Posts

Aquascape Streaming Online Training

Some great training coming from our partners at Aquascape next week!

They’re taking their in-person Aquascape Academy that they run once a month in the winter and streaming it live, for free, for the next two weeks and on recording until the end of the month.

As someone who has benefited greatly from Greg Wittstock empowering his team to share their best practices with us during our 10 years as an Aquascape Distributor, I would strongly encourage you to take advantage of this – even if you don’t install water features as part of your business right now.

No travel required!

You can download the agenda and get the streaming/call info here.

Three High Impact Weekend Yard Projects

As published in August issues of Neighbours Magazines

Could your yard use a little spruce up? Maybe you’ve just developed your yard and need to finish it off. Here’s three yard projects that we can help you out with to push your yard over the edge:

 

Add a Splash of Colour with Decorative Rock or Mulch

If your shrub beds are looking a little drab, the easiest way to breathe new life into them is by adding a rich coloured decorative rock or

mulch. Black Rundle Rock is one of the most popular items we carry, but you can also hit other colour notes with our various sizes of Rainbow Rock or Purple Sparkle. Or if you fancy something a little lighter to shovel and more comfortable under foot, we also offer a variety of recycled rubber mulch products in black, red, brown, and even green. Either way you go, a top up on your ground cover adds colour contrast to your grass, plants and other aggregates and helps choke out weeds. You’ll want to make sure you’re adding at least three inches of depth in combination with some good quality landscape fabric to achieve your best weed control.

Soothing Water Features

A fountain, bubbler, pond, or pondless waterfall adds another dimension of sound and visual focal point to your outdoor space. There are so many design options available in a variety of different sizes to fit every space. Focus on high impact areas like your front entrance or backyard patio. Maximize your enjoyment by locating it in a spot that’s visible and/or audible from windows. We have several different water features to choose from to fit your design style and available space. Whether it’s a fountain that sits directly on your deck or patio, a bubbler rock or urn that disappears into an underground basin, or a grander pond or pondless waterfall, we can help find the right feature for you.

Let There Be Light

As we move into the fall, the days get shorter and the time we have to enjoy our yards become less and less. Low voltage LED landscape lighting is simple to install, requires little-to-no digging, and hardly uses any electricity. Your average residential backyard can often be effectively lit with 5-7 fixtures, some wire and a transformer that plugs into your outside outlet. That’s something that can be done on a budget ranging from $750-$1500.  If the idea sounds intriguing, but you’re not sure where to start, we offer on-site or in-store landscape lighting consultations to make sure you maximize the impact of your dollar.

All three of these projects can be done as a weekend DIY that we’re happy to walk you through. Alternatively, if you’d rather have someone do it for you, we can find someone to get it done as well.

Get started at www.TheRustyShovel.ca with a consult request, or visit our showroom hiding behind Staples at 680 Angus Street in Regina. We’re more than just great landscape supplies – we’re Landscaping Made Easier.

How to Build a Pond

Aquascape is our pond supplier of choice at the Rusty Shovel because they have simplified the pond building process with their 20 Products and 20 Steps philosphy.  With Aquascape pond kits, the same 20 products can be installed using the same 20 steps to make things simple, but the flexible liner combined with rock selection and your imagination will allow you to make your project truly unique.

The Aquascape Ecosystem

The videos below walk you through the process of building your own pond using Aquascape’s proven ecosystem pond approach:

Have questions? Drop in to see us at The Rusty Shovel (680 Angus Street in Regina), call 306-757-2227 or send us an email to info{at}therustyshovel.ca.

How to Build a Pondless Waterfall

Are you interested in installing a water feature in your yard, but concerned about the safety and liabilities of having a pond? Or are you apprehensive about taking on the responsibility of maintaining a full-fledged ecosystem? Well, we have the answer for you. Aquascape shows you how to use our BioFalls® Filter, Snorkel and Centipede to build a Pondless® Water fall feature. Watch this 7:26 minute video and learn how to install one yourself.

Have questions? Drop in to see us at The Rusty Shovel (680 Angus Street in Regina), call 306-757-2227 or send us an email to info{at}therustyshovel.ca.

We regularly stock the MicroPondless Waterfall Kits and all the components needed to build any size of pondless waterfall you desire.  And anything we don’t have in stock can usually be brought in within 10-14 days.

Concrete Fountains & Ornaments from Henri Studio

Henri Studio is one of our preferred suppliers of beautifully crafted cast stone fountains, birdbaths, planters, statuary and garden décor.

We have plenty in stock and on display in our showroom, as well as on our website where you can find videos of a good selection of fountains running to allow you to experience the full effect before you purchase. Visit our fountains section and click on the individual fountains to see more detail about each one and to view videos where available.  See an example below:

And if you can’t find the perfect piece for your yard in our showroom, check out the Henri Studio catalogs and check out some of the samples on their YouTube channel.  Take note of the pieces you like and send the part numbers over to us for a price.  We can special order anything that Henri Studio has to offer in a variety of different stain colours to ensure that your piece will fit seemlessly into your landscape.

The Henri Difference

● Innovative, original creations in a range of styles and sizes

● Handcrafted detail sculpted into every piece

● Premium quality, long-lasting cast stone

● Thoughtful engineering designed into every fountain, with pumps included

● Complete line of accessories and support products

● Expansive array of elegant Brass Baron bronze garden and pond sculptures

● Henri cast stone is made in America

How to Install a Bubbler Fountain

Have you seen those bubbler fountains around town that seem to just overflow and disappear into the ground?  Couldn’t figure out how it all worked?  It’s really quite simple!

With Aquascape’s Aquabasin, you can take any type of decorative piece and turn it into a beautiful, low maintenance water feature in just a few hours.  Whether you’re thinking about an urn, natural stone basalt columns, or something else unique, we’ve got an Aquabasin to get the job done.

The first video will demonstrate the installtion of the Large Aquabasin, which can support up to 1200 lbs and holds 75 gallons of water. The Small Aquabasin is also installed in a similar fountain, it just holds less water and supports less weight. A good tip not shown in the video for the Large and Small Aquabasins is to install a skirt around the perimeter in the basin with pond liner sloping back towards the basin under the surrounding rock to catch any excess splash that may occur.

The next size down in basin options is the Deco Basin.  The Deco Basin is a great economical basin option for lightweight features. It doesn’t hold a lot of water, but with the included splash skirt, you’ll experience very little water loss due to excess splash.

And finally, we have the Mini Aquabasin. If you’re looking for something subtle and affordable, the Mini Aquabasin features are perfect for adding the soothing sound of water around a patio, garden, porch, or walkway.

The best part about all these options is that the water is held underground and out of direct sunlight, which goes a long way in keeping the water fresh and algae free. Unlike a pond, you can turn these features on and off as you wish, which will save on energy costs and keep you from worrying about the pump running dry.  We’ve got a ton of decorative bubbler options in stock at The Rusty Shovel for you to have a look at, so feel free to stop in to spark some ideas!