Custom Water Features
Fountains, ponds, and waterfalls in Northern Virginia
A Garden That Sounds As Good As It Looks
Holloway Company designs and builds custom outdoor water features throughout Loudoun County, Fairfax County, and the surrounding areas. Each one is engineered as masonry and hardscape work: the basin, the stone, the plumbing, and the surrounding patio planned together so the finished feature reads as part of the architecture rather than an object set beside it.
Benefits of Water Features
You can build fabulous ponds in nearly any location of your yard, such as in the back or front, in the shade or sun, in the patio or by the pool. However, locating it in a spot that gets at least six hours or more of direct sunlight each day will give you an extensive selection of easy-to-care-for plants. Garden water features are often seen as the highlight design feature. An aptly built pond and waterfall can transform a dull body of water into a vibrant stream, full of activity and life. Not only is a garden pond waterfall pleasant to look at, but also the sound of falling water provides peaceful, soothing relaxation. Other benefits of water features include:
Water Aeration
Reducing Traffic Noise
Increasing Property Value
Elements of an Outdoor Oasis
Fountains
Ponds
Waterfalls
Bird baths
Fountains
A fountain is the most architectural of the outdoor water features, and usually the one meant to be looked at. It works in a space of almost any size, from a broad entry courtyard to a corner of a walled garden.
Cast stone fountains carry a classical weight that suits traditional and transitional homes. Cast stone takes fine detail well, weathers gracefully, and develops character over the years rather than looking tired. A tiered cast stone fountain set on axis with a doorway or a garden path becomes the natural focal point of the composition.
Modern water features work differently. A sheer descent spilling into a rectangular basin, a water wall faced in stone, or a monolithic basalt column with water flowing across its surface all produce clean geometry and quiet movement. These suit contemporary homes and modern outdoor rooms, where the appeal is the line of the water rather than ornament.
Wall-mounted and spillway fountains solve the problem of limited space. Built into a seat wall, a retaining wall, or a pool surround, they deliver the sound and movement of larger water fountains without claiming floor area. This is frequently the right answer for smaller gardens and courtyards where a freestanding piece would crowd the space.
Extraordinary Ponds and Waterfalls
Backyard Ponds
A backyard pond with darting fish, floating plants, and running water can transform a dull space into something breathtaking. Keeping it charming and trouble-free requires effort, but with a little extra thought in the design and construction phases, you can create a nearly maintenance-free pond.
Custom ponds are built rather than installed. The excavation, liner, edge treatment, circulation, and filtration are all specified for the particular site, and the stone edging is set so the pond reads as a natural body of water rather than a lined basin. Done well, the boundary between the pond and the terrace around it becomes difficult to locate.
Garden Waterfalls
Garden pond waterfalls look great when they are designed to appear as natural as possible while complementing the design and size of your pond. This involves creating your waterfall so that it blends in with the landscape, instead of something added as an afterthought.
A correctly built waterfall will become the focus of your backyard but should look like it’s existed for decades. Using natural boulders to blend the water feature and balance the surrounding environment.
Water Features Built Into the Hardscape
The difference between a water feature that belongs and one that was added is almost always in the planning sequence. When the feature and the surrounding patio are designed together, the stone is specified once so the fountain surround and the paving agree. Electrical and plumbing runs go in before the hardscape is laid.
Seat walls, steps, and planting beds are drawn in relation to the water rather than adjusted to accommodate it. Adding a feature to finished hardscape is entirely possible and we do it regularly. It means opening a section of the surface for the lines and rebuilding it afterward, which costs more than doing the work once.
Stone comes through our retail partner, Outdoor Living Way, whose stoneyard carries natural stone, boulders, cast stone, and the veneer used to face built features. Being able to see full pieces at scale before anything is set matters more with water features than almost anywhere else, because the stone is the feature.