Photographs by Tracy Walsh
Waterfall
A small stone waterfall just below the deck offers sweet sounds for the seating area on the bridge. Hummingbirds are among the frequent wildlife visitors.
When Mitch and Sue Sondreaal designed their landscape water feature nearly 20 years ago, they went big and bold: A grand canal runs the length of their Craftsman-style home with a covered deck and bridge that spans the burbling waters and leads to their front door.
While bridge entryways usually encourage a journey from point A to B, here the midpoint is the real destination. There, in the cool shade, Mitch and Sue spend hours, morning and evenings, enjoying the sights and sounds of the pond. “It’s so relaxing,” Mitch says.
A fountain at one end adds sparkle and movement, while the waterfall beneath the bridge provides music. Hummingbirds zoom from feeder to feeder. Frogs sun themselves on the rocks while butterflies flutter about the edges. It’s true that water brings life to the garden.
Not all wildlife is as welcome though: A mink recently ate all of their fish (they plan to get more).
With their home high on a bluff above the meandering course of the Kinnickinnic River in River Falls, Wisconsin, the couple decided on straight lines and angles for the water feature, softening the corners here and there with a tumble of rocks. The limestone used for the home and pond project was locally sourced, quarried only a short distance away.
More than 30 tropical and hardy water lilies adorn the surface, flowering at different times in shades of red, pink, and lavender. Iris and sweet flag punctuate the liquid landscape with their swordlike leaves. Enormous hostas around the margins anchor the garden, and mounds of groundcover blur the formal lines in places. A red Japanese maple, Bloodgood, throws its reflection onto the water at one end.
When winter approaches, they take out the pumps and move all the hardy water lilies to the deepest part of the pond. “We keep it going early spring to late fall,” Mitch says. He notes that having plants that can weather the cold is key. “The way it’s evolved is, more or less, what survives the winter, which most of them do.”
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Pond Landscaping
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Liquid Landscape
Blooming lily pads bring color to the water garden. The couple started their collection with several modest $5 water lilies from Menards, some of which are still growing nearly 20 years later in their landscape.
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Mitch and Sue Sondreaal
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Backyard Pond
When he started designing the garden at their River Falls, Wisconsin, home, Mitch says he and his wife, Sue, were inspired by Japanese gardens they had seen in Portland, Oregon. To keep the water looking its best, Mitch uses black and blue pond dye, which reduces algae by shading the water. They used to have koi in the pond, sometimes spending $50 to $100 for each fish. “Then one day the koi were gone except for one. Where were they?” Mitch recalls. He later saw a mink on the rocks, just before it dove into the water. “I grabbed a net and fought to get our fish, Sunshine, out of the pond.” After the rescue, they rehomed the fish to a coworker’s koi pond. Only goldfish inhabit their waterway these days. “We no longer name the fish, nor spend more than 30 cents on one,” Mitch says.
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Pond Closeup
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Tiger Eyes Sumac
A chartreuse Tiger Eyes sumac buffers a stone wall on one side of the waterway.
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Rain Lily
A rain lily offers a sweet bloom.
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Bloodgood Japanese Maple Leaves
Bloodgood Japanese Maple Leaves
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Japanese Iris
Japanese Iris
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Illustration by Randall Nelson
Garden Plan Illustration
Garden Plan Illustration
“We love sitting on the bridge, watching the birds, sometimes deer and fawns. It takes away all of your stress. During a rain, it’s so tranquil.” — Mitch Sondreaal
