Picture the perfect seaside resort, late afternoon sunshine and a cozy chaise lounge. Brilliantly colored birds flock and splash at the water`s edge. Exotic tropical flowers serenely drift in the crystal water, waiting to bloom in the moonlight.
Nearby, a waterfall rushing over sculptured rocks cascades like a bridal veil into a glistening pond. From a distant lily pad, a leaf-green frog sings his evening song.
Some Du Page residents come home to a resort like this everyday-their own back yards.
Whether inspired by a favorite vacation spot or an ideal photo in House & Garden magazine, their dream yards became reality with the help of Aquascape Designs in Wheaton.
The firm`s business brochure urges homeowners to create a back-yard paradise of ponds, streams, waterfalls and aquatic plants.
And without dropping a fortune, many homeowners from Barrington to Oak Brook and throughout Du Page have done just that. The average cost is about $3,500, the equivalent of installing a similarly sized deck or patio.
Greg Wittstock, 22, is the Wheaton artist and entrepreneur behind Aquascape. In fact, his two-year-old business of building ponds and waterfalls has been so successful that he had to postpone college graduation until spring 1993.
For the last 10 years, since Wittstock was 12, he has designed, read, studied and apprenticed himself to learn everything he could about pond and waterfall design, aquatic plants and maintenance.
A passionate hobbyist at first, he has parlayed his expertise into a successful landscape niche for himself, one that is so specialized that most Du Page landscapers would rather contract the business out to an expert like Wittstock.
Happiest when he`s stripped to the waist with the sun bronzing his back, wearing muddied boots and working with his favorite shovel, this suburban Huck Finn found his forte early in life.
Before starting Aquascape, as an interpersonal communications major at Ohio State, he held a summer internship at a large corporation in suburban Chicago. This experience provided him with the flash of insight that ultimately gave birth to his business.
”It was a typical 9-to-5 job,” Wittstock said. ”One day as I was on my way to work, I was stuck in a terrible traffic jam, trying to get to an office job that I didn`t even like. It was then that I decided I just couldn`t do that for the rest of my life. What I really wanted to do was build ponds. I realized that I have an entrepreneur personality. I disliked commuting and I don`t like working for someone else. It was the perfect solution.”
Although Wittstock casually refers to his work as building ponds, the end result of his labors is considerably more impressive.
The ponds he creates range in size from miniature waterfalls near the front entrance of a house to elaborate ponds and streams with multiple waterfalls and adjacent decking for seating.
Wittstock has carefully researched aquatic plants and flowers, taking into account a client`s lifestyle when designing a back-yard water feature.
If the owners are gone during the day, he`s sure to plant night bloomers in the water. This way the blossoms are opening for the evening as the owners return home from work to relax by their pond.
”No matter what size or shape a back yard is,” Wittstock said, ”I can picture just the right pond for the owner and in just the right spot. What most people don`t realize is that a pond, once it`s up and running, is much less work than a lawn and a whole lot more rewarding. Also, many owners think they want the pond back in some corner of their yard, but that defeats the purpose. It needs to be up near the house so they can hear the soothing sound of the water, enjoy the flowers, and feel like they`re living on a lake.”
Wittstock`s ponds are miniature, environmentally sound ecosystems, usually taking less than five days to complete. Depending on the size of the job, he may have some part-time workers helping to dig and haul supplies. Sculpting out the land to a maximum depthof 24 inches, he grades the edges and covers the ground with a special liner that has a lifespan of up to 60 years. By staggering huge boulders over the entire liner, he establishes a natural-looking, sloped effect. For a project that is 16 feet by 8 feet by 20 inches deep, he might lay as much as four to five tons of rock.
The water, once added, is simply recirculated throughout the pond. Using feather rock (a manufactured material that looks like rock and can be formed to any shape), Wittstock carves out waterfalls by hand or designs them with rocks to fit the contours of the land.
A biological filter consisting of bacteria purifies the water, keeping it clear. A skimmer gobbles up any stray leaves or debris that might fall onto the surface.
