Category Archives: News

Earth Works Gardens is your destination to purchase and learn to grow and care for palm trees in Northeast Florida. Customers from Duval, St. Johns, Baker, Clay, and Nassau counties all shop at Earth Works Gardens when searching for quality palm trees. We have a large selection of palms suitable for the Jacksonville climate and the surrounding area. We have the right tree for you whether you’re searching for large, short, cold, hardy, tropical, or unique and low-maintenance palms.

Our knowledgeable staff can help you pick the right palm for the right spot. There are many palms to choose from, and if you are new to Jacksonville or the Northeast Florida area, it can be a bit daunting. Earth Works stocks palm trees of all types. Dwarf palms like the Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebelenii) Tall, graceful Queen palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana) and robust showstoppers such as Mule Palms (xButiagrus nabonnandii) and Sylvesters (Phoenix sylvestris).

Although palm trees look very similar, a trained eye can identify the differences between all the varieties we can grow here in Jacksonville, Florida. One of the major distinguishing factors is leaf type. There are two leaf types that a palm can have, palmate or pinnate. Palmate leaves or fronds are broad and have a fan or hand-like shape. Pinnate leaves are longer with slender leaves that resemble feathers.

The next significant difference between palms is their trunks. Palm trunks vary greatly. Some are smooth, while others are bumpy, rough, or chunky. Some palm tree trunks are thick and wide, and others thin. Choosing a palm is a consideration of both the trunk and the foliage appearance that suits you. There is no right or wrong, just preference. All palms are beautiful in their own way.

Another thing to consider is the growth rate of the palm you are choosing. A slow-growing palm could be a good choice if you start with a large one because you would get immediate coverage for an extended period. If you started with a smaller slow growing palm, it could take years before the palm tree grew large enough to fill in the area you want to cover. 

On the other hand, you could start with a smaller, fast, growing palm tree and achieve the coverage you need much quicker. It all comes down to how long you are willing to wait for the look you are trying to achieve. Sometimes figuring all this out can be a challenge. Earth Works staff are trained to help you decide which palm tree best suits your landscape.

Some examples of slow-growing palm trees that grow well in Jacksonville, Florida, are: Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebelenii), European Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis), Windmill Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), Sabal Palm (Sabal palmetto), Dwarf Sabal Palmetto (Sabal minor), Needle Palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix), Chinese Fan Palm (Livistona chinensis), Canary Island Date Palm (Phoenix canariensis), Pindo Palm (Butia capitata), Seashore Palms (Allagoptera arenaria), Arikury Palm (Syagrus schizophylla), Mule Palms (XButiagrus nabonnandii), Reclinata Palm (Phoenix Reclinata), and Silver Bismarckia (Bismarckia Nobilis).

Examples of moderate and fast-growing palms include: Queen Palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana), King Alexander Palms (Archontophoenix alexandrae), Sylvestris Palms (Phoenix sylvestris), Areca Palm (Dypsis lutescens), Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa), Dwarf Sugar Palms (Arenga engleri), Ribbon Palm (Livistona Dicipiens), Nitida or Carnarvon Fan Palm (Livistona nitida)

Once you know which palm tree you like, Earth Works can help you pick the right place to plant your new palm tree. Our friendly and knowledgeable staff helps customers design and layout their landscapes daily. Think about the areas in your yard where you might want a new palm tree and take some pictures of your property. Bring them into Earth Works and show us the space you’re working with, and we can help you make the best choice of palm for your space.

After you’ve purchased the palm trees for your new landscape Earth Works makes it easy and convenient for you to get them home and planted in the yard. Delivery and installation of palm trees is one of our specialties. We install palms all year round in Jacksonville, Florida. Our staff will coordinate with you to get your purchased trees to your home as quickly as possible.

