http://canadiangardening.com/gardens/water-gardening/10-tips-for-building-a-water-garden/a/60313#.VUpmtbSWjaI.blogger
Gazing at the spectacular water garden on Diane Nadeau’s sprawling riverside retreat, you’d never guess that it hasn’t always been there. But in fact, it was entirely man-made just 12 years ago. “When I bought the land in 2001, it was a forest,” says Diane of her one-hectare property in the Laurentians in Saint-Colomban, Quebec. “I wanted to be near trees, water and mountains, but most of all, I dreamed of having a water garden.”
After clearing a swath of trees to build her home, Diane – an avid gardener – took her design ideas outside. But long before planning and planting her gardens, building the outdoor fireplace and deciding where her cedar gazebo would go, Diane brought in a pro to create her aquatic sanctuary: Jean Brule, owner of Jardins Aquadesign in Val-Morin, Quebec, trained in horticulture at the Montreal Botanical Garden and, after schooling in Chicago, became the first Certified Aquascape Contractor (CAC) in Quebec. He built this water garden from the ground up. “We did it all. We dug, installed geo-textile cloth and a waterproof membrane. We also put down granite stones and river rocks, the filtration system and an electric pump,” he says.
