“Everyone wants a water feature-they just don’t know it yet,” says Scott Brown, the founder and owner of Damascus Enterprises, a landscaping and water feature installation business in Damascus. The Coans joined an increasing number of homeowners who are adding water features-ponds with waterfalls, pondless waterfalls and fountains-as they seek to transform their yards into outdoor retreats during the pandemic. In March 2021, the Coans launched Oasis Water Gardens and began designing and building water features professionally, a vocation that draws on and fulfills their artistic sides. Meanwhile, the couple also completed five months of mostly online training, along with submitting video samples of their work, to become certified as installers by Aquascape, an Illinois pond product company. One of their biggest challenges was “learning how to place rocks so that everything looks very natural,” Mike says. They learned by creating designs similar to those they admired, and also honed their skills by practicing at Ponds by Bee. They incorporated a malleable rubber liner that’s used by commercial installers, several waterfalls, a 15-foot stream and a firepit. About a month later, the couple added a larger and “more professional” pond to their small backyard. Online, he addictively watched pond builders in action across the country and also connected with Ponds by Bee Landscaping in Boonsboro, Maryland, whose staff generously shared their knowledge. “I suddenly found this entire world of pond people,” Mike says. Through the process, they also discovered they’d joined a welcoming community. With guidance provided by YouTube videos on how to build a natural-looking pond with a waterfall, some more hard labor, and the installation of a submersible pump to circulate the water, the couple soon had a water feature they loved. Gabby’s parents, who enjoyed two ponds at the home where she grew up, had passed along a hard-shell pond liner that they didn’t need, so Mike grabbed a shovel in April 2020 and dug a hole 14 inches deep in the backyard to accommodate the 3-by-5-foot liner. When Gabby was furloughed from her job as an event manager and Mike had to go online to give piano and guitar lessons, the couple decided to add a pond to their property to corral their energy and lift their spirits. Gabby and Mike Coan of Cabin John were hit hard by repercussions from the pandemic. They got certified in installing water features and founded Oasis Water Gardens to design and build water features professionally. At the beginning of the pandemic, Mike and Gabby Coan reinvented their backyard in Cabin John with two ponds, a stream and waterfalls.
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