All About Doug

Hi, I’m Doug Hurth and I am the owner of Hurth Waterscapes. I have been landscaping since 1987 and installing wonderful, natural eco-system ponds since 1999.  I got into landscaping by getting a job as a laborer for a local landscape company.  I was looking for a fun summer job during my college years.  After I finished college with a major in Industrial / Organizational Psychology I decided that I couldn’t trade in my open air workplace for a boring, stuffy office so I continued landscaping.  In 1994 I started my own landscape construction business, and in 2001 I decided to specialize in water gardens.

Construction

I have been involved in many different aspects of construction over the years.  I’ve managed building and landscape construction projects, large and small, commercial and residential.  I’ve been involved in designing and managing the construction of several custom homes, custom commercial buildings and every sort of landscape construction project you can imagine.  I’ve also purchased and remodeled several residential and commercial properties over the years.

Retail

In 2006 I opened a water garden retail store and in 2008 I shut it down.  I had borrowed too much money, tried to make it more than what it was and it just didn’t work out.  This was a very hard time and it took a lot of thinking and soul-searching to get through it, but I believe that I came through it better than ever.  I continued custom pond and waterfall installation and maintenance and also got into the life insurance business for a few years.  In 2014 Lisa and I purchased a just drive franchise and we are successfully running the just drive driver’s education school in Green Bay.  You can check out that business here:  justdrivewi.com/green-bay.  All in all, I’m having a lot of fun and keeping really busy.

Experience

As far as specific landscape construction projects, the list is quite extensive.  I’ve done it all, from small flower gardens and lawn mowing to large, complex commercial landscapes and everything in between.  I particularly enjoy installing hard surfaces such as patios, walkways and driveways.  I don’t do much concrete flat work, but clay or concrete brick pavers and natural stone surfaces both dry laid and mortar set have always been favorites of mine.  The work is creative, exacting and will last a lifetime if properly installed.  I’ve also always enjoyed installing retaining walls, both functional and decorative.  I’d say that I am definitely partial to the natural fieldstone boulder walls over the manmade concrete block walls, but I’ve done them all over the years.  I always enjoy landscape planning and planting.  There is something about installing live plant material that will grow and mature with a client and their site for many years that is very satisfying.  I’ll get into more detail about all of the other types of landscape work at a later date, but for now I’d like to direct your attention to ponds and waterfalls, specifically natural ecosystem ponds.  This is by far my favorite landscape construction work of all time.  There is nothing that approaches the creativity, beauty and natural satisfaction that comes with pond construction.  Here we go, on to the ponds.

The Wonderful World of Ponds

I became interested in the water garden industry after receiving countless, very intriguing and educational catalogs from the Aquascape Company.  To tell you the truth, I had previously advised clients not to install ponds in their yards.  At that time I knew very little about natural water gardens and most landscapers and excavators would simply dig a big, deep hole in the ground and let it fill with water.  It would shortly turn green and then they would be forced to install a fountain aerator and treat it with chemicals to help break up all of the floating algae.  What a mess!  The last thing I or any of my clients wanted was a chemically burdened, ugly nightmare in their backyard.  No wonder everyone put their pond way at the back of their yard, they wanted to keep that unsightly mess away from the house.  I was definitely intrigued by the thought of installing natural biologically filtered ponds, so I did a bit of research and read everything that I could find about ponds.  The more that I read regarding water gardens, the more educated I became regarding natural eco-system ponds and the more that I really started to see and feel the possibilities.  I realized that by working with Mother Nature I could actually provide clients with beautiful, chemical free water features.  Maybe I was on to something here!

The First Water Garden Style Pond

The first water garden that I installed was for my father-in-law.  He actually talked me into doing it.  I won’t say that it was perfect, and I often wish that I could re-do parts of it, but it is absolutely beautiful.  To this day, He and I still get many compliments on its design and beauty.  After the installation of that first pond, I was hooked on the beauty and relaxing lifestyle that water gardens could provide.  Everyone loved the new pond and waterfall.  I had never, in all of my previous landscape work, seen people react to and interact with their landscape the way that people did with this water garden.  I even had the neighbor stop over during construction to thank me for installing the beautiful, peaceful waterfall that they could hear from their backyard!  I knew then and there that I was on to something huge.  The neighbors thanking me for installing this pond just made me want to spread the beauty and enjoyment that a pond and waterfall can bring to as many people as possible.

More and More Every Year

After that first pond, my company started to install more and more ponds every year.  Now, many years later, the vast majority of our work is pond and waterfall construction and maintenance.  I am blessed with a strong back, strong work ethic, creative mind and many happy clients with beautiful yards.  It’s a lot of work, but I am definitely living the water garden lifestyle.  I’ve got several great ponds on my property that my family and I truly enjoy.  I’ve said for years that “Ponds are our Passion” and I mean it.  I believe that everyone wants a water garden; most people just don’t know it yet.  Through the use of this blog I hope to give everyone who is interested, the information needed to install a bit of paradise in their own backyard.  Whether you are a do-it-yourselfer looking for step by step details or if you are hiring a pro to do it for you, you’ve come to the right place.  I’ll give you all of the information that you will need to do it and do it well.  This isn’t going to be idle ramblings and speculations of book readers; this is down to earth details coming straight from the pro.  Give me the opportunity to introduce you to the lifestyle and it won’t be long before you will look back and wonder how you ever lived without a beautifully natural pond and waterfall in your backyard!

Thanks for reading,

Doug Hurth