Water Gardens 1-2-3

When I undertake a how-to I don't "wing it". Instead, I become rather obsessive about learning how to do it PERFECTLY from the start so there is no do-overs needed. I have been planning our backyard waterfall (we have a large slanted yard just made for a stream waterfall in one area) for months now and began my learning by printing out everything I could find on the internet that seemed to go through the steps well and provide good pictures. Then I bought a few other books. I considered myself expert enough and thought I was done book shopping. Then we were in Home Depot getting some charcoal and I passed by this book on the end of a shelf and began turning pages merely out of curiosity. And I kept turning, And turning... For me, this TOTALLY took every step and put into into PICTURES to learn how to do a stream or waterfall perfectly as no other "how to" on the net or book I had had done that I'd found. At least not as well as this one. Here are the chapters: Choosing the site Choosing a water garden style Water garden design ideas Determining size (INVALUABLE. Even gives you break downs of what you should expect to pay for your rocks, liners, pumps, etc based on just adding a few extra feet to your stream in the cost section based upon size you choose.) Determining Depth Creating a Balanced Ecosystem (plants fish etc working together to keep it healthy) Designing a watergarden with wildlife in mind if that is important to you (it is to us) Water Garden kits (if you want an easier option) Child-friendly water gardens Cliimate issues (discusses issues in very cold and very warm areas) Calculating time Calculating costs Avoiding common water garden mistakes They have pics throughout the book with water gardens of all styles, shapes, pondless, streams, waterfalls, modern, natural..whatever. This was the first book that REALLY went through pumps and equipment honestly..I had my ideas for the stream and waterfall, but was still at a loss to pump size, which liner is best, etc. It was totally clear and gave you options based on your budget of things you can do for your own needs or time. The drawings and photographs were what sold it for me. Totally "HOW TO" with every single step, whether using flexible or rigid liners. So...this book is my pick for what helped this house out the most. By leaps and bounds. Even how to best arrange the stones if you use em! And I mean EVERY step has a photograph. I'm a visual learner, in spite of my love of reading, when it comes to how-to projects. So I'd give this 6 stars if I could for making our waterfall work with both clear well written instructions and very clear photos as well. You'll even learn how to best care for your fish if you add those. I have zero negatives for this book...it even let us know how much money we saved by etting all our boulders on our own from a friend's lot and free on Craigslist! (Rocks are your biggest expense and we needed LOTS of boulders and rocks. I suggest checking