In Florida, pond care runs year-round. Our winters are short and mild, and in Jacksonville, the live oaks drop their old leaves every spring, often right into the water. Pond cleaning here works best as a steady routine rather than one big, annual cleanout. Whether you have a small garden pond off the patio or a koi pond with a waterfall, keeping it clean comes down to three things: recognizing when it needs attention, keeping up with weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks, and protecting your fish when it's time to drain and scrub.

Signs Your Pond Needs A Good Cleaning

Most pond problems start small and get worse over weeks of being left untreated. These signs mean debris, waste, algae, or some combination of the three has gotten ahead of your routine:

• Green water or string algae on the rocks. Algae feeds on fish waste and decaying debris, and it grows fastest when a pond gets too much light, holds too many fish for its size, or lacks established bacteria. A sudden bloom often means one of those conditions has changed.
• A swampy or rotten smell. Odors that linger usually come from debris decomposing where water doesn't circulate well: inside filter chambers, under deep gravel, or behind rocks.
• Cloudy water that won't clear. If you're keeping up with filter care and the water stays cloudy, your biological filtration may not be strong enough for the waste load.
• Thick muck on the bottom. Leaves and debris decompose on the pond floor, using up oxygen and raising ammonia levels in the water. If dragging a net along the bottom kicks up a dark cloud, pond sludge removal is overdue.
• Fish gasping at the surface. A fish gasping for air is a warning sign of fish stress. In a dirty pond, gasping is often the first visible sign that oxygen is running low.
• Filters clogging faster than usual. Rapid clogging in your filter means too much debris is getting past your skimmer or entering the pond in the first place. Fixing that source, rather than just cleaning the filter more often, solves the problem.

Florida Pond Cleaning Checklist (Weekly, Monthly, Yearly)

Most garden pond cleaning is routine weekly upkeep, not a once-a-year project. Florida's mild winters give algae very little downtime, so skipping weekly tasks shows up in the water quickly.

Cleaning A Small Pond vs. A Large Pond

The basic steps are the same for any pond. Size determines the equipment you need and how long cleaning takes.

Small Pond Cleaning

A small pond is typically defined as a preformed pond, a patio water garden, or a lined pond with a handful of goldfish or no fish at all. Small pond cleaning doesn't take much equipment: a long-handled net, a few buckets, a pond vacuum or small pump, a garden hose, and tall rubber gloves.

Many small ponds never need a full drain. Skimming, vacuuming the bottom, rinsing the filter, and doing a partial water change handle most of the cleaning work. If you drain a small pond with fish in it, use a small pump and watch the water level closely. A small pond drains quickly, and fish need to come out while there's still enough water for them to swim.

Large Pond Cleaning

Large koi ponds and estate-style ponds with rock, gravel, plants, and waterfalls take more planning, more equipment, and usually a second set of hands to clean properly. You will typically need rubber boots, gloves, safety glasses, a solids-handling cleanout pump with a discharge hose, a holding tank with a net cover, an aerator, buckets, beneficial bacteria, and a dechlorinator. The cleanout pump matters more than any other tool for large pond cleaning. A weak pump clogs constantly, and you'll spend the day unclogging it instead of cleaning.

When draining your pond water, it doesn't have to go to waste. Because it is full of nutrients, pumping it onto a lawn or flower bed downhill from the pond can put the pond water to new use. Just be careful to pick a spot for water drainage that people don't walk through.

Pull leaves, branches, and dead plant material by hand before cleaning the rocks. You can then either rinse the rocks gently with a hose, or pressure wash them. Be mindful, though: a pressure washer can strip off the film of beneficial bacteria that keeps the water clear. Leaving a little nature behind can help a freshly cleaned pond get back in balance sooner.

Cleaning Still Ponds vs. Waterfall Ponds

Moving water changes where debris collects and which parts need cleaning.

Still Ponds

A still pond has no waterfall moving water through it, so debris settles straight to the bottom of the pond, instead of getting pulled into a skimmer. Regular surface skimming and pond vacuuming helps keep that buildup under control. Oxygen levels are the bigger concern, since moving water is what adds dissolved oxygen to a pond. In Florida, it's worth running an air stone or small fountain through the warm months to keep oxygen levels up. Floating plants can help keep the pond clean too: they absorb the nutrients algae would otherwise feed on, and their leaves shade the water.

Waterfall Ponds

Waterfall ponds stay better oxygenated, but they have more parts to clean. Most of that cleaning happens in two places: the skimmer, which houses the pump, and the biofalls, the box at the top of the waterfall.

Pull and rinse the filters from both during a cleanout. Before putting everything back, clear any gravel from the bottom of the skimmer so the pump doesn't suck it up, and fit the filter pads snugly so water flows through them instead of around them. Between cleanouts, watch the stream and falls for debris, which can dam the flow and push water over the edge of the liner.

How To Safely Clean A Pond With Fish

Fish pond cleaning adds a few steps to protect your fish from the three biggest risks during a cleanout: rough handling, temperature shock, and chlorinated water. How to clean a pond with fish safely starts with good preparation.

Count your fish first. Have a rough idea of how many fish you have before you begin cleaning, because fish can hide behind rocks and under plants, making them easy to miss.

Prepare a fish holding tank. Place the tank on a level spot in the shade. Fill it with the first water pumped out of the pond, since water from the upper layer is cleaner and saved pond water also carries the beneficial bacteria your fish are used to. Cover the tank with a net so fish can't jump out, and run an aerator in it.

Catch fish gently. Wait until the water is low but still deep enough for fish to swim in, which makes them easier to catch. Use a sock net or something similar that keeps the fish in water and supports its whole body, since uneven support can break a fish's spine. A stress-reducing water treatment in the holding tank can also help.

Keep the oxygen up in the holding tank. Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen, and a holding tank in the Florida sun warms quickly. Work early in the morning or in the evening, use the largest tank you can, and finish as quickly as you can.

Match the water temperature between the holding tank and the pond. Koi and goldfish can only handle rapid temperature changes of 1 or 2 degrees. Before returning fish to the pond, feel the tank water and the pond water. If the tank water is warmer, run a hose into it slowly until the two water temperatures match. Pump the tank water back into the pond along with the fish.

Dechlorinate the refill before fish go back in. City water is usually chlorinated, so add a dechlorinator to the refill water before returning fish to your pond. You can also use a detoxifier that neutralizes ammonia and heavy metals. Finish by adding beneficial bacteria to restart the pond's biological filtration.

When Should Professionals Be Called To Help Clean Your Pond?

Keeping a healthy pond in Northeast Florida requires steady work: weekly skimming and filter rinsing, monthly plant trimming and UV care, and full cleanouts once a year. Most homeowners can handle the weekly and monthly pond maintenance on their own. Annual pond cleaning is often a messier, more involved job, and it's worth bringing in help if you have a large koi pond or algae that keeps coming back despite a consistent routine.

Earth Works has been building and caring for outdoor spaces in Jacksonville since 1988, including koi ponds, pondless waterfalls, and bubbling urns. Our Garden Center on Beach Blvd carries a full pond supply store and aquatic plants, and our horticulturists can walk you through the right filter media, water treatments, and plants for your pond. Whether you want help with a single cleanout or ongoing pond cleaning through the year, we'll look at your pond and tell you exactly what it needs.

Pond Cleaning: FAQs

The swimming pool often becomes the focal point of the backyard, but it is just one part of the entire experience. The surrounding landscaping will dictate the way the space looks, how it is used, and the level of privacy. It also determines how the area deals with Florida's heat, rain, and humidity.

A beautiful pool landscape incorporates hardscaping, plants, drainage, lighting, water features, as well as outdoor living, without the individual features being treated as standalone projects. It also considers the evolution of the landscape and the amount of upkeep the property owner desires.

Thinking about getting a new pool or upgrading an old one, these pool landscaping ideas can help you determine what's going to be around your pool and how they will interact with each other.

Pool Landscaping Design Process

Pool landscaping is often treated as a finishing project after the pool has already been designed. It can create unnecessary complications. The pool shell, deck, and plumbing along with other site elements, must be accommodated during drainage, irrigation, grading, planting, and hardscaping.

It makes installation more efficient and can prevent double work when planning these aspects simultaneously.

Start With the Site and Pool Plans

A landscape designer needs to understand the property before deciding what belongs around the pool. A property survey, site plans, and pool construction plans can help determine available space, as well as the relationship between the pool, home, existing landscaping, utilities and proposed improvements.

Existing electric, gas, irrigation, plumbing, and other lines should also be identified before excavation or major landscape work begins.

The design process at Earth Works includes a meeting at the client's house, determining their use, assessing site conditions, taking photographs, and creating a landscape design based on their priorities. Planting, drainage, irrigation, hardscaping, lighting, water features, and other landscaping elements can be integrated into the plan.

Coordinate Drainage Before Landscaping

Drainage deserves particular attention around a new pool. The installation of a pool and deck creates additional impervious surface, which alters rainwater movement on the site.

So be sure to plan for drainage before you plant your beds, turf, or other decorative items. Depending on the property, channel drains, French drains, swales, or other drainage systems may be the solution.

Roof runoff should also be considered. Downspouts may need to be connected to drainage systems so water is carried away from the house and pool deck rather than concentrated beside them.

Plan Irrigation and Grading

Irrigation systems may require capping, rerouting, or replacement during pool excavation and construction activities. Making these changes before the new landscaping is installed will avoid excess disruption later in the project.

Grading should follow drainage planning, creating the elevations needed for planting beds, turf, walkways, and other landscape features.

Complete Planting and Finishing Work

Major planting and finishing work is generally better completed after pool construction and heavy equipment movement are finished. Existing landscaping can be removed, new beds established, and plants, lighting, water features, and hardscaping installed once the construction phase is largely complete.

Coordinating work between the pool contractor and the landscape designer can also reduce duplicated labor and material costs. Drainage, irrigation, and grading may be easier to coordinate while the pool project is underway.

Earth Works' landscape design process typically takes approximately two to six weeks depending on project complexity and time of year. The company provides pool landscaping separately from pool contracting while maintaining working relationships with pool builders throughout Northeast Florida.

8 Pool Landscaping Ideas for Your Florida Property

Hardscaping & Paving Stones

A pool landscape is shaped by hardscaping. Pavers and other paving materials can create spaces for seating, dining, and entertaining. They can define the pool deck, connect the pool to the house, and make walkways.

The layout matters as much as the material. A large uninterrupted deck can give you a lot of functional decking space, but may make the backyard seem like one solid piece of hard decking. Planting beds, trees, and groundcover around seating areas can help break the flow from the pool to the rest of the property.

For smaller yards, paving can do even more. A pathway can be designed to run from the pool to the house and to divide the pool from a garden or a sitting area.

Because pool decks are exposed to water, sun, foot traffic, and cleaning, materials should be selected with those conditions in mind.

Additional Water Features

A second water feature can be used to establish another interest, or to tie in the pool with the rest of the landscape. A waterfall can create a visual connection between a raised landscape area and the pool. Movement and sound can be achieved from a fountain without taking up a lot of space. A koi pond can be a transitional zone between an active pool zone and a more tranquil garden area.

The size and placement are crucial. A large waterfall right next to a small pool can overwhelm the design. A smaller one further out of the foreground can add a second focal point to the backyard.

When considering a broader pool backyard design, water-feature installations are a natural choice, and Earth Works offers koi ponds, waterfalls, and bubbling fountains.

Outdoor Fireplace or Fire Pit

The pool area does not have to be designed exclusively around swimming. A fire pit or outdoor fireplace can provide another destination for cooler days, evenings, and entertaining.

Don't set the fire feature next to the pool; build a designated area for gathering around it nearby. Paving can help define this space, and planting can separate it from the swimming area without making the backyard feel divided.

Seating, circulation, and the relationship of the fire feature to the house should also be considered in the surrounding landscape. Designing these components together is more effective than installing a fire pit just to fill in any space.

Privacy Hedges

Pools may feel exposed when they are visible from other yards, streets, or homes. Privacy landscaping for a pool can provide cover without a wall or fence closing off the backyard.

Hedges, shrubs, and carefully placed trees can screen out specific viewpoints without surrounding the pool area. The most suitable site depends upon what is being screened.

Plant selection also requires more thought than simply choosing the fastest-growing screen. Mature height and width, pruning requirements, sunlight, root behavior, and debris should all be considered. Heavy leaf or fruit drop immediately beside the pool can also increase cleaning requirements.

Lush Tropical Oasis Design

A lush tropical pool landscape can take advantage of Florida's climate and create a layered planting scheme around the swimming area.

Taller plants can be used as background screening, medium plants can create a planting bed, and low plants can help to break up pathways and hardscape. This is especially effective if privacy or closer integration between the pool and garden is the objective.

But just because a plant looks tropical doesn't mean it should be by the pool. Plants should be chosen based on site conditions in Northeast Florida, such as light, soil, drainage, mature size, and maintenance requirements.

Modern Desert Design

A modern desert-inspired landscape can provide a clean alternative to a densely planted Florida backyard. Here, "desert" is better understood as a design aesthetic rather than an attempt to recreate an arid landscape.

The look can rely on strong geometric lines, stone, gravel-style textures, sculptural plants, and restrained planting. That makes it a natural match for contemporary architecture and pools with simple shapes.

The important distinction is plant selection. A desert-inspired appearance does not mean using plants poorly suited to Jacksonville's climate. Instead, the visual characteristics can be adapted using plants and materials appropriate for local conditions.

Minimalist Design

Minimalist pool landscaping is based on restraint. There must be a clear purpose for each element.

A clean and structured yard can be achieved with a mix of paving, lawn, bedded plants, and a few specimen plants. Repeating materials or plant forms can also create a sense of cohesiveness in a smaller property.

The style may work for homeowners who prefer low-maintenance pool landscaping, especially if the landscaping avoids complex planting beds and hard-to-reach areas.

Minimalism still requires planning. With fewer elements, sightlines, proportions, transitions between materials, and mature plant sizes become more noticeable.

Asian Fusion Design

An Asian fusion pool landscape can combine water, stone, planting, pathways, and carefully controlled views to create a more tranquil setting.

The concept does not need to reproduce a traditional garden. A koi pond or small water feature may form a focal point, while a simple path, stones, and a well-proportioned mass of greenery may link the pool to a garden beyond.

This style is a great choice when a homeowner desires the pool to be tied into a larger landscape rather than sitting in the middle of an open lawn.

Earth Works has experience with water gardens and koi pond projects, including poolside water-feature installations, so an Asian-inspired design can build on the company's existing approach to integrating water and landscaping.

Designing Around the Pool, Not Just Beside It

The best approach to backyard pool landscaping is to think of the whole area and not pick individual features.

Think about how people enter the pool area, how wet feet will move, where chairs and tables will be placed, where privacy is needed, and how much sun various areas will receive. These questions affect everything from planting beds to walkways.

Drainage should remain part of that conversation. A beautiful pool deck will not perform well if rainwater repeatedly collects along its edge. Plants can also become difficult to maintain if they are installed where irrigation, pruning, or access is difficult.

Lighting can connect the landscape after dark while helping define paths, seating areas, planting beds, and selected architectural or water features.

For small pool landscaping ideas, every element needs to earn its place. A narrow planting bed might provide privacy, a pathway can connect multiple areas, and a compact water feature can create a focal point without consuming most of the yard.

Which Landscaping Ideas & Designs Catch Your Eye?

There is no single formula for landscaping around a swimming pool. One Jacksonville property may benefit from lush planting and privacy screening. Another one may call for clean paving, restrained planting, a fire pit, or a water feature that connects the pool to the surrounding garden.

The important part is developing these elements as one landscape plan. The pool should be complemented by drainage, irrigation, grading, hardscaping, planting, lighting, and outdoor living features, rather than having them added on their own.

Earth Works offers landscape design and installation services, hardscaping, drainage, landscape lighting, fire pits, water features, lawn services, and other outdoor services in Northeast Florida. A landscaping consultation can aid in determining concepts suitable for the property layout, current situation, maintenance requirements, and uses.

Ready to plan your pool landscape? Contact Earth Works to schedule a landscaping consultation and discuss your property, priorities, and design ideas.

We just got a fresh shipment of palm trees in, and that means planting season is in full swing. This week on Grow Better Weekly, we’re talking about one of the simplest — and most important — steps after planting a tree: creating a ring bowl (also called a rain bowl). It may look basic, but this small soil berm can make a huge difference in helping your tree establish strong, healthy roots.

How to Create a Ring Bowl

Making a ring bowl is simple and only takes a few minutes.

Step-by-Step

1. Use extra soil from the planting hole (or additional soil if needed).
2. Build a raised ring of soil around the outer edge of the root ball.
3. Shape it like a donut, leaving the center hollow.
4. Make sure the ring is high enough to hold water when filling.

Why a Ring Bowl Matters

• ✓It directs water exactly where your tree needs it most – the root ball.
• ✓It helps capture rainwater instead of letting it run off.
• ✓It prevents irrigation from spreading too far away from young roots.
• ✓It encourages deeper root growth during the critical establishment phase.

Freshly planted trees need consistent moisture. A ring bowl helps ensure they get it.

Water Schedule for New Trees

Once your ring bowl is built, watering becomes much more effective.

For a tree this size:

Set the hose on a slow trickle and let the ring fill. This slow soak encourages deeper root growth and better establishment.

Uses in the Landscape

Ring bowls are especially important for newly planted palms and larger trees that need consistent moisture while roots establish. Without a basin, water can run off or spread too thinly across the surrounding soil. This simple technique helps maximize both irrigation and rainfall — making it one of the easiest ways to protect your investment in new trees.

A ring bowl may look simple, but it plays a big role in helping newly planted trees thrive. By directing water straight to the root ball and following a consistent watering schedule, you give your tree the best chance at strong, healthy growth. If you’re planting new trees this season, stop by Earth Works — we’ve got plenty in stock, and we’re happy to help you grow better.

Happy gardening from Earth Works Gardens!

If you’ve ever wished your plants could perk up a little faster—more color, stronger growth, happier leaves—foliar feeding might be the garden “shortcut” you’ve been missing. Foliar feeding is the practice of spraying liquid nutrients directly onto the leaves, giving plants a quick boost when they need it most. It’s not a replacement for healthy soil, but it is an excellent tool for better results—especially in Northeast Florida, where heat, humidity, sandy soils, and heavy rains can all impact nutrient availability.

Foliar Feeding Tips For Best Results

Foliar feeding is simple, but, like most garden hacks, it works best when used correctly. Timing, dilution, and product choice make all the difference—because the goal is to boost your plants, not stress them.

Care & Maintenance Tips

• ✓Always follow label directions. (More is not better—too strong can burn leaves.)
• ✓Spray in the cool parts of the day—early morning is best. Heat + spray can cause leaf scorch.
• ✓Coat the leaves thoroughly, including the undersides when possible (that’s where lots of pores live).
• ✓Avoid spraying before heavy rain so the plant has time to absorb the nutrients.
• ✓Don’t foliar feed drought-stressed plants mid-day. Water the plant first, then spray later.
• ✓Use clean water and a clean sprayer to avoid clogging and unwanted residue.
• ✓Start with a small test area on delicate plants or houseplants, just to be safe.
• ✓Pair it with healthy soil practices. Foliar feeding is a boost—not the foundation.

Uses In The Garden

Foliar feeding is one of those “secret weapons” that can make a noticeable difference in your garden with very little effort. It’s especially useful for plants that need quick improvement in leaf color, flowering, or growth—like annuals, vegetables, citrus, and tropicals. It can also be a game-changer during the heat of summer when roots may struggle to absorb nutrients efficiently from hot, dry, or waterlogged soil. Think of foliar feeding as a quick sip of nutrition that helps plants bounce back faster and perform better between regular feedings.

Want greener leaves, better blooms, and healthier plants fast? Foliar feeding is an easy, effective way to give your garden a quick nutrient boost—especially during stressful weather or when plants are showing signs of deficiency. Used correctly, it’s one of the simplest ways to help your garden look its best all season long.

Happy gardening from Earth Works Gardens!