It's Fall

Well here we are into October. Seems like we didn't even have time to enjoy the summer months and we are looking at the beauty of the fall colors. It's that time when we start cleaning up our lawns, gardens and water features.
Most of the annual plants have been nipped by the light frosts and are starting to look rather sad. The beautiful flowers that we cared for all spring and summer is now ready to be removed. The dogwoods, spireas, and carpet roses need to be trimmed so they will look nice all winter. Hedges, evergreens, box woods etc. all should be trimmed and shaped for the winter. Remove the excess debris and prepare the flower beds for it's winter rest. Put the last application of fall and winter fertilizer on your lawn so that it have a head start in the spring. It is a busy time of the year for us in the personal gardening business.
Ponds need to be winterized as well. Remove the lily stem and leaves, remove the spent vegetation that is in the pond and you may even want to wash out the filters before it gets to cold. All of this helps your pond survive the winter in good shape. Also it helps week the oxygen levels from getting to low due the decaying plant matter. The pond-less water features do not need as much attention. Clean up around the water fall area and if you decide to shut off the water be sure to take your pump out so that it doesn't freeze and break something.
I'll keep in touch through the winter with tips about next springs plant an lawn care. Hope you all have a nice winter and if you need something during the winter we're still here. www.BrooksideOfIdaho.com or 941-3820 Thank you so much for the wonderful year. Gary

It's turning fall.

It is almost September and Brookside Of Idaho is thinking about fall clean-ups. Brookside of Idaho will be sending out advisory postcard to our customers in advance of the fall clean-ups. Fall clean-ups are just as important to ponds and water falls as they are to lawns and gardens. Lawn and garden clean-ups remove that old debris that looks bad and causes so much extra work in the spring. Fall clean-up in the ponds and water falls are just as important. In the pond, the spent plant material will settle to the bottom of the pond and decay during the winter. As the material decays it releases toxic gases into the water. If your pond freezes over and there is enough debris the gas will remove all the oxygen from the water and the fish will drowned. By removing the excess debris and keeping the pond operating during the winter there is less gas build-up and the open areas will let the gases to escape into the atmosphere. Brookside of Idaho is available to clean-up your yards, flower gardens, ponds and waterfalls. Contact us either by phone 941-3820 or www.BrooksideOfIdaho.com
Brookside of Idaho will be doing lawn fertilizer next year. If you think your lawn fertilizer professional is too high, check with us and Brookside of Idaho will get a quote to you this fall for next years fertilizer program.

Summer

Hi all. I haven't been on much this summer so I'll try to catch up today. Brookside of Idaho completed our pond tour to benefit Jayden Bennett and we had a good turn out. Talked to lots of people as they visited the ponds and waterfalls. We were able to add some money to the Bennett's expense fund. Every little bit will help.
Brookside of Idaho has been keeping somewhat busy this summer. Brookside of Idaho has installed a flag stone patio, an brick type patio, and a wooden deck with steps down three sides. Remodeled a couple of ponds, and some small landscape and sprinkler work. Of course, Brookside would like to continue to see more water features and landscaping develop. Early this spring it looked like the economy wasn't stopping people from doing the landscaping they wanted to do. But lately things have slowed a bit. The personal gardening work is continuing to move along pretty good and now it's getting close to start the fall cleanups. I'll be sending post cards for our customers to schedule in the cleanup times. If you are interested in getting your place cleaned up this fall please contact us and we will be happy to add you to our schedule.
www.BrooksideOfIdaho.com or call 941-3820 Thank you Gary

Pond Tour

It's rapidly approaching - Brookside of Idaho is putting on a "Pond Tour". The tour will be July 25 Th and 26Th. Saturday July 25Th 9 am to 5 pm and on July 26Th 10 am to 4 pm. This will be a self guided tour of 12 to 13 ponds and/or pond-less water features. Brookside of Idaho has ponds and waterfalls from Eagle, Star, Meridian, Nampa and Caldwell. Tickets go on sale July 15Th. Tickets are $15.00 per person with all proceeds going to the family of 7 year old Kuna resident Jayden Bennett. Jayden has a rare for of cancer and his family needs help with the medical and travel expenses. Jayden has to travel to Texas and New York for his treatments. For more information about Jayden and to purchase tickets go to www.BrooksideOfIdaho.com .
Brookside of Idaho took a few days off over the July 4Th weekend. Chris and I went to Buhl, Id early on Friday morning and installed a pond-less waterfall at the home of Bob and Gloria Eggleston in Buhl. Bob and Gloria are my wife Charlene's parents. Saturday the family went to the Buhl Sage Brush Days parade. We had a good time watching the parade and visiting with old friends. Had our Fourth of July dinner with our family at Bob and Gloria's. Chris and I got to go golfing Saturday afternoon and even got back in time to go to the Buhl fireworks show. We had a good tome and got to relax for a while. Brookside of Idaho hopes that you all had a great Fourth of July weekend. Hope to see you on the "Pond Tour". Wishing you all well - Brookside of Idaho.