If a sizeable field-grown palm tree is not what you need, we also carry many smaller container-grown palm trees in many sizes. Our garden center sells palm trees in containers ranging from 3-30 gallons. Most of these palms can fit in pick-up trucks, SUV’s and minivan’s. We even loaded a 15-gallon Pindo palm into the hatchback of a Porche a few years ago at the customer’s insistence!  

If you’ve never strolled around our pathways at Earth Works Gardens, set a time to come and look at our palm trees. Not only do we sell palm trees, but we have many varieties planted on our property so you can see what they look like after they’ve been planted in the ground for many years. Our Garden Center is set up to show you what palm trees look like in the landscape here in Northeast Florida and Southern Georgia. Our landscape palms are of the highest quality and are sourced from growers we have been buying from for over twenty years. These unique and hardy palm trees are grown in Florida and selected to grow well in USDA zones 8-9b. 

Large field-grown Palm trees are easy to grow and low maintenance. The only time they need much extra care is after planting. After Earth Works installs your new palm, it must be watered daily for the first thirty days, every other day for the second month, and about two or three times a week for the third month. If planted during the winter or when temperatures are consistently below seventy degrees, the palm trees should be watered, allowed to dry out completely, and then watered again. This schedule can vary depending on rainfall, soil conditions, and other variables. Also, consider our article on Proper Palm Tree Pruning.

It can take up to a year before a palm tree is fully rooted in your landscape. There are very few times that palm trees need a lot of extra water once they are established. Northeast Florida weather generally provides enough water for palm trees to grow and thrive. Exceptions would be times of extended drought, typically during spring months in Duval County.

Fertilization is important for any type of palm. Always choose a plant food that is formulated for palm trees. Palms require specific nutrients in higher ratios compared to other plants. The main one is Manganese. Manganese deficiencies can not only stunt the growth and make the palm trees look sick, but they can also become lethal if left untreated. Earth Works carries palm fertilizer and manganese supplements year-round.

If you have always thought about growing a palm tree in your yard and are searching for ‘Palm trees near me,’ come to Earth Works and speak with one of our Garden Staff. We always look forward to helping customers with their landscape palm tree needs. Our palm trees are stocked year-round, and we are always ready to help with any palm tree questions you may have. 

For Palm Trees In Northeast Florida, comprehensive solutions to your specific lawn, garden, and landscaping needs, contact Earth Works of Jacksonville online or at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Autumn arrives on September 22, ushering in our Fall lawn and garden checklist of steps to get the most out of your lawn and garden. Here in Northeast Florida, we experience cooler temperatures and sooner than Florida communities further south, but this checklist is generally applicable for lawns and gardens throughout the state.

–Plant trees and shrubs as soil temperatures remain warm as air temperatures decline, putting less stress on new plantings and transplants.
–Address any drainage and percolation problems that will damage or destroy turf. When the water table or zone of saturation is such that the soil is soggy the available oxygen supply to your turf is diminished which kills turf the same as if it was underwater in a flood. Soggy soil encourages fungus growth such as Take-All Root Rot below ground and a cornucopia of fungus species above grown that kill turf and other plants in the landscape.

–Aerate and provide top-dressing soil to your lawn in the Fall or Winter to improve percolation and replenish macro and micronutrients used and leached from your soil. Percolation reduces soggy soil conditions and improves plants’ ability to absorb nutrients. Top dressing with nutrient-enriched soil increases microbial activity such as that of Mycorrhiza fungi that convert nutrients to bioavailable forms for turf and other plants in the landscape.

–Prepare the ground for Fall herbs and vegetable garden beds, perennials, and Spring bulbs, adding compost and soil amendments specifically formulated for the growing requirements of your plantings. For the veggie beds consider planting Beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots cauliflower, collards, cucumbers, endive, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, onions, radishes, summer squash, and turnips.

–Refresh container gardening arrangements with Fall season color. Refer to our monthly Container Gardening Recipes for tips on what will do well each season.

