We throw in pH balance. We never test our water. While large stones serve as the foundation of both ponds, a walking path filled with small stones connects one pond to the other. The second pond features an old-fashioned water pump from which water drips onto a cedar trough before making its way to the garden pool. A frog sculpture playfully sunbathes on the edge of the pond, reminiscent of live frogs that had visited the pond and laid on the lily pads.
Half hidden by foliage are other stone critters like turtles.
Meanwhile, the sculptures of grasshoppers perch on stones and butterflies and dragonflies are frozen in a dramatic flight pose. A bear frolics in the spray of the waterfall of the first water garden while a wooden sandpiper sits perfectly still atop a log at the edge of the second pond. The most menacing of the collection is an alligator that sleeps undercover of flower and ornamental grasses by the edge of the pond. A vast assortment of sun-loving perennials and a few annuals flutter about the ponds. Coneflowers, pussy willow bush, mums, yarrow and Russian sage compete with each other for space.