Wittstock consults his father, Gary, a civil engineer, on plumbing or electrical aspects of jobs, details that are well hidden behind rocks or plantings.
For maximum flower growth, the pond area needs an exposure of at least six hours of sunlight.
By taking regular walks through nearby woods, Wittstock has gathered a collection of moss-covered logs or twigs that he carefully adds to finished projects, creating the impression that the water feature has been there for years.
Capping off the natural feeling, he recommends buying colorful goldfish, turtles or tadpoles to help capture the magic of the new environment.
Do-it-yourselfers should beware, though, Wittstock said. There are a lot of hidden pitfalls to building and designing a pond, many of which aren`t mentioned in the home improvement manuals. A homemade pond can quickly turn into a smelly swamp without proper filtration or a skimming system.
Many of the calls Wittstock receives are to fix existing, home-built ponds, adding filtration systems or complex details like a waterfall.
Jan and Bill Pennington of Wheaton were amazed at how quickly Wittstock created their back-yard pond and waterfall. Completed in just two days, the end result was even better than the picture they first saw in the magazine Country Living, which was their inspiration.
”I`m a flight attendant,” Jan Pennington said, ”and fly to Japan often. I originally got the idea for a water feature in our back yard by what I saw over there. They have water designs everywhere-in restaurants, malls and hotels. Then when I saw the picture in Country Living, I decided to look into one for ourselves.”
The Penningtons` pond and waterfall is adjacent to their screened back porch, where they can sit each evening and listen to the soothing sound of the water. Wittstock suggested that the pond be extended under their wooden entry to the back porch, simulating a bridge.
”Greg is so artistic,” Pennington said. ”He set each little stone individually. There`s no maintenance other than unplugging the water pump and adding a birdbath heater for the fish in the winter. The whole look is very natural.”
The Penningtons liked the price, too: $2,500.
Projects vary widely in price and scope. Size can be as small as a three- foot by three-foot pond and waterfall to a large reflecting pool with a running stream that is 16 feet by 8 feet. Costs are between $1,000 and $5,000, with the average project priced at $3,500.
Millie Schulist, also of Wheaton, greatly missed the dramatic beauty of the waterfalls in her native Philippines. Within three days, Wittstock had created her back-yard pond complete with a stream and waterfalls.
”Now I don`t have to take a vacation,” she said. ”I love nature, and my pond is a magnet for birds, where they shower under the falls. I enjoy watching the fish as they swim around. This is really wonderful.”
Bill Carlson, a landscape architect at Western Du Page Landscaping with 12 years experience, notes an increased interest from clients in water features for their back yard.
”Clients like the sound of a babbling stream, and because they`re low maintenance there`s no drawback to them.”
He added that creating water features is time consuming and labor intensive. Because of that his firm doesn`t always do them themselves, considering subcontractors instead.
Wittstock created his first pond in his own back yard at the age of 12, when he moved to Wheaton from Medford Lakes, N.J.
”After living in New Jersey,” he said, ”I felt landlocked here. Before my life was a constant playground, hunting for frogs and turtles.”
Laurie Wittstock, Greg`s mother, remembers the move to Wheaton as being very traumatic for her son.
”Living on a lake in New Jersey,” she said, ”we had a back yard full of fish and critters. It was a beautiful area with beaches, where the kids could go canoeing. Greg`s lifestyle epitomized Huckleberry Finn to me. He complained that Wheaton had no trees, no water. He was certain that he would just rot here. However, out of all this negativity, the move turned out to be a very positive experience for all of us.”
Wittstock`s parents allowed him to bring turtles from New Jersey to his new home in Wheaton. Their first back-yard pond was a simple hole in the ground to accommodate the turtles. It since has evolved into a lush pond, with lily pads, tall grasses, moss-covered logs and tropical plants.
A deck beside it beckons everyone who visits to come outside to enjoy its peace and serenity.
