Mesa couple goes tropical with a backyard pond
Landscape Photo
Now, instead of swimming laps, the McGehees dip their feet into their ankle-deep free-form pool with its cascading waterfall.
'As long as you don't mind fish nipping at your toes,' says Dana McGehee with a laugh. After all, the pond is filled with friendly, algae-eating orange koi. Surrounded by rocks and lush grass, with canna lilies growing from the center, hummingbirds and dragonflies are daily guests at the pond.
Its other visitors ' large, rescued tortoises (Timmie McGehee is a wildlife manager with the Arizona Game and Fish Department) ' wander sleepily around the flowering plants in their yard.
The landscaper who helped create the McGehees' backyard paradise, Lenny Clark, says the couple's no-pool-backyard request is a growing trend. Despite the idea that you can't walk 5 feet in Arizona without falling into a swimming pool, Clark estimates that at least half his Valley clients don't have pools in their backyards. Be it the expense, the upkeep or no desire to swim, many of his clients are asking Clark to make their backyard tropical, but to skip the pool.
'Most people want paradise in their backyard,' says Clark, owner of Kona Land and Water Escapes in Tempe. 'They want to get away, they want a serene atmosphere and they want to cool off.' After all, he says, 'we can't go to Hawaii or San Diego every time we want to cool off.'
For the McGehees, who are empty-nesters, there was no need to build something they wouldn't use.
'Our kids are grown. I knew we wouldn't use it,' says Dana McGehee, who adds that she and her husband wanted a water element. 'But we wanted it naturally occurring.'
So the couple laid out their ideal pond, and Clark constructed it, complete with a cascading waterfall that recirculates water 24 hours a day to give continuous oxygen to the pond's residents. Still, the couple agree that the cost and upkeep of their small pond is less than what it would take to maintain a swimming pool.
The backyard is expanded with huge wooden-lattice shade structure in the center of their yard that Timmie McGehee built with the help of his son. Seeing a photo of one he liked, the crafty handyman copied the design from scratch.
'I wouldn't say it was easy,' says Timmie McGehee. The structure provides a lighter, more intimate alternative to the backyard's main patio. At night, strings of lights illuminate the crisscrossing beams and the pond, creating an ambiance the couple say makes them feel like they're at a swanky resort. Their lush backyard was used for son Cory's wedding rehearsal dinner two weeks ago, including about 80 people who wined and dined under the desert sky.
The plants that Clark helped the couple choose include sissoo (a wavy, light-branched tree that sways nicely in the wind), orchid trees, hibiscus, bougainvillea and queen palms. Since the couple live in one of Mesa's orange-grove neighborhoods, they also have the requisite citrus trees near the back of the yard. Together, the plants achieve a color palette of bright pinks, reds and oranges for a tropical flair the McGehees love.
'The idea of this was lush and colorful,' says Clark. 'So we put in a lot of plants.'
A large part of the backyard is covered in grass, but they agree that the maintenance is worth it. 'The grass helps keep things cool,' she says.
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