–Rooting hardwood cuttings is best done in Fall.
–Raise mower blades as less frequent mowing is required as warm season grasses prepare to go into dormancy.
–Spread grass seed and lay sod as temperatures have moderated. Many will overseed with ryegrass to green and thicken up the lawn in Fall and Winter.
–Keep your lawn turf thick, which can crowd out weeds and prevent weed seeds from getting sunlight that aids in their germination. Continue pulling weeds, and observing good cultural practices, and only then if necessary consider treating with herbicide. Always follow the herbicide manufacturer’s directions. Learn which weeds you are dealing with and their stage of development, which is critical to their treatment. Warm-season weeds will be dying back and replaced with cool-season weeds, which requires the right choice between preemergent and post-emergent herbicide application.
–Apply Weed and Feed, commonly called Winterizer this time of year prior to turf dormancy. Remember that any preemergent herbicide component will prevent any new grass seeds from germinating. The appropriate NPK formulation for Fall Winterizers is high in potassium and low in nitrogen. Unlike, Spring when nitrogen benefits new growth that same growth in Fall would be threatened by Winter cold and stress the plant. Adequate potassium provided the grass while its still actively taking in nutrients provides warm season grasses greater protection from stress heading into dormancy. However, weigh the fact that herbicides in general stress St. Augustine grass when applying them as a component of your Winterizer.
–Rake, mulch, or bag falling leaves to avoid leaf litter blocking landscape plants’ available sunlight.

Stop by the Earth Works garden center for more information and assistance implementing our Florida Fall Lawn and Garden checklist. Get a free quote for aeration and top dressing and book a landscape design consultation today!

For newcomers to Florida be sure to attend our Welcome to Florida seminar on Oct. 21, 2022, from 5-8 pm. Matthew Barlow, Earth Works Garden Center Manager will introduce Florida newcomers to need-to-know gardening and landscape information. Enjoy appetizers and drinks while you mingle with other Jacksonville transplants and get all your gardening questions answered.

$25 Cover Charge. Tickets can be purchased at Eventbrite or in-store.

Take advantage of Fall Landscaping weather by booking your Landscape Design Consultation today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Pond owners using simple pond leak test procedures can assess the leak’s source and make repairs without having to call in a professional. Pond leaks can be expensive but are undoubtedly stressful for pond owners. Calm yourself, though, and consider the following:

Note: Before doing a pond leak test, realize that regular water loss is associated with evaporation. Expect evaporation to increase during the warmer months. And realize that the most common cause for concern over pond water loss is evaporation. Evaporation increases due to various factors, including temperature, wind, and elements of water feature design, including the volume of water pumped across the pond stream (due to shallow water exposure effects of temperature & wind). 

So you’ve ruled out evaporation and want to do a Pond Leak Test. Here are a few steps to follow.

Step 1: Do a visual inspection for any signs of water escaping the liner from debris piled up in your stream. Look for unusual wet spots, soft soil, and erosion that can signify a leaking underground connection or hose. Some pond owners include spitters for additional aeration that, when clogged, can cause water to leak outside the liner around where it’s positioned at the pond edge. Where appropriate, clean out debris from the stream and adjust rocks if it appears there is a blockage backing up water that is escaping over the liner edge. If you find low areas where water is running over the liner, raise the liner edge by backfilling with additional dirt under the liner. Water escaping along the stream is the most common source of leaks and is typically fixable by the pond owner. 

Step 2: Fill the pond to its normal full level and then turn off the pump for at least 24 hours to determine at what level the leakage stops. 

Note: If your pond is home to fish, you can keep them in the pond without the pump running if the fish load is small. However, you’ll need to provide them with supplemental aeration and monitor the water quality closely with a test kit. If you decide to keep your fish in the pond during the pond leak test, consider adding Aquascape’s Maintain product to further assist in keeping the water parameters safe. Otherwise, move your koi, goldfish, and other fish to a holding area such as a quarantine tank.

