SplashDown 2012

Each year, Water Garden News looks back at the events, trends and developments of the past year and highlights some of the most significant ones and those most likely to matter in the new year and beyond. This is a countdown of the 10 most significant happenings in 2011.

 10. Koi Growth

The U.S. koi industry continues to show signs of strength with Kodama Koi Farms and KoiPondFever.com making capital investments last year. Kodama, a Mililani, Hawaii-based fish farm specializing in thoroughbred koi from Japan’s Niigata Prefecture, is opening a sales and distribution center in Saddle River, N.J. to better serve customers in the Northeast. The new center, which is slated to officially open this spring, means customers no longer have to travel to Hawaii to see the koi, not to mention less-expensive shipping costs, said general manager Hidekazu Kiyono.

Several koi and goldfish breeders expanded their operations. (Courtesy of KoiPondFever.com)

After completing construction of spawning and indoor hatching facilities in late 2010, Ozark Fisheries celebrated 2011 with the relaunch of its website, www.ozarkfisheries.com. 

9. Birding Bonanza

Despite the box office flop of The Big Year, the backyard birding industry continued to expand in 2011 and appears poised to continue that trend, especially as baby boomers retire and look for new hobbies.

As always, there was a flurry of new birdhouses, birdfeeders and accessories to hit the market as well as promotional activities. Droll Yankees, for example, launched a line of American Hands U.S.-made birdfeeders and a “movie night” promotion.
 
Meanwhile, “Birdman” Mel Toellner continued to build his birding empire, most recently with the acquisition of Looker Products by Songbird Essentials. The big deal of the year might have been Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. entering the birding market with its acquisition of Birdola birdseed-cake producer Seed Resources LLC of Grand Rapids, Mich.

The backyard birding industry had a strong showing at the Atlanta International Gift and Home Furnishings Market last January with 65 birding and backyard nature exhibitors participating. Host AmericasMart was so pleased with the showing it included a section in its July market and will reprise the event at January’s market.

As to The Big Year, with a star cast featuring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson, don’t be surprised if it gains new life in the home DVD market. After all, many backyard birders like to watch their birds at home.

8. New Society

The International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society shifted in a new direction following a logo change and a leadership shakeup.

The hand-drawn, monochrome waterlily logo of old gave way to a computer-generated logo depicting a pink waterlily overlaid on a blue globe.

Then-president Jim Purcell said the new logo reflects the society’s passion for waterlilies and water gardening as well as its international reach.

At the IWGS’ annual symposium in China, a group of board members attempted to oust board members Jennifer Zuri, Kip Northrup, Lorenzo Caum and Steve Stroupe, but did so in violation of the organization’s by-laws. The board reinstated the foursome and voted Zuri, marketing communications manager for St. Charles, Ill.-based Aquascape Inc., as the organization’s new president.

The board plans to overhaul the IWGS’ annual waterlily competition as it moves from the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham, N.C. to the Denver Botanic Gardens in Denver, Colo.

7. Texas Tango

Thanks to a revolt led largely by Rolf Nelson of Nelson’s Water Gardens & Nursery, Texas backed off its plans to develop a so-called “white list” of aquatic plants approved for sale in the state.

The concept, an effort to protect the state’s natural habitat from invasive species, proved challenging to implement and would have resulted in many non-problematic and commercially important aquatic plants in being banned — simply because it is much easier to prove one’s guilt (i.e., a plant definitely caused invasive problems) than one’s innocence (a plant posed no such risk at all).

Of course, it helped that the state’s energy industry, which is interested in algae as a possible biofuel source, would have joined the fight if Nelson and the Texas Nursery & Landscape Association did not prevail.

For now, Texas has reverted to the “black list” approach and restricted sales of those plants highly prone to be invasive in the state.

Fire and water reign as popular outdoor decor products. (Courtesy of Alpine Corp.)

Nearly 95 percent of landscape architects said fire pits and fireplaces were somewhat or very popular with their clients, second only to outdoor lighting, according to the American Society of Landscape Architects’ 2011 Residential Trends Survey. Other heat-related items: grills (93.8 percent) and outdoor heaters (44.4 percent).

While the survey did not ask specifically about purely decorative flames (as part of a water feature or other art element), it ranked the popularity of ornamental water features and fountains high: from 77.5 percent as a structure to 81 percent as a landscape/garden element to 84.7 percent as an outdoor recreation amenity.

Owners continue to seek ways to enjoy their homes and the outdoors longer and, as evidenced at landscape and pond shows throughout the year, manufacturers are heating up in response. From outdoor fireplaces to heat lamps to fire-and-water features to fire décor, consumers have a bevy of designs, materials and price points to choose from.

Among those offerings, Alpine Corp. debuted several fire and water fountains and ceramic firepots early in the year while The Outdoor GreatRoom Co. and LTL Home Products focused on fire bowls and other decor. Pride Family Brands had to add a production shift just for fire pit production after introducing its new Castelle aluminum fire pits in September.

Still, if you play with fire, you could get burned … at least in Laguna Beach, Calif. The town opted to ban tiki torches and portable fire pits and otherwise regulate outdoor fireplaces and barbecues for fire safety reasons.

Aquaponics represents an emerging trend. (Courtesy of The Aquaponic Source)

As people focus more on growing their own plants as food and urban farms surge in popularity, interest in hydroponics and aquaponics continues to grow and manufacturers increasingly offer products tailored for hydroponic and aquaponic use.

