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BRADENTON -- It’s that pleasant time of year again when the great outdoors, or at least your yard, screams out for some tender loving care.

A tank of water lilies at Nature's Way Water Garden's farm in Bradenton.

If your neighbor, friend or relative has been hanging out a lot with their water garden then the idea of water seen and heard, and a few water lilies springing out from that creation, is a growing attraction.

 
But Greg Roy, a local aquaculture and water garden expert, says we are on the tail end of a three-year drought and the environment must be respected.

He owns and operates Nature's Way Water Gardens in Bradenton and the reason for water conservation is simple.

”I have children and we have to leave something to the future,“ he said. ”We can’t go through and waste the natural resources that we have. The world gets smaller every day – and as a result of that, we have to be good stewards of the environment.“

Roy’s an advocate for the future of the global environment and said if someone can’t get their mind around such a simple concept, then he hopes they would hope they would apply for additional education or relocate to a different country.

It's tough love for the environmentally insensitive.

”First and foremost, as most long-term residents are aware of, to impress these facts on new residents, we frequently run into drought situations in Florida,“ Roy said.

A pondless feature installed by Greg Roy is a terrific way to conserve water and preserve the environment.

For a state that has mainly two seasons, rainy and dry, water for water gardens and their features is beginning to be regulated.

He said that in Tampa there are imposed bans on operating water features to reduce the loss of portable water and to reduce evaporation.

”That in mind, we try to design any type of feature to be as conservation minded or oriented as possible,“ he said.

”Also, that is one of the reasons we have been pushing the pondless features over the true pond.“

Pondless features are contained in a much smaller area.

Reservoir capacity is diminished and, ultimately, water consumption is reduced, which is why there has been a shift away from traditional koi ponds.

Our image of a Japanese water garden in view through the kitchen window is shifting and there are a couple of reasons for that shift.

Greg Roy is an expert at aquaculture and water gardening and has managed his business since 2001.

”One is primarily water conservation,“ Roy said. ”Pondless features tend to be much more conservative on water consumption and lower the amount of evaporation.“

The next reason: maintenance.

”(There is) virtually no maintenance, which is very attractive to some people,“ he said. ”So you get the advantage of the visual of moving water, the audio of moving water, without having the maintenance associated with a true pond.”

Roy is originally from Michigan, but has adapted to the Florida milieu.

He’s worked extensively with the University of Florida, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of Agriculture and the Division of Aquaculture and has managed his business on the Gulf Coast since 2001.

”These types of agencies have given me insight,“ Roy said. ”By constructing my own farm from the ground up -- a large aquaculture facility -- I completely understand the dynamics and mechanics of constructing a perfect environment.“

Mix in his natural creative propensity and background in construction, and he said the experience permits him to build a superior aquatic system.

People interested in water gardening are moving towards ornamental features, as seen in this brightly colored pair of feeding koi fish.

Five years ago, Roy noticed that his customers wanted more ornamental concept projects for water gardening and were moving away from the edible aspect of an aqua garden.

Today, most people become exposed to water gardens through television shows or magazines. Typically, the water garden is an evolution that starts small, maybe handmade through resources from large home improvement stores, and then the water gardener becomes hooked.

Roy actually said they become addicted to water gardening and then they look for help.

”At that point, many people realize the need to hire a professional in the industry to realize what they ultimately want to create from a water garden,“ he said.

This is when Roy and his company step in to teach the consumer about the pitfalls associated with water gardening, which is his first priority.

Imagine a customer idealizing a water garden under an oak tree, which naturally has a lot of problems associated with the design. That's a vision a backyard hobby water gardener might not think over.

There’s a lot of special planning required for the imagined project.

”We have to make the system work mechanically, even before we worry about the aesthetics of the project,“ Roy said. ”Some people have an idea on how and where they want the project and it might be detrimental to the ultimate goal they are attempting to reach.“

Roy prides himself on constructing a water feature that will be very predator-proof, but more importantly that it will require the lowest amount of maintenance possible.

Nature's Way Water Gardens is a local business and their designs are predator proof and extremely low maintenance.

Listen up busy gardeners: He designs and builds the project to limit the service needed after the project is done and says you don't even have to get their hands dirty when the water garden, or pondless feature, needs cleaning.

He recognizes the joy and reward of building your own water feature and has been doing it himself for years, but warns people not to forget the engineering behind a well-operating, environmentally friendly water garden project. He is delighted to meet with interested customers each Saturday at the Downtown Farmer's Market in Sarasota.

”Do your homework first and it will be well worth your time to hire, even if it’s for consulting, a professional to consult with,“ Roy said.