Step 3: Did the pond leak during the 24 hours with the pond pump turned off? If there was no further leakage with the pump off, skip to Step 4. Allow the leak-down to complete as the leak source will be at or below where it stopped leaking. Once the leak down is complete, inspect the liner at the water level edge for holes. Also, if the skimmer faceplate is in the zone where the leak stopped, check it as a possible leak source that may require resealing. Earth Works sells liner patches and sealant. If you found the leak and patched or resealed it, congratulations, you are done and can disregard additional steps.

Step 4: If turning the pump off stops the leak, then turn the pump on again and reinspect the stream and edge work and the seals where the liner is attached to the skimmer face plate and biofall filter spillway. If the leak is identified as one of the component seals, turn off the pump and reseal the leaking components with silicone and re-foam rocks if necessary. Then turn the pump back on and let it run for 24 hours to verify there is no leak. If the leak continues, move to the next step.

Step 5: With the pump running, begin digging to expose flex hose plumbing connections to the back of the biofall and skimmer. If you find no leaks at the plumbing connections, more digging out of the flex hose for inspection or running new lines will be required, which might be the point at which you will want to contact Earth Works for repair or a rebuild upgrade.

Book your Landscape Design Consultation today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. 

Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Meet Pam Poe, Earth Works Landscape Designer. Pam is an avid gardener with a passion for art and design. As a lifelong learner, her related educational background includes an A.A.S. degree in Horticulture & Landscape Design. Plus, Pam is certified in Florida-Friendly Landscaping with the University of Florida IFAS Extension, and is certified with the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association,
For nearly a decade Pam has worked in perennial gardens, garden centers, container design, garden maintenance, and landscape design.  “I love learning about new plants and trends in design so I pursue continuing education classes whenever possible. I enjoy the challenge of helping my clients turn their landscape vision into an  outdoor space they enjoy coming home to.”

The following are samples of Earth Works videos of landscape designer Pam Poe.

Booking your Landscape Design Consultation with Pam today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Earth Works Landscape Designer Jeff Melear’s passion for plants and turf has spanned his entire life, which led to his operation of not one, but two landscape companies in both St. Simon Island and Savannah, Georgia.
Jeff’s thirty-plus years of professional landscape credentials include A.A.S Degrees in both Golf Turf Management and Landscape Design and Grounds Management from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC).

Outside of his landscape design career focus, Jeff’s life revolves around his two amazing children of 8 and 10 years old and his love of woodworking, serving in church, and Georgia Bulldog football. Know that Jeff Melear will see your project through and keep you informed throughout the consultation, design, and implementation process. Contact Landscape Designer Jeff Melear by phone at 904-996-0712 or email [email protected].

The following are samples of Earth Works videos of landscape designs by Jeff Melear.

Book your Landscape Design Consultation with Jeff today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Earth Works, Jason Duffney provides information in the following videos answering our pond equipment and supplies FAQs (frequently asked questions).

Aquascape Pond Equipment Accessories: Jason Duffney explains Aquascape Inc pond equipment accessories that can be included in your installation or that you can add yourself at a later date. These accessories include the Aquascape Dosing System, IonGen, Smart Control Receiver, and Lighting System.

Aquascape Bacteria and Water Clarity Products: Jason Duffney explains Aquascape Inc products that improve the health and water clarity in your pond. These products include Aquascape Beneficial Bacterial, Maintain, Clear, and the Aquascape QuickFix Pond Gummy.

Water lily Transplanting & Care in Northeast Florida: Jason Duffney explains the basics of water lily transplanting and care here in Northeast Florida whether you prefer to grow in a container or directly in the pond substrate. Earth Works provides high-quality water lilies year round along with specialty pots for growing them and fertilizer.

Our Five Key Pond Components: Jason Duffney explains our five key pond components to building and maintaining a healthy ecosystem pond. We pride ourselves on providing clients with healthy pond systems that require minimal maintenance.

Pond Filtration & Maintenance: Jason Duffney explains pond filtration and maintenance in this video focused on the skimmer, which is the mechanical aspect of filtration.

