Wichita water garden tour features DIY ponds to professional installations

When the wall of their 30x15-foot above-ground pool gave out after several decades of use, Lori and John Heger transformed the spot once occupied by the pool with a curving pond featuring a stream and a waterfall.

“I wanted a waterfall; my husband wanted a stream. So those were the two things we decided right away and then we just started. I watched a bunch of videos, and I thought, ‘We can do this,’” said Lori Heger.

Since 2020, when her husband and son-in-law dug up the backyard on their Maize property to accommodate the pond, the Hegers have taken on different projects to create a relaxing oasis they enjoy with their grandchildren, Lori Heger’s Bible study group and others.

Aside from hiring Scenic Landscapes to install the pond liner and position the rocks, which was done in 2021, the Hegers along with their son-in-law have done all the work themselves.

Their DIY handiwork will be on display for the public to see this weekend as one of 14 gardens on the Kansas Pond Society’s annual water garden tour. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 14, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 15. Ten residential and four commercial properties, including Botanica, are on the tour.

Tickets, in the form of a tour map, are $10 per carload and can be purchased at the following Wichita garden centers: both Johnson’s Garden Center locations, 6225 E. Shadybrook St. and 2707 W. 13th St.; Hong’s Landscape and Nursery, 8904 E. 31st St. South; and Scenic Landscape, 5911 W. Maple. While the Johnson’s locations are open Saturday and Sunday, Hong’s and Scenic Landscape are open Saturday only. The tickets are good for the entire weekend.

For the Hegers, creating their backyard pond and improving the areas around it has taken time — and a lot of sweat equity.

“You really have to love it, and you have to really want to do it because it is work,” said Heger, a retired physical education teacher.

Past work has included wheelbarrowing 20 tons of dirt to build up the yard to accommodate the waterfall and installing a flagstone patio. This year, they did some work on their deck, including removing a railing that was obscuring their view of the pond when sitting on the deck.

Doing the work themselves has kept their backyard improvements affordable, Heger said. They’ve also found other ways to be thrifty.

For example, they saved old carpet padding and carpet to use as a buffer between the cinder blocks they’d placed atop the dirt and the pond liner.

Rather than stocking expensive koi fish, which also require more maintenance, she and her grandchildren picked out fancy tail goldfish to put in the pond’s 4-foot section. Over the years, the fish have reproduced and now about 35 or so fish populate the pond.

Through plant-sharing opportunities among members of the Kansas Pond Society, Heger has amassed several plants, which have been flourishing with recent rains. Besides adding color, aquatic plants are important for a pond’s ecosystem since they are natural water filters and help reduce algae growth.

According to a Kansas Pond Society news release, various types of gardens will be featured on this year’s tour, from well-established to newly created ponds.

Kansas Pond Society water garden tour

What: tour of 14 water gardens, including 10 residences and Botanica, in the greater Wichita area

When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, June 14, and noon-5 p.m. Sunday, June 15

Admission: $10 per carload. Tickets, which include a map of all locations, are for sale at both Johnson’s Garden Center locations, Hong’s Landscape and Nursery, and Scenic Landscape. While the Johnson’s locations are open Saturday and Sunday, Hong’s and Scenic Landscapes are open Saturday only.

More info: kansaspondsociety.org