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Wednesday, August 6, 2003 Designed to splash, built to babble Bruce Gann
of Southern Lawn Designs makes water gardens By ELLIE WHITE-STEVENS
It has been said that the shoemaker's children run barefoot. Bruce Gann's children are often barefoot, sitting pondside with their feet splashing in the water. But he doesn't make shoes, he makes ponds, and his children enjoy the full benefit of their backyard treasure. The Gann home, in Senoia, is flanked on the left by a lovely display of cascading water. Their water garden begins with a waterfall. That lands in their first pond. It continues down a rocky stream, into a second pond, which meanders to a third. Bubbling into the third stream is a customized babbling brook. The pond is surrounded and filled with decorative rocks, plants in and out of the water and slate pathways. For 16 years, Bruce Gann has built his business, Southern Lawn Designs, on making lawns beautiful through irrigation and landscape services. His recent expansion into the art of pondmaking made sense. "A lady at church told me there was an artist inside me waiting to get out," he said. That art can be seen in the Gann's pond system. "It was the worst part of my entire property," he said "There were briars and you couldn't even walk through it." Tracie Gann, Bruce's wife, adds, "It's a getaway, an oasis in my backyard. Together, we'll watch the underwater lights come on at night." For Bruce Gann, family togetherness is a major plus to the pond experience. "I believe it provides people with quality of life. It's a way away from the stress of work," he said. "Families will spend less time in front of the T.V. and more time together when they have a place of beauty to gather around." But he is not into creating more work for a homeowner. "It's almost maintenance free. Once it's built, you add good bacteria and enzymes twice a month. There's no chlorine. There's an easy to clean basket-style filter. " "It's the perfect ecosystemplants, fish and water," said Tracie Gann. "People say it's relaxing. There's an older couple that's named their fish they have koi. Other families will race home from work, so that they can feed the fish." "And it's the number one added-on home improvement, according to USA Tody," said Bruce Gann. He believes it's a great thing to do to add value and enjoyment to a home. A Southern Lawn Designs water garden comes as a package. It includes a pump and filtration system; basic electrical wiring; stone to build the pond, including river rock and boulders; a basic landscape package, a number of plants to correspond with the size of the pond; and cypress mulch to finish the look. The 6' x 8' pond starts at $4095. Streams are sold by the foot to connect waterfalls or multiple ponds. As an established family business, Southern Lawn Designs offers financing. The Gann's are convinced that someone just needs to see their water garden, or the DVD and catalog they send to inquirers to believe the difference a pond can make in a backyard. Call Southern Lawn Designs at 770-599-0404 for a free estimate, more information or to schedule a Pond Walk (Fridays and Saturdays in August).
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