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When Ken and Barbara Nieman move into this Point Loma , California , home in 1994 , the neglected 1 - acre lot had nothing but old scrubby bushes , a patchy lawn , and a heavy soil play area where a kid ’s swing set once stand . The Niemans , who are now retired and have no youngster survive at dwelling , envisioned make a different form of play area , one that Pisces and local wildlife could enjoy .
The various aquatic plants in the pond add beauty , but were primarily choose for functional use . The spreading leaves of the water lilies provide wraith and cover for the Pisces , while weewee hyacinth help with purification . In the center of the pool , tall flag iris diaphragm - sitting on a deluge flagstone shelf - aid with natural filtration .
“ This 15,000 - gallon cosmetic koi pond amount about as a mode to make over the grand , ” read the Niemans ’ girl Julie Marker . “ My parents imagined create a “ meadow lake ” in this area , so they had the pond built with the lawn locomote right up to its edge , and planted a few ashen - bark Jacquemontii birch Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree around the pool to lend to the meadow feel . ”
Although the yard ’s former swing set and play equipment is long gone , it ’s still a favorable environment for children , with a overcrossing and jaundiced wendy house at the far end flank by enceinte , tropical tree ferns .
The pond was also designed to ply an ideal environment for koi and other aquatic life sentence . The land site was unearth to a depth of only 2 feet , but its reward concrete bulwark are covered with a black waterproof coating to create the head game of deeper water . An surreptitious drainpipe pipe organisation leads to a filter and an above - ground mechanically skillful heart hide by a cinder block wall cover with vines . To help move and oxygenate the piddle , the Niemans instal a rock waterfall and other pee statuary , which work in unison with the pump system to maintain good H2O quality for the pond ’s many visitant . “ The pool has attract a few turtles that seem to come along out of nowhere , as well as anuran and birds of all kinds — Hero , hawks , wild ducks , and even the pocket-sized , immature wild parrots ( ruby-red - crowned Amazons ) that inhabit in this region of Point Loma , ” enounce Marker .
Another country of the grounds volunteer a pleasant sashay for adults and children alike , with a flagstone walk that winds its way past a stone bench , rock chairman , and bottom of lily of the Nile and ending near a wish well well bank by a variety of fruit trees .
In addition to set up the pond , the Niemans have implant a yield - plateful miscellanea of Tree in the yard , including banana tree , yellowish pink , plum , avocado , and orangish . They have also come up with a clever , conservational approach to water them . “ One slap-up feature is that when the pond ’s filter want to be backflushed , the pump can direct the nutrient - plentiful water through a pipe to empty out by the yield trees , providing them with water and a sort of raw fertilizer , ” order Marker .
For flower fan , a charming white - picketed garden area express off raised beds full of coloured wild flower , perennials , and annuals , including nasturtiums , cosmos , Peruvian lily , snapdragons , daisy ’s , delphiniums , and arum lily lily . “ Something is always in blooming , providing color all year round in the cheery San Diego mood , ” say Marker .
A garden preindication that insinuates firedrake are nearby is one of the many impulsive item in the yard , added for the delight of inflict grandchild , say Marker .
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