Starting a pond and water garden society had never been heard of back in 1989 when I was starting my pond and water garden
business. I wanted to build ponds. A friend of mine had just opened an aquatic nursery and he wanted to sell pond supplies.
We decided to work together to try to accomplish both of our goals. We found another local nursery that had a mailing list
of its customers. They kindly lent it to us and we mailed out a flyer to every name and address on it saying anyone interested
in ponds or water gardens could attend a meeting at the New Orleans City Park Botanic Gardens. Our total cost was about $20.00.
Stamps were much cheaper then.
It was January and cold. Fifteen people showed up and the New Orleans Pond Society was born. We were surprised anyone showed up at all on that cold day. We sent out about 150 flyers and 15 people showed up. That's quite a return on a direct mail piece. It looked like we had found a market.
The aquatic nursery owner and I accepted a co-presidency only temporarily until a non commercial person could take over and the club took off running. The membership grew to over 150 people in less than a year. We had nominal dues of $10.00 a year. We used it stamps, if necessary, to pay speakers, at least a nominal amount and used the rest for our holiday party in December.
When to have meetings
Meetings were held eight months of the year at members' houses who volunteered to host them. Meetings were in March, April, May, June, September, October, November and December. Mardi Gras is usually in March, so we skipped that and it is so hot in July and August we skipped those as well.
Sometimes we had food, courtesy of our hosts, sometimes not. Sometimes we had catered parties. Those were unplanned benefits and unexpected surprises! Each city or club will find what meeting schedule works best for them Some of you in cooler climates might want to have meetings in July and August and not in the colder months.
What happens at a meeting
Each meeting, there was a speaker; maybe a pond plant expert, maybe a lighting expert, a landscape designer, a nature center worker, a master gardener or a filtration expert. We had fascinating people arrive as speakers and learned much. We got to see other members' ponds and how they built them. Each meeting the members brought plants that had jumped out of their pots and needed to be cut back or divided, so they could be traded for other plants. All brought plastic bags for treasure transporting.
Soon the members decided to organize pond yearly tours with their ponds open to the public. We charged a $20.00 fee for the two day tour and gave the money as a scholarship fund to a budding horticulture program at a local community college. We were able to give thousands of dollars away.
When the tour was not enough pond activity, the members built ponds at nursing homes, schools and parks.
Some of the advantages that the society got for its members were discounts at participating stores for anyone who could present a membership card. After that was abused, the person needed a membership card AND an ID.
I have mentioned only a few of the benefits of getting together with other pond keepers. Sharing knowledge is one of the best ways you can find out what works in your area for your particular problems. Here in New Orleans, we have not had a significant freeze for a number of years, so we have string algae or blanketweed problems that plague us all year, not just in the summer now that the algae do not die in the winter. By talking to other pond keepers, we can learn what is working for them to manage the problem. This is how I found out that pouring beer in the pond can keep those algae at bay.
And besides all the pond advantages found in joining a pond society, you will meet some of the nicest people around.
Find existing pond societies
There are pond societies all over the world. Here are some in the US. If there is not one near you, now you know how to start one. Chances are a nursery near you has a mailing list and will gladly give you a hand.
For a list of pond and koi societies, organizations and clubs all over the world, see
Water Gardens International
They have much more water garden information as well.
~Jan Goldfield
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