaves and water lettuce. A small pond to the right of the bridge contains the water pump and fill float valve.

On the lower edge is the viewing platform where I often sit and feed the fish and contemplate the mysteries of life. At the top of the picture in the center is a new pond, recently converted from an in-ground hot tub.

This view from the bridge again shows that evil rock, presided over by a stone statue from Bali. You can also see, at the right edge, a stone statue of Ganesh, the elephant god, also from Bali.

Here's another view of a stone sculpture from Bali, a metal crane statue from Japan and some lovely orchids. A fuzzy white lily is also visible.

A proud builder shows her pond to a non-native Panda.

This is a view back toward our house. It was taken about 18 months after the pond was first built and shows how both the water plants and surrounding vegetation have matured.

This is a view of the new pond with a bamboo pipe water return on to a stone waterfall.

Here's the porch where we have a bunch of hanging plants and a few water gardens in tubs. That's a slightly older chief engineer....

Here are the goldfish at feeding time. Photo by Chief Engineer, Chicha Newman.