Pond tour puts private sanctuaries on public displayDate: 6/30/2016 GREATER SPRINGFIELD – There’s a pool of clear water fed by a waterfall. Fish are swimming lazily. The sound of the water punctuates the air. Are we in the mountains? Try Springfield, Chicopee, Westfield and West Springfield, among other communities.
The Pioneer Valley Water Garden and Koi Club will present its 23rd annual self-guided tour on July 9 and 10 with 17 different water gardens in Western Massachusetts and northern Connecticut on the tour.
Tickets are $20 per family or carload and can be purchased at Anson’s Flower Farm & Nursery in Southwick, A.W. Brown’s in East Longmeadow, Class Grass Garden Center in Granby, Dave Soda and Pet City in Agawam and Springfield, Field of Flowers in Westfield, Graziano Gardens in East Longmeadow, Ondrick Natural Earth in Chicopee, Picture Perfect Ponds in Westfield, Randall’s Farm & Greenhouse in Ludlow, Sixteen Acres Garden Center Springfield and Westfield Home and Garden in Westfield.
The tour extends as far east as Brookfield and as far south as Somers, CT.
The event will be conducted rain or shine.
Although most of the gardens are at residences, there are several garden centers on the tour and one craft brewery, Tree House Brewing in Monson that have ponds.
Wendy La Fond of Chicopee, the president of the club, recalled that she had a U-shaped dug by her contractor during the construction of her home. She admitted she knew nothing about the hobby and it took several years before she attempted to fill it and stock fish.
Finding the club she recalled “was the best thing I could have done.” Meeting monthly the members share expertise in landscaping, design and fish maintenance, she explained.
“It’s a constant learning hobby,” La Fond said.
The information shared goes beyond the pond, she added. “It’s not just the pond, it’s the lawn and gardening tips,” she said.
She noted people in the club have a variety of options on how they care for their pond. Some use ultraviolet lights to curb the growth of algae she noted.
Others have a more natural approach. The garden in Somers, CT, for example is described as a “naturalized” pond with no running water or filtration. The fish, snails and plants maintain the pond.
Leo Bates of Springfield built his own pond in a corner of his back yard. His pond is on the tour this year and he said it took him three years to construct it. Water flows off a waterfall on one end and into a deep pond where a half-dozen koi swim.
Bates noted the koi stay in the pond all year-round. The depth of the water prevents freezing and an air pipe puts oxygen into the water.
It is easy to miss the pond on Phyllis Chouinard’s property in Chicopee. The landscaping of grasses and trees conceal an active stream flowing through it with three pools and stocked with gold fish.
La Fond said the proceeds from the tour help finance projects the club members undertake, such as a waterfall they donated and built for the Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield.
For more information on the club, log onto www.pioneervalleypondclub.com.
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