This pond has been rebuilt several times and has served partially as Wittstock`s classroom as he taught himself about plants and pond design. Another source of information was an experienced pond designer in New Jersey whom Wittstock contacted frequently by phone.
Recently, Wittstock went out to New Jersey to work with the desinger personally for several days.
According to Wittstock, the rewards of being a pond owner are many, from simply enjoying the tranquility and beauty of a waterfall and garden to watching the wildlife that is attracted to it.
A naturalist by nature, Wittstock encourages clients to explore the requirements necessary for getting their yards certified as a national wildlife habitat.
Pat and David Osterkamp of West Chicago followed his advice, recently sending away for the information packet.
They have a large back-yard pond that they built themselves, calling in Wittstock for repairs and to add a waterfall. Wittstock intrigued them with the idea of establishing a habitat.
”We really like the natural feeling the pond gives,” said David Osterkamp.
For the last 20 years, the National Wildlife Federation, based in Washington, D.C., has sponsored a program in which many homeowners have registered their back yards as a natural habitat. According to Nancy McCloud, the registrar of the program, there are more than 11,000 registered habitats throughout the U.S.
To qualify as a habitat, owners must provide four necessities for wildlife: food, water, cover and accessible shelter where young animals can be raised.
”We don`t want applicants to encourage raccoons or other pesky animals for obvious reasons,” McCloud said. ”However, we do encourage them to do what they can to attract various types of butterflies, specific birds such as hummingbirds, or rabbits to their habitat. A project like this in your own back yard grows on people. They become more environmentally sensitive, more aware of native plants and how they conserve water. It`s very rewarding.”
Wittstock firmly believes that money spent on landscaping is money well spent, yielding a high return in pleasure and enjoyment for the owner`s investment.
”To me, it makes more sense to spend money on the outside of your home, where everyone can see it and enjoy it,” he said, ”than buying wallpaper and paint for the inside. Your landscaping is a reflection of who you are.”
Evidently, more people are coming to the same conclusion, at least as far as finding ways to add water features to their home gardens.
According to Joel Albizo, spokesman for the landscape division of the American Association of Nurserymen, headquartered in Washington, D.C., water features are nationally the fastest growing gardening trend.
”In the past,” Albizo said, ”water features were limited to palatial estates or huge commercial buildings. Water, however, is a versatile garden addition that homeowners can do on a small scale with a great deal of creativity.
”Retail garden centers from across the country report that it is their fastest growing section, and in one instance, a store expanded its water gardening area to seven times over what it was the previous year. Adding water features to the home garden is a well-defined trend nationwide.”
Sharon and Jim Celebron of Wheaton bear this out. They called Wittstock to add a water feature to their back yard after seeing one of his newspaper ads. Their pond includes a dramatic waterfall in miniature alongside a brickwork patio.
”I love the tropical feeling our waterfall gives us,” said Sharon Celebron. ”It`s like going to a Hyatt hotel somewhere. In just four days`
time, we had a paradise back here-no one could believe it. We love to sit back here and relax.”
To help celebrate the exotic new addition to their back yard, the Celebrons plan on giving their first annual pond party in the near future.
When homeowners with small children are concerned about the safety of a water feature, Wittstock develops child-proof designs.
For the Acuna family in Oak Brook, with three children ages 6, 8 and 10, safety had to be combined with esthetics.
”We were redoing our existing landscape,” Debbie Acuna said, ”and wanted a water feature. Our landscaper recommended using Greg. (Greg) made some minor adjustments in his original design for us to keep it safe for the children. This included replacing smaller decorative pebbles with larger rocks to discourage the kids from skipping rocks across the pond.
”Our pond and waterfall are definitely the focal point of our back yard,” Acuna said. ”In the seven years that we`ve owned this house, my husband never sat outside. Now he`s out there every evening watching the fish and enjoying the view.”
For more information on Aquascpape, Wittstock can be reached for questions or design consultations at 708-690-7095 or 708-690-6710.