Pond Pump Troubleshooting: Jason Duffney explains the basics of pond pump troubleshooting focusing on the most common problems that a pond owner can check prior to calling us for a service call.

Operating the Aquascape SMART Control Receiver: Jason Duffney explains the operation of the Aquascape SMART Control Receiver used in adjusting the flow rates of variable speed Aquascape pumps.

Check back regularly as Jason provides more pond equipment and supplies FAQs here and on youtube.

Take advantage of Fall Landscaping weather by booking your Landscape Design Consultation today by contacting us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

August gardening tips in Northeast Florida come after the passing of summer vacations with children back to school, the arrival of afternoon thundershowers, and sweltering afternoon heat.

August soil and air temperatures make it prime time for tree planting. Vitex trees, powder puff trees, Lil’Gem magnolias, crape myrtles, cassia, and bottlebrush are a few of the varieties available here at Earth Works.

Manager Matt talks in this video about a wide variety of trees available to buy and what to expect from each and their care needs.

Stake plants that need additional support for average growth and protection against bad weather. A few that come to mind include vegetables, roses, hibiscus, newly planted palms, and citrus trees.

Continue blowing and raking unwanted leaf litter off the lawn and out of the flower beds. Refresh pine straw used as mulch that, as it breaks down, adds much-needed organic matter to your soil required for healthy soil microbial action.

Deadheading flowers preserve plant energy for new growth and blooms. Otherwise, pruning in August should be based on the 4 “Ds,” which is to prune dead, dying, diseased, or damaged branches at this time. Prune Spring blooming plants soon after they bloom. Wait until winter to prune your summer bloomers.

Fill in patches of empty spots in your flower beds with new plantings or temporarily with other potted plants. Don’t stress the transition between your Spring and Fall flower beds at their prime. Enjoy the view. Consider our monthly container gardening recipes to spur your ideas on what to grow and display now and in the coming seasons.

Closely monitor your plant’s watering needs specific to their growing conditions and requirements in-ground, new plantings, transplants, potted container plants, and indoor plants. If your lawn and garden irrigation timer run on manual settings adjust where appropriate as the days are shorter, and precipitation and temperatures vary dramatically daily. Be wary of fungal diseases from overwatering or watering at the wrong time.

In August, all the major lawn pest threats can be at the peak of their lifecycle in our lawns. These pests include chinch bugs, mole crickets, and sod-webworms. Garden pests during August include Thrips & fungus are typically a higher threat for roses than many plants risk from mealybugs, spider mites, and scale. Sooty mold covering leaf surfaces naturally grows on the honeydew secretions of sucking insects. Regularly have a person-to-plant meeting with each plant, observing its condition to stay ahead of threats to their health. Our garden center managers can make a solid recommendation for specific pest needs with your pest & plan picture brought to us at the garden center.

If you haven’t planted seeds by early August, you can purchase seedlings of your favorite herbs and veggies at our garden center. In August, gardeners sow carrots, beans, beets, carrots, kale, lettuce, and spinach. We have weekly shipments of select herbs and veggies including heirlooms in season.

“Fertilization” is a complicated topic often oversimplified. In comparison, some houseplants may get weekly balanced feedings while the turf stays lacking in nitrogen fertilization due to some county fertilization blackout periods through August and September to protect lakes, rivers, and the ocean as wildlife habitats from algae blooms. Palms, typically deficient in iron, manganese, magnesium, and sulfur, can be supplemented with Palm Nutritional by Southern Ag. Azaleas and camellias can use a boost in August. Heavy feeders like birds of paradise would appreciate periodic composted cow manure dosing too. The water lilies benefit from Aquabloom Aquatic Plant Fertilizer that’s slow release and doesn’t harm other aquatic life. In the following video Jason Duffney discusses water lily transplanting and care.