Last year, Danner Mfg. launched its Supreme Hydroponics line including nutrients, lamp fixtures and pumps as well as hydroponic-specific merchandise displays. Franklin Electric's Little Giant magnetic-drive pumps also are marketed for use in hydroponic gardening.

Acquisition is another route to the market. Aquatic Eco-Systems of Apopka, Fla., acquired Green Sky Growers of Winter Garden, Fla., in June, with the intention of continuing the hydroponic and aquaponic operations started by Green Sky founder Bert Roper, including using Green Sky’s rooftop site for food production and as a learning facility for clients from around the world. It also published a 96-page “Ponics” specialty catalog listing more than 7,500 products.

Education is becoming more structured in the field, with the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and manufacturer Nelson and Pade Inc. of Montello, Wis., co-developing a semester-long aquaponics course through the university’s continuing education program. That course debuts in March and could blossom into a college-level minor or major someday, according to Rebecca Nelson. Nelson and Pade also offers 3-day workshops on the topic.

Similarly, Aquaculture International Inc., a nonprofit organization, plans to host aquaponics training workshops in the United States and around the world this year.

4. Bountiful Rainwater Harvest

Rain garden installations edged closer to the mainstream with a slew of new products in the marketplace and companies donating rainwater harvest, reuse and recycle projects to public and charitable organizations.

Complete Aquatics of Sellinsgrove, Pa., launched a line of Sustainrain Rain Garden Kits in 125-, 625- and 1,250-gallon capacities and a Sustainrain filter basin, and Saving Rain LLC of Plainfield, Wis., released a rainwater diverter unit.

Manufacturers including Complete Aquatics, Aquascape Inc. and EasyPro Pond Products of Grant, Mich., donated rain gardens for installation at schools and other public areas across the United States and as far away as Belize.

Though the market currently is being driven by public policy and social consciousness instead of economics, contractors say the market for rainwater harvest, recycle and reuse is on the cusp of exploding, especially as a solution in areas with major flooding issues.

3. Snow Jobs

When pond professionals stress about the weather, it's often about drought (and draconian water restrictions) or too much rain (and not enough gardening time). Last year, snows and blizzards tested the resiliency of many in the market, notably Aquascape Inc. and Pondliner.com. In Aqualand, the challenge was a collapsed warehouse roof and dealing with logistical challenges of keeping orders shipping and the disruption to a minimum. No doubt the collapse diverted significant resources (money and time) that Greg Wittstock would have preferred been spent growing the business.

Pondliner.com saw only a slight dip in attendance to its annual Water Garden Expo after a last-minute postponement due to blizzard-related travel restrictions. This year’s 7th annual expo is slated for Feb. 9-10 in Shawnee, Okla., weather permitting.

This year also will be a chance for the National Association of Pond Professionals to regain momentum from the 2010 event as it heads to Las Vegas at the end of February. The association scrapped plans for its 2011 trade show and conference due not to inclement weather but to a scheduling snafu.

2. Association Makeover

The International Professional Pond Contractors Association made several significant changes this year, starting with a name change to the International Professional Pond Companies Association. The name change was designed to reflect “the inclusive nature of the association, its membership and its mission statement” since many in the industry thought the association was open to contractors only.

Board changes included naming John Olson, CEO of Graystone Industries Inc., as IPPCA’s interim president; Dave Ouwinga, owner of EasyPro Pond Products, as vice president; and Max Taylor, owner of Magnolia Ponds, Pools and Water Gardens, as incoming executive vice president, adding these advisory board members: Randy Stewart, division manager of Unit Liner Co.; Kent Wallace, owner of Living Water Solutions; James Lavery, director of internal sales and marketing and rainwater harvesting specialist at Atlantic Water Gardens; and Eric Triplett, founder and CEO of The Pond Digger Inc.

Normally held in Atlanta, the 7th annual Info Tanza educational conference moved to the West Coast and was held Nov. 5-7 in conjunction with the Irrigation Show in San Diego. The new location was accompanied by an increase in conference attendance to 96 individuals from 25 attendees in 2010.

The association also became an affiliate organization of the Western Landscape and Nursery Association and plans to help bring a pond industry presence to the annual National Green Centre Expo scheduled for Jan. 8-9.

Pond professionals are seeking out and providing more forums for peer-to-peer education. (Courtesy of Stephanie Brown/BowTie Inc.)

Throughout the year, continuing education opportunities rose up from schools and associations to roundtables, focus groups and social media — with an increased emphasis on less formal, peer-to-peer training and information swaps. Pond professionals are using free online forums more for networking, discussing and learning from one another. From the Savio Water Feature Institute’s purely educational group on LinkedIn to The Waterscape Collaborative, a contractors-only group on Yahoo, contractors and others are creating and using venues to ask pond and water garden industry questions and get answers from each other and from manufacturers on a personal level.

The social activity was not limited to the Internet. Eric Triplett, owner of The Pond Digger Inc., began hosting monthly Pond Contractor Focus Group sessions last year at his headquarters in Yucaipa, Calif. He started the group to provide pond contractors a dedicated focus group of their own with regular but relatively informal meetings on various business topics. The idea is for pond and water garden business owners to learn and grow with peer-to-peer support. Similarly, Aquascape Inc.’s Pondemonium event went beyond educational seminars to include more than 60 roundtable discussions led by pond contractors and retailers.

The bottom line is to always keep learning.

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SplashDown 2012

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