Summer

Well, it's been a while since I've been on but I'll try to catch up today. Brookside of Idaho has finished the big project at Eagle and it is fantastic! The pond is really nice with a 3 river stone patio and fire pit, two water falls, gravel beach area for easy access and large boulder on the pond edge for setting, viewing and even getting your feet wet if you would like. The owners are very happy an are enjoying the area everyday. With the added landscaping around the area this is a very beautiful and peaceful place to relax. The owners have added fish and the crystal clear water just make the fish look much larger and more beautiful than ever. Brookside of Idaho has posted pics on the web site so you can see the final results. To find out more about the project go to www.BrooksideOfIdaho.com
Summer is here and with the warmer weather comes the maintenance for the flowers, shrubs and trees. Planting flowers in and around the existing flowers can add so much more color for the summer months. Keeping the beds weeded and the flowers trimmed adds that special touch to make your yard a wonderful place to spend time. Remember that Brookside of Idaho not only builds beautiful water falls and ponds but also plants and maintains your flower bed and shrubs.
Brookside of Idaho is preparing for a pond tour in July. Please check out that information on the web site and hope to see you on the tour. Until later, Gary

New project

Hi all. It's been a while since I have talked to everyone, been busy. Brookside of Idaho is just about finished with our latest pond project. Brookside of Idaho has been working on a pond in the Eagle area for the past 3 weeks. This pond is approximately 25 x 40 with 2 water falls, a 3 rivers flag stone patio and fire pit with a gravel beach area. This has been a very fun project and the home owners are excited and ready to use the patio and fire pit for entertainment. The owners do have grandchildren and Brookside of Idaho has designed the gravel beach area for walk-in access into the pond. The deepest area of the pond is about 3 feet and the children will be able to wade in the pond and enjoy the water, plants and fish. The home owners will be able to access the pond for the plant maintenance and also be able to enjoy more than just watching the pond. The water falls are designed with boulders weighing in the area of 1000 to 1500 pounds adding a very dramatic look the the water moving over and through the rock to the pond. The sound of the falls is wonderful, not so loud that you can't have a conversation but loud enough to be enjoyed. The pond has a couple of rocks at the edge that a person could set and get their feet wet if they want. Brookside of Idaho will be posting pictures for the entire construction after the project is completed. Brookside of Idaho would like to thank the owners for their hospitality through out the construction. You have been great.

It didn't rain!!

Last spring Brookside of Idaho tried 2 times to have a hands on build-a-pond-less waterfall class and 2 times Brookside of Idaho got rained out! April 25th 2009 it didn't rain. Thanks to The Birken Stalker store and the wonderful April weather Brookside of Idaho held the build-a-pond-less waterfall class. Chris, Michael and myself put on the class for the pond-less waterfall.
Some of those in attendance helped with the waterfalls construction, others watched and asked questions. Brookside of Idaho is very happy with the number of people that attended and became informed on how to build a pond-less waterfall and Brookside of Idaho is equally as happy that those attended learned just how we strive to build the very best water falls that Brookside of Idaho knows how to do. Sue of The Birken Stalker say that she is very happy with how the waterfalls turned out. This waterfall will make it a pleasure for Sue to invite her customers into her shoe store for many years to come. Special thanks to Shanna for all the help for setting up the class and answering the question from the participants.
Brookside of Idaho still has space for yard cleanups and maintenance services available. Visit our web for upcoming events and see what Brookside of Idaho could do for you. www.BrooksideOfIdaho.com Thanks to everyone that attended the pond-less waterfall class and if you have more questions or are in need of more information or products please contact Brookside of Idaho.

Build-a-pond Class

Thanks to the beautiful April weather Brookside of Idaho had a wonderful build-a-pond day. Brookside of Idaho was honored to have 19 people attend the build-a-pond class on Saturday April 18th. The class asked lots of questions, watched and also participated in building a backyard pond and waterfall. Our pond, a 12 x 15 ft with a waterfall and stream of around 7 feet long, was mostly dug out and repaired before the class started. Chris gave our students a back ground of the company, number years of doing water features along with some dos and don't that Brookside of Idaho has learned. Brookside of Idaho then went through the steps of installation. First we aligned the skimmer box and secured it by back filling dirt. Next the liner was placed into the pond area and then started placing rocks into the pond along the shelves that had been placed by design. As the rocks were being placed Chris and Robin started placing the Bio Falls at the beginning of the stream. I (Gary) placed the skimmer face plate onto the skimmer and sealed and fastened it so it would not leak when the water was added. Once the Bio Falls was set and leveled a liner was attached to the Bio Falls and then the water falls and stream was added. The underwater lights were placed in the pond area and then the gravel as added to complete the installation of the pond. Rocks and gravel installed in the water fall - stream. Added water and turned on the pump and began to tweak the water flow into the pond. IT LOOKS GREAT! Brookside of Idaho would like to thank all of the students that attended. When we get the pond completed be sure the check it out on the web at http://www.brooksideofidaho.com/ . To view the finished pond contact Brookside of Idaho and let us know you are coming.
Remember next Saturday, April 25th, Brookside of Idaho will be having a Build-a-Pondless Class in Nampa at 123 2nd Street S. (The Birken Stalker). Hope to see you there and again thanks for attending the Build-a Pond Class.
Brookside of Idaho thanks Robin, Michael, and Taylor for helping with the pond and water fall installation. A big thank to Shanna and Charlene for all the help with the students before, during and after the Build-a-Pond Day.

