Welcome from Jan

When I built a pond in my backyard in 1987, it was strictly as a hobby. As a child in Michigan, I helped in my grandmother's garden and years later, when I purchased a house in New Orleans, I discovered a passion for gardening.

Once completed, my garden with pond and waterfall was such a showpiece , my friends encouraged me to market my skills. With a direct mail piece picturing my pond, and referrals from local nurseries, I started my water garden business. From then until my retirement in 2006, I had a career designing, installing and maintaining aquatic gardens. I was the premier water garden business in the southern region of the United States and the only one in New Orleans for many years. At 48 years old, I left my old profession as a psychologist and followed my dream.

I want to continue that dream by continuing to write about ponds. I have written in magazines, books and newspapers. It is only natural to continue this dream online. You will read about all the mistakes I have made, how I corrected them, how to fix them and how to avoid them. I hope to show my readers everything about ponds from how to build one to how to keep them beautiful.

Jan's Bio

You will find Goldfield's ponds at a variety of commercial and public spaces, including Bienville House Hotel, The French Quarter Inn, St. Louis Cathedral, City Park and the New Orleans Museum of Art. During NOMA's 1995 Monet exhibit, she even transformed the interior of Lakeside Shopping Center into a local Giverny by installing a lush garden and pond complete with an arched bridge.

During her pond building career, she was deeply committed and involved in pond and water garden education. She gave seminars in such places as Longue Vue House & Gardens, City Park, the New Orleans Nature Center, Hilltop Arboretum and numerous garden clubs. She has written articles for newspapers and magazines. It is only natural that she continue expand her writing online at Garden and Hearth.

Goldfield wants to share what she has learned about ponds. Because, she says," I have probably made every pond mistake possible, so I want to save you from making those same mistakes."

You can see some of her work and some of what she has learned at her website: http://www.pondlady.com  and at her blog at http://pondlady.blogspot.com

Jan Goldfield says, "Please feel free to write and let me know what you would like to read about. Or ask questions. I promise I will answer them all."