Landscaping Earth Ponds

The Complete Guide

"Aside from some particularly thoughtful frogs and phragmites, no one on earth knows more about ponds than Tim Matson."

—Michael Pollan, author of The Botany of Desire

The guru of earth ponds explains how to site, design, shape, and plant these beloved fixtures of rural landscapes—and make them fit your property and your life.

In the decades since he wrote his acclaimed Earth Ponds, Tim Matson has designed scores of ponds, each unique to its site and its owners. In Landscaping Earth Ponds, he shares what he has learned to make these captivating ponds truly fit into their landscapes and into the lives and lifestyles of their owners.

Ponds have long been valued for their charm and utility: how else can you simultaneously enliven your landscape, create recreational opportunities, help the environment, and increase your property value? Earth ponds are increasingly recognized for the full range of gardening, landscaping, and ecological promise they hold. As pond-building methods have been perfected, more homeowners are restoring existing ponds or digging new ones. With dozens of color photographs, Matson shows you how to site a pond in right relation to your house, offering surprisingly simple ways to visually link the two.

His proven methods and designs reflect the many moods water evokes. Screen your pond for privacy, create a sandy beach and natural diving platform, encourage wetland gardens, line the shores with moisture-loving perennials, or design your gardens and paths to create a sense of mystery and adventure.

"I have been building dams and ponds for almost a century—since I was a little shaver. It is still productive, useful, and joyous work. Your book Earth Ponds illustrates each and every aspect. Bravo."

—Scott Nearing

About the Author

Tim Matson, a writer and aquaculture consultant, has been advising, designing, restoring, and building ponds and wetlands for more than twenty-five years. He is also the author of Earth Ponds, Earth Ponds Sourcebook, and Earth Ponds A to Z. He lives in Strafford, Vermont. Visit his web site at www.earthponds.com.