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.