Hello, everyone! While "CNY Water Gardens" might be new to you, the people behind it are not. We're lifelong locals Lance and Maggie Lewis. Lance is Cortland County born and raised, and Maggie's been in Chenango and Cortland counties for most of her life.
The art and craft of water feature creation is all Lance's. Maggie helps out with the writing, websites and social.
Our first waterfall
Before we knew anything about water features, we had a waterfall installed as a gift to ourselves several years ago. We loved the crew, and we loved the waterfall, even though it looked kind of like a volcano-shaped hump in the flat ground. I blame myself for that, having insisted on more elevation than they wanted to give me, and I understand now why the designer argued so hard against it. I loved that waterfall, though.
The company went out of business afterward. Lance kept thinking of things he'd have done differently, though, and pretty soon he was doing what we all do when we get captivated by something new--learning more about it online. Specifically on Youtube. That's where he discovered Aquascape, an amazing company that not only makes the best waterfall products, but offers training programs in how to become a waterfall expert. Through those pro-level courses and hands-on practice, he's taken to the craft.
And now that he knows what he knows, our original waterfall has been dismantled and will be rebuilt in between other projects over the summer. We're putting a small, lined pond into the bottom, and eventually adding a wetlands filtration system. Our 100-foot stream will be re-tooled, as well.
In fact I, the Mrs, am starting to wonder if my own water features will ever be deemed "done."
Backyard features based on water and stone really are an art form. Placing stones so that they look natural, as if they are protruding from the ground, not just dropped on top of it, takes a certain knack, an artist's eye. As soon as Lance started putting waterfalls together in the back yard, he knew he would take this further. And so we started CNY Water Gardens.
What we offer
We can create almost any kind of water feature you can think of. We offer gorgeous pondless features, big urn-shaped fountains or bowls where the water cascades from one into the next, and then vanishes into the earth beneath them. The secret is an underground reservoir. These fountains, especially with strategically placed lighting, natural stones, driftwood pieces, and accent plants, can be stunning without any pond at all.
We can create pondless waterfalls and streams, as well. These work especially well if you already have a natural slope. You really don't want your waterfall to spout from a volcano-shaped mound in the middle of a flat lawn. Trust me on this. There's nothing natural-looking about that. But there are ways we can create some natural looking elevation that becomes a babbling brook of serenity with falls and drops worked in.
If you already have a natural pond, we can help you get that clear, healthy water you've always wanted. Lance can create a wetland filtration system that draws your pond water up through layers of gravel, stone, and filter plants before spilling it by way of a gorgeous waterfall, back into your pond. We are planning one of these on our own pond as soon as time allows.
Have a pond with constant litter falling into it from surrounding plants and trees? An intake bay works much like the skimmer on a swimming pool. It pulls all the surface nasties into it, then pumps the clean water back into the pond.
Existing features - New ponds
For existing water features, we can do updates, improvements, and repairs.
And of course, we can create lined ponds, small koi ponds, and ornamental ponds, too.
It's difficult to put pricing on our site, because every water feature is so unique, and because the distance we have to move equipment also impacts the cost, but we are working to create a few packages and eventually those will be listed with pricing.
Meanwhile, use our contact form to tell us what you have in mind for your back yard, and where you're located, and we can give you a better idea of the price range. We'll even come out and look at your site, discuss what you want, and create a detailed estimate. From there we can work with you to modify the project to get the price where you need it to be.
Thanks for reading the blog. There will be more to come!
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