Gardening is a labor of love that gives back what you put into it. August gardening tips wrap with a reminder to stop and smell the roses. Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

For comprehensive solutions to your specific lawn, garden, and landscaping needs, contact Earth Works of Jacksonville online or at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Living the Aquascape Lifestyle is a passion for many and especially Nestor White, an Earth Works client who provides this reporting and testimonial on his pond upgrade.

By Nestor White, Orange Park

In 1999 my two sons and I designed and built three beautiful, connected ponds with four waterfalls where each pond emptied into a lower pond for a total of about 5000 gallons. The deepest part of two ponds was about 42” with shelf ledges around two of those ponds that would hold large pots with plants about 15” below the surface. We used over 30,000 pounds of smaller rocks up to about 14” in diameter with some beautiful flagstone full of shiny, mica flakes. The ponds were stocked with over a dozen varieties of goldfish and about 15 koi. Several years ago, probably because of the excessive number of fish for the size of the ponds, and the realization that we needed a better filtration system than just one skimmer-filter, we decided to completely remove the old ponds and start from scratch. Pressure washing all of that rock and tearing everything apart took about two years doing a bit at a time.

So, over two years ago, we contacted Earth Works to start planning some new ponds. Before we could move ahead with that project we had to complete a 400-square foot screen room addition with roll-up screens to overlook the new ponds. Before I continue I want to make it clear that this review was not solicited. After a 20-year Navy career as a jet pilot and maintenance officer, I had the opportunity to supervise thousands of fine young men and women. For the past 32 years, I have been a financial advisor and have a good sense of what it takes to run a profitable, successful business. The motivation for me to write this stems from my positive impression of the employees I came to know at Earth Works and the realization of what an amazing business it is. A great business needs inspiration and excellent leadership but most of all great employees. Anyone who has already done business with Earth Works already knows that, and I have experience with them dating back to 1999 when I first started my own ponds.

Earth Works only does a couple of pond builds a year that are as large and elaborate as ours. Even though I have seen the great display ponds at the store, I had no idea what was in store for us. Planning began with John Cacchione in sales who is also the pond designer. We met several times at our home and in his office. Long before construction started the youngest owner, Jason Duffney, even made a couple of visits to our property to get the general layout. We were SO ready after waiting several years and having our space so torn up waiting for the build that when Melissia Marinez, the landscape assistant, gave us the build date we were really excited.

The project was scheduled to take two weeks and cost about three times their average installation. In mid-July 2022, Tim Juror, the young foreman, showed up with workers, Patrick Smaglis, Ricardo Orta, and Antonio Santiago. They brought a tracked excavator and another forklift/bulldozer and had them on site for two weeks. Over that time, they must have hauled in about 90,000 pounds of boulders and rocks in addition to using every bit of my 30,000 pounds of rock. About every other day new pallets of rock and other materials arrived lining our driveway for over 100’.

The real genius for the build was Mike Quatromoni, the “artist”, with a background in sculpture and a degree from the University of North Florida. He is one of the premier pond builders in Florida with a keen eye for creating an appealing, natural-looking pond environment. This build was going to be different from our original pond primarily because of the larger rocks, but mainly because we wanted to create a large “bog” area. Water would be pumped in from the bottom of the bog and filtered up through different layers of rocks starting with large rocks on the bottom and getting smaller at the surface. Mike had the brilliant idea to build the bog beneath an upper pond instead of having an upper bog, a middle water lily pond, and a lower pond with the fish. Space constraints actually dictated this decision but he almost regretted it during the actual bog construction phase.

Here in Orange Park, we are on a sand hill like much of Florida. In our Foxridge Subdivision, we have some small hills. Mike was excited to do an install with some elevation changes and not a typical flat pond. As the excavator began to dig the bog, it was apparent that going so deep would cause some of the walls to collapse. What was originally going to be maybe 4’x6’ and about 8’ deep ended up being more than 7’x7’. When two of them were standing in the bottom putting in the piping and plastic crates, the rim of the sand towered several feet above their heads. Just filling the bog with rocks swallowed up at least 60,000 pounds of rock, not including the tons of large boulders around the perimeter. Dozens of cubic yards of sand had to be removed and hauled off by their trucks.

