They look like ponds, but these eco-friendly pools are made for swimming.
What if going green didn't mean sacrificing beauty? It turns out that eco-friendly design doesn't have to be crunchy — it can be gorgeous and sophisticated and come in any style. Perfect example: Proponents of natural beauty, Chris Paquette and his wife, Terri, of Hollis, Maine, have founded a natural-swimming-pool company, Robin's Nest Swimming Environments.
A natural pool does not use or need any harmful chemicals, and it looks like a pond. Each Robin's Nest pool features a defined swim zone whose periphery creates space for plantings. Paquette uses crushed rock and bare-root plants for filtration, similar to a hydroponic system, where water and organic matter feed the plants on a repeating basis. "It's like a perennial garden in the water," Paquette notes. These breathtaking forms, which look more like works of art than pools, are designed using indigenous plant life, most often already in place, along with other flora the customer prefers.
Paquette got into this line of work when he decided he had "much more fun playing in the dirt" than working in an office, and he began installing water features, like gardens and fountains, for local residences. This led him to develop one-acre ponds and then large-scale waterfalls at resort communities all over New England. His customers started asking for pools, and his business was born.
Differentiating Robin's Nest from some of the other companies that have begun to install these natural pools is the use of variable-speed-drive pumps. They allow the pump to be slowed down to about one-eighth the energy cost of a regular pool pump while slowing the pump itself by only 50 percent. "However, most important," says Paquette, "we build out of respect for the natural world, our customer and the future we wish to have for our children. Our intentions are to help heal all the above through composition of natural elements, using all of our senses as bearing."
Paquette loves his work, but it isn't without its short- and long-term challenges. He's careful not to waste water through poor construction, and he controls the pH with a precise balance of table salt and baking soda. "You just don't need the chlorine," Paquette says. Once people can give up chemicals and embrace a more natural approach, these pools could become standardized in the United States (they've been building them in Europe for more than 25 years). "Getting past the laws, codes and regulations governing pool installation will be the biggest hurdle," laments Paquette.
Paquette to relocate so they would surround and feed her pool. Avery's pool is Paquette's largest to date, measuring 30 feet by 50 feet. "Every time we swim, we're swimming in a garden," Avery says with a smile. "Truth be told," laughs Paquette, "she built it for her dogs; they even have a special entry and exit." The pool is safe for Avery and her pooches because of the closed-loop system and healthy bacteria that is added to the pool once a week in lieu of chlorine and other chemicals.
Not only safe and stunning, the pools save energy and conserve water. Paquette has devised a way to capture rainwater from the roofs of homes, allowing it to flow into a filter canister and then into the pool. The pools can also irrigate one's lawn and other gardens, eliminating the need for well or city water. By using variable-speed-drive pumps that control the pace at which the water flows, the pools increase energy efficiency, especially during the off-season. Terri, Paquette's wife, points out, "You can stand around one for 20 minutes and feel like you've been on vacation for a week." And what could be better than that, knowing all the while that you're giving back to the environment in your own backyard?
Commercial use would be the ultimate boon, contributing to two of the country's fundamental goals: energy efficiency and water conservation. With this in mind, Paquette is taking his message west, with his first stop in Sedona, Arizona. Without a doubt, installing these natural wonders is hard work, but as Paquette notes, "It's all worth it when you turn on the pump." That's when the pool comes to life, bringing enjoyment while preserving the environment — the ultimate win for "green." 207-727-3910, mygardenspa.com
TASTE & TELL One cool pool
Forget chemicals - a Buxton pair far prefers plants and critters.
TOM ATWELL September 13, 2009
The natural pool in the Pierce-Lanucha backyard provides a wilderness setting that fits well with their extensive gardens. Avery Pierce and Tom Lanucha share their swimming pool with birds, frogs and an occasional snake. The pool is a centerpiece of the extensive gardens on their four-acre property on the top of a hill in Buxton.
Pierce and Lanucha have a natural swimming pool, in which plant roots serve as filters to keep the pool clear and clean without the addition of chlorine and other harsh chemicals.
From a distance, the pool looks like the kind of stream swimming hole you remember from your youth if you are lucky, or from old movies and television shows if you are less lucky. Water gurgles and splashes over a short rock waterfall, then travels over a shallow area with a pebble floor where water lilies and other plants serve as a biological filter.
It is only when you get close that you notice the walls located under water that separate the shallow filtration areas from the swimming area, which ranges from 3 to 6 feet deep.
Chris Paquette of Robin's Nest Swimming Environments, who built the Pierce-Lanucha pool, said natural swimming pools have been popular in Europe for years and have just started coming into the United States. He has built several of them and also sells kits so people can build their own.
Pierce had wanted a swimming pool for years, but thought a traditional concrete in-ground or raised pool would clash with what she calls the "eclectic, cottagey style" of her gardens.
Then, a few years ago, she was reading Garden Design magazine, which had a story on natural swimming pools. She was intrigued. The article mentioned Michael Littlewood's book "Natural Swimming Pools," and she ordered that.
Pierce met Paquette at the Portland Flower Show, where she had a booth for her Bunting Hill Arts glass jewelry and crafts business and he had a booth for Robin's Nest Swimming Environments.
Because the pool was being built on a hill, construction required hauling in a lot of rock and fill to create a level area for the pool. As a result, Pierce and Lanucha spent about $45,000 to build the pool, not counting the plants.
"On flat ground it would have cost about $30,000," Lanucha said. "That's about the same as a traditional in-ground pool."
Although it is a natural swimming pool, that does not mean there is no maintenance. Lanucha and Pierce said they have to add beneficial bacteria and digestive enzymes to the water and occasionally add salts to control the acidity. They also have to vacuum the bottom of the pool, which has a rubber liner, and clean the pebbles in the plant filtration area.
And, they have to keep an eye out for algae and mechanically remove it. They had to do that often during the pool's first two years, before plants in the filtration area had grown extensive roots. This year, it has remained pretty much under control.
"We were told it takes about three years for the plants to become established and really do the job," Pierce said.
The pond is created with a plastic liner and walls to create the swimming area, which is about 15 by 25 feet. A pump with four different speeds moves the water up to the top of the filtration area, where it runs like a small stream over the pebbles with plants and the waterfall to the main pool.
Paquette also creates garden swim ponds, which are similar to natural swimming pools but do not have the swim zone wall. Those will cost less than a natural swimming pool, because you don't need the wall.
The natural swimming pool kits that Paquette sells are listed on his Web site, www.mygardenspa.com, as selling for $12,950 while the garden swim ponds sell for $7,950.
When winter comes, Pierce and Lanucha leave the water in the pool but drain all the pipes. It doesn't take much time at all, they said.
"I really hate it when we turn off the pump," Pierce said. "I miss the sound of the water. We leave our windows open all the time so we can hear it."
Because they usually wait until December to turn off the pump, the pool freezes quickly. They could skate on it, but don't – they blame the work of shoveling off the snow.
On the outskirts of the pool, the shallow filtration space covers about the same area as the deep part of the pool. The plants are placed in pebbles rather than soil, making it a type of hydroponic garden.
Once the pool was installed, Pierce and Lanucha planted the area around the pool mostly by digging and dividing perennials they already had on the property. They have a mix of perennials and shrubs, native and non-native.
When I visited, the Joe Pye weed, echinaceas and hydrangeas were dominating and looked great, but Pierce said the garden is really at its best during May and June. We walked through the gardens, looking at a variety of plants. They have a moon garden, which they can see from the house. