By Vic LeBlanc

Photos courtesy of Premium Landscape Services (premiumlandscapeservices.com)

The relaxing and tranquil sounds of splashing water cascading from the waterfall as fish gracefully glide through the water will make the most stressful day just melt away, according to Pieter van Westervelt, owner of New Jersey-based Premium Landscape Services, one of the region's top water garden contracting firms.

"One of the main reasons I started my own company was the love I have for landscaping and aquascaping," Pieter says. "I receive great satisfaction in being able to create a beautiful environment for my clients to enjoy, from a simple rock garden to a cascading waterfall and pond."

Owner of top-rated water garden contracting firm, New Jersey-based Premium Landscape Services, Pieter van Westervelt (pictured here with son and crew-member David) confides that from a simple rock garden to a cascading waterfall and pond, more people are playing (with) koi, as the interest in backyard aquascapes explodes...

Before starting his company in 2000, Pieter spent several years managing and working for landscaping companies. "I started out working at the local garden center when I was 16. We were a wholesale grower of annuals and hanging baskets and that is when it really hooked me."

His initial foray into water garden design was about 18 years ago, he recalls. "I was actually managing a garden center and was doing some project work on the side when I designed and built my first pond. It was the beginning of my learning curve..."

A Passion for Ponds

Born and raised in New Milford, New Jersey, Premium Landscape Services serves northern New Jersey and Rockland County, New York. The business is truly a family affair with wife Donna overseeing the office and returning calls and daughter Kristin, almost 18, helping out in the office and maintaining the web site; son David, almost 16, has been working with his dad "in the field" since he was 8 after school, weekends and summertime, and Samantha, 7, Pieter's "assistant" since age 4, in charge of picking out the two fish the customer will receive as soon as the pond is complete and filtration has been installed.

Pieter's passion and specialty, however, is ponds, waterfalls, streams and pondless waterfalls, which offer "all the sights and sounds of a waterfall" without the maintenance of a pond. "We are also a full-service landscape design/build, company, too, but we're getting away from the maintenance end to have more time to focus on the creative side, particularly the water elements," he explains.

An aquascape's design and overall scale should complement the property, according to Pieter van Westervelt of Premium Landscape Services, both for aesthetics as well as the homeís future "saleability." He adds, "A lot of factors go into coming up with the optimal design and size, like the size and setting of the property. Small backyards without hills require a more subtle approach because we want to make waterfalls look natural, not like a volcano."

A certified aquascape contractor, Pieter takes his specialty very seriously and attends several seminars over the course of every year to stay on top of industry developments and the latest trends and technologies. A member of New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association (NJLCA), Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA), North American Water Gardens Society (NAWGS), National Association of Pond Professionals (NAPP), Pieter is especially excited to be affiliating with the recently formed International Professional Pond Contractors Association (see ippca.com), whose primary efforts are to introduce and uphold the strictest standards to the water garden industry.

Currently, the 94-member group provides clients links to click onto and rate their contractor on a one-to five scale as they answer a series of questions. "If I score a three or lower, the association will call the customer up and find out what happened and contractors can have their membership yanked if they get too many threes or lower."

Pieter, however, is far from worried. "I have a long list of happy clients," he says simply. "We're also a member of Service Magic and they also have a ratings and review section for clients...we also have surveys that we give to our clients."

A ‘Flow' of Positive Clients

More often than not, Pieter's clients give him a carte blanche to bring people by. "I had one (new) client tell me that the people whose project they'd stopped to see brought us coffee by the pond...most of my clients have said 'come by anytime,' or 'give us a heads up and let us know' because they've told me they are interested in doing whatever they can to help me grow their business."

From properties with an area of 7,500 square feet to large estates, Premium
Landscape Services has designed and installed about 85 water elements so far, with the largest one to date being a 40 by 50 square-foot pond featuring multiple waterfalls.

Despite the difference in sizes, the components are roughly the same for all features: the pond liner, mechanical and biological filters, and a balance of plants, fish and bacteria to sustain a viable ecosystem.