Watching the excavator’s “bucket” pick up these huge rocks weighing maybe 500-800 pounds with straps and lowering each one precisely on the pond liner where Mike decided to place them was interesting to watch and dangerous at the same time. One particular rock about 4’ high and 3’ wide and 18” deep was being placed vertically resting on the 18” base. It was teetering on the edge of the lower pond beside Mike, as he was alongside but mostly below the rock kneeling on the bottom of the pond. Ricardo had his foot on the rock pushing it at the top to get it aligned just right. I finally just had to walk away praying that it would not fall and possibly injure or even kill Mike. The rock finally got shimmed up with some other rocks under it and oriented at a safe angle. The excavator literally made hundreds of rotations lifting and moving rocks and soil around to complete the construction without anyone getting injured.

Twice during the build and once after, John Hawley, the photographer/videographer, came out to take photos during construction. One day, filling in for one of the other workers, Mike Oaks, the paver/service foreman, helped out with the construction and gave me some pointers on how to do the pavers in our new screen room.

I just can’t say enough about this crew. They sent their top, most skilled, workers. To a man, they were all professional, courteous, good-natured, and got along well with each other. There were NO slackers and everyone knew what had to be done and did it without any complaining. I did not hear one cuss word or any type of off-color comment. That REALLY impressed me! The weather was dreadful with most days running about 95+ degrees with high humidity. When it rained they just kept on working. When the job was completed they cleaned up everything as if they were never there. If I were an employer, I would hire any one of them in an instant and be happy they were working for me and not someone else.

After completion, there was a minor problem with some leaks around the edge of the liner. Their “leak” expert, Glenn Stanza, who does all of the pond maintenance, came out on two occasions and located most of the problems and fixed them. He was really helpful in providing information on caring for the pond, taking care of the fish and plants, and had a great knowledge of ponds in general. One day he stayed at our house until almost 8 PM until he had accomplished what needed to be done. The next day we visited the store and he helped us pick out some plants and fish. We also had a nice talk with Jason, the owner, who happened to be there.

We still had at least one leak, so Sean Duffney, Jason’s brother, who acts primarily as the field supervisor and general problem solver, came out to take a look. He located the general area and sent out Mike the next day who finally found the last liner adjustment to prevent any further leaks.

Although I have not met her, there is one person you might not like. Her name is Mandi Futch. She sends the bills! I’m kidding, of course. She is good at her job, communicates accurately and promptly but ensures that the company gets its pound of flesh from each customer.

Overall, I will say that my wife, Cathy, and I are extremely pleased with the finished project. We look forward to completing flower beds and landscaping around the pond to enhance its appeal. There are already hundreds of tiny black Florida toad tadpoles swimming around in the pond along with one large bullfrog. Several green tree frogs have been attracted by the water and start to croak and “bark” after dark. Watching our 40 small starter koi, goldfish, and mollies explore their new home is a relaxing pastime. The five new waterfalls provide soothing background noise and the 20 lights that were installed under the water highlight the fish and rocks after dark.

If you have been thinking about building a pond or want to expand or improve the one you already have, you can’t go wrong by hiring Earth Works. Check out some of their other services too.

We here at Earth Works appreciate the White family as clients living the Aquascape Lifestyle and for this detailed client reporting and testimonial. Photo credit to Nestor White.

For comprehensive solutions to your specific lawn, garden, and landscaping needs, contact us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions. 

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

Follow these tips for good drainage on your property throughout the year and to prevent flooding, structural, lawn and landscape damage.

–Regularly inspect gutters and downspouts. Be sure that all joints are secure and that there are no cracks or other sources of leaks due to damaged gutters and downspouts. Both gutters and downspouts can also be clogged over time with leaf debris and by plants and animal activity.

–Extend your downspouts away from structures. Whereas downspouts typically release water close to the foundation of buildings extending the downspout farther away reduces the risk of erosion and standing water close to those structures. This can be accomplished with a variety of materials not only actual downspouts but hard plastic and vinyl downspout diverters.

–Keep drainage routes clear. The drainage route consists of the entire distance from where the water is released from the downspout to the catchbasin which may be a local waterway tributary. “Keeping debris out of storm drains and ditches,” according to the Palm Coast Observer. “Reporting clogged ditches to local governments.

–Improve grading when required. Often times properties require elevation and slope adjustments as a result of structures being built in poorly draining areas and as a result of earth moving by the property owner and erosion. “Everyone lives in an area with some flood risk—it’s just a question of whether you live in a high-risk, low-risk, or moderate-risk flood area,” according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Find your property’s flood risk at the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Earth Works offers customized earth moving and grading to suit your drainage solution needs.

–Construct a creek bed or swale. On-site drainage solutions such as creek beds and swales have been favored among government officials for decades as a way to not only prevent flooding but to reduce hazardous non-point source pollution associated with stormwater runoff. Constructed creek bed or swales are aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly by allowing for the gradual percolation of captured stormwater versus contributing to runoff and erosion.

–Install and maintain a properly functioning French Drain. Named after Henry Flagg French, assistant secretary of the Treasury under Ulysses S. Grant the French Drain was first described in his 1859 publication Farm Drainage. “The 1859 book is the drainage world’s “Principia Mathematica,” its “On the Origin of Species,” according to the Washington Post. “Henry described various drainage techniques — the Deanston System, the Keythorpe System, the Wharncliffe System. He calculated the discharge volume of pipes of various diameters. He weighed the pros and cons of different pipe styles. And he recommended something that has helped many of us who live in constant fear of rain: an excavated trench filled with gravel in which rests a perforated pipe to carry away surface and groundwater. He called it a cellar drain. We know it as the French drain.”

–Install and maintain properly functioning channel drains around pools and outdoor kitchen areas. Channel drains are typically installed at a lower elevation between homes and swimming pools to collect and distribute water away from those areas. Contact Earth Works landscaping division to determine the proper dimensions required to adequately serve your specific drainage needs.

–Install a Cistern of Aquablox for onsite water storage. In coordination with property owners and local government agencies Earth Works is providing an innovative onsite water storage solution by constructing cisterns utilizing Aquascape Aquablox technology in areas prone to flooding. Contact your Earth Works landscape design professional for more details.

For more tips on good drainage tailored to your property needs schedule a design consultation with a member of the Earth Works Landscape Design Team.

Typical Earth Works landscape division drainage solution configurations include:
-GRAVITY DRAINAGE WITH DRAIN BOXES for points of collection and hard pipe (PVC or sewer and drain) or an ADS Corrugated Pipe to move water from the problem area to a lower outflow area to provide proper drainage. A transit or automatic level is used to shoot the grades and elevations to ensure that there is proper gravity flow. If there is no adequate fall, a sump pump drainage system can be installed to move the water out of the problem area.

-French drains to catch runoff and provide gravity drainage solutions. French drains can be connected to systems of various configurations and types of pipes.

-Channel drains are appropriate drainage solutions for pool decks, outdoor kitchens, hardscaping, and driveways. Connect channel drains to downspouts and route off the property with hard pipe to outflow boxes or connect into one of our custom drainage systems.

-Swales and cisterns are examples of options for onsite water retention required in many Northeast Florida counties due to the presence of environmentally sensitive ecosystems. We can also provide underground water retention with aquabloxs or a dry well if the soil is sandy enough. The aquabloxs could be combined with a pond or pondless water feature.

All of Earth Works drainage solutions meet federal, state, and local regulations designed to protect your property, safety, and the environment.  Our drainage systems are guaranteed to work and are warranted for 1 year on parts and labor.

For comprehensive solutions to your specific lawn, garden, and landscaping needs, contact us at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions. 

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.