Cleaning MY pond

Every spring we clean ponds to help keep them clean and neet for the summer. We clean small ponds, large ponds and ponds in-between. Chris has been doing most for the cleaning this spring with help from his boys. The first pond Chris cleaned this spring hadn't been really cleaned out for three years. The muck was pretty bad and it took like 5 hours to get it cleaned out, but the crew of Brookside Of Idaho prevailed. On to the next and the next and next and so on then came time on our schedule for the pond located at Brookside of Idaho (my house). This should be a quick in and out and on the the next job.
Well, after 5 hours of cleaning Chris looks at me and says "Dad, this is the worst pond I've cleaned this spring". Ouch - Hey this the pond at Brookside of Idaho! How could this be?
Well, I have to step back and take a look at the way I have taken care of my own pond last year. I realilize that I spend more time in other peoples back yards than I did in mine. I didn't take the time to put in the bacteria and the algae control on a regular schedule and my pond shows it. Lesson I learned. I need to walk the walk and talk the talk. I tell everyone to use the bacteria and algae control to keep your ponds in great shape. By me not following a tight schedule for maintenance lets me know that the bacteria and algae control really works. A regular treatment schedule and a fall cleanout will make next springs cleaning a lot better.

April has been, as usual, unpredictable. We went to Payette and remodeled a pond and waterfall. We had rain, wind, sun and even got snowed on. What a week! Any way we got it finished and the customer is thrilled. Hopefully we will be asked to do some planting to add to the landscape that will be surrounding the pond and waterfall area. The family is having a wedding there in June and the remodel and planting should make for a beautiful wedding scene. Have finished a couple of remodels in the Boise area and have another scheduled in Nampa this week. Getting some not-so-goodlooking ponds and wterfalls and making them into something taht wou can be proud to show off.
Brookside is going to have a booth at the Idaho Sampler Expo at the fairgrounds in Boise during May. Check out the times on the web www.BrooksideOfIdaho.com . Also our pond and pondless classes are filling up so if you have interest in attending one of the classes please get registered so we can send you some information before the class. We are doing Personal Gardening for our current customers but still have room for new ones that would like to have their flowerbeds weeded, shrubs and roses trimmed. The years is young and Brookside could get you off to a early start for your personal gardening needs. If you are entertaining in your backyard and just need a cleanup we can get everything trimmed and looking nice for your party.

Spring

This is the last week of March and we have most of the pond cleaning behind us. We have been going out on calls from the leads we got from the Boise Flower and Garden Show. We remodeled a pond at a foothills home so their young child could be around the pond and waterfall without his parents being so worried about him falling in. Rearranged the waterfall pattern and the water falls looks much better. Have a pond remodel to do in Payette and I think that this is going to be a large improvement and the customer will have a really nice pond and waterfall and be able to spend a lot of quality time enjoying their off work hours. It's still not too late to get your pond cleaned for the coming year or if you know someone that has a pond and needs it cleaned give us a call. Brookside 941-3820 or 919-0072. We not only do ponds and waterfalls we also do personal gardening. Clean and plant flowerbeds, trim shrubs and small trees and remove unwanted debris. If you or someone you know is interested in a landscape design our landscape professional has some really good ideas. Visit our web site for more information www.BrooksideOfIdaho.com . April should be warmer, and a really good time to look at that backyard makeover you have been wanting.

We were at the Boise Flower and Garden Show this last weekend and we fell pretty good about the show. The overall displays were down in size but the people of the treasure valley still seem to be interested in getting new ideas and still want to improve their personal space. We had several sign up to come to the classes that we have scheduled for April. Visit our web site at http://www.brooksideofidaho.com/ and see if there is a class that you would like to attend. Be sure to register with us so we can get you the right information to help have a great class experience. Spring cleaning and maintenance is still going on and we have space for more customers that need our help. Spring pond cleaning is in full swing so if you haven't cleaned out that pond to give it a fresh start, call now. Thanks for reading our blog and feel free to call or visit our web site.
919-0072 (Chris) - 941-3820 (Gary) or http://www.brooksideofidaho.com/

Spring

Well we're here at the first of spring, the weather has been mostly favorable. We are cleaning ponds and waterfalls getting them ready for the summer. We are doing for the ponds what mother nature does for the streams and reservoirs in nature. Every spring the winter run off flushes the streams and helps clean the winter debris from the water. In a water garden we have to remove the water and clean the rocks and gravel with a power washer then flush the debris from the pond before refilling the pond with clean water. Brookside of Idaho believes that a clean start will help maintain a health and great looking pond for the summer.
We are preparing to put a booth in at the Spring Flower and Gardens show at the Grove in Boise. Stop by and say hi. We're working on putting in a small pond-less waterfall display, be there to talk to people and do what we can do make your water garden dreams come true. For more information on cleaning or new installation give Brookside a call at 941-3820 or contact Brookside on the web a www.BrooksideOfIdaho.com. Hope to see you soon.