"I use Aquascapes ecosystems (see aquascapedesigns.com)," Pieter explains. "We got on board with them last year and I'm thrilled with their products and tech support. They are back to me within six hours with answers to questions I might have and are on the cutting edge of the pond industry, strictly in my opinion."

"Last year we installed 20 (ponds) and the year before, we installed about five. We attended an industry event called 'Pondamonium' in Chicago with over 650 contractors. Apparently, on the West Coast, water gardens had already exploded and we're seeing the trend slowly spread towards the East Coast. (At a recent regional home show) I had people from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, sometimes 30 deep, trying to get information, about 2,500 people over the course of a weekend."

The smallest water gardens, which are approximately six-feet by six-feet, take Pieter and a three-man crew a full day to install. More common in backyards are the roughly eight-feet by 11-feet installations, such as this aquascape, which combines a rock garden and a subtle waterfall and pond.

Consider Size and Sound

The smallest water gardens, which are approximately six-feet by six-feet, take Pieter and a three-man crew a full day to install. More common are the roughly eight-feet by 11-feet installations. Pieter advises homeowners to try to build the biggest pond you can from the beginning, because invariably, customers want "more fish, more plants, more enjoyment," and wind up going to the bigger pond size, anyway.

However, the design and overall scale should complement the property, he cautions, for aesthetics as well as the home's future "saleability."

"A lot of factors go into coming up with the optimal design and size, like the size and setting of the property. Small backyards without hills require a more subtle approach because we want to make waterfalls look natural, not like a volcano."

Consider the sound a waterfall creates, Pieter says, and you'll realize that you don't want Niagara Falls in your backyard, which is what poorly-designed water features can sound like.

"A simple way to test for the effects you want is to slowly fill a bowl with water from your sink faucet with your eyes closed, listening to it drip," he explains. "Then, turn the water on full blast and I guarantee it's not going to sound or feel relaxing!"

As joyful as the water sounds of your aquascape may come to be, Pieter says, watching and getting to know your koi can be positively life transforming.

"We're seeing the (water garden) trend slowly spread towards the East Coast, Pieter says, adding that people of all ages really respond to his home and garden show displays, especially the koi pond.

A Fish Named ‘Rover'

"(Koi) are so beautiful...addictive, really," he laughs. "They are friendly, like to be fed and petted and are highly intelligent so you become attached to them like a dog or cat.

"People get a little nervous about the care, so sometimes we will start with what we call 'poor man's koi.' They are actually a kind of Japanese goldfish called Shubkins, which cost about $20 for an eight-inch fish, versus koi, which run $60-80 for the same size."

Once smitten, Pieter says, his clients often add to their koi collection, purchasing costly "show quality" specimens from 18 inches to two feet in length that run into the thousands of dollars.

He cautions new enthusiasts not to buy koi over Internet in order to best avoid obtaining fish with the koi herpes virus (KHIV), which can wipe out an entire pond.

"Really, it becomes part of your lifestyle. You find yourself starting your mornings off sitting by the koi pond with your coffee and with your fish. If you happen to be lucky enough to get a male and female, you get some babies to watch..."

Before Building, Test the Waters

Before hiring a water garden contractor, like any contractor, get references, Pieter cautions. "Look at job sites. Not all water gardens are built equally. I do a lot of pond renovation work because of contractors who get in over their head or who don't have any idea of what they're doing in the first place.

"The joy of a water feature can be ruined by mis-design or poor execution. My fees are $2,400 a day but I stand behind my work one hundred percent and it's amazing and sad to see how some contractors work.

"I did (restorative) work for a client who paid a (fly-by-night) contractor cash and had no signed contract or guarantee for work performed or parts and supplies. All I could think of was what this poor guy was probably hearing from his wife every day about the broken water feature when all he wanted was to create something relaxing in his backyard!"

For more details about Premium Landscape Services or to contact Pieter, go to www.premiumlandscapeservices.com.