Visitors will soak up flora and fauna next weekend during the second annual Saratoga County Water Garden Tour, sponsored by Chip’s Landscaping Gardens in Saratoga Springs.
Proceeds will benefit the educational programs of the Saratoga County Historical Society at Brookside Museum in Ballston Spa.
This year’s self-guided tour with 10 areas homes and businesses will feature rainwater harvesting, waterfalls and streams, spill ways, rock bubblers, wetlands and Jan Lootens’ swimmable pond.
The Middle Grove resident had the 12,000-gallon pond installed in May 2012 after her family felt upstate New York’s shorter summers would keep them from getting a lot of use out of a pool.
Lootens said swimmable ponds are popular in Europe. She likes that they are eco-friendly with a natural filtration system.
“I didn’t want to be putting chemicals in it,” she said.
Lootens said her pond, stocked with eight koi and one goldfish, has been customized to include the wishes of her family members. Her husband wanted it to be deep enough to do a cannonball, her daughter asked for a beach area and her son requested a swim tunnel.
Lootens likes sitting on the porch and hearing water running.
“I think it’s very relaxing. You’re part of nature but you can still use it for swimming when it got hot on those few occasions this summer,” she said.
Lootens has added a Japanese maple, day lilies, hydrangeas, Russian sage, irises, hostas and cosmos to the area around the pond.
“It’s really cool to share with people. We’ve put a lot of work into it,” she said.
IF YOU GO
The Second Annual Saratoga Water Garden Tour will be held at 1 p.m. Sept. 8 in several locations in Saratoga County. A barbecue with children’s games follows the tour at Chip’s Landscaping Gardens, at which time a raffle of 200 tickets will be held to win a pond kit. Tickets are required for the tour and barbecue and are available in advance from Brookside Museum. Tickets are $12 per adult in advance or $15 the day of the event. Children aged 5 to 12 pay $6. Call Brookside Museum at 885-4000 or visit www.brooksidemuseum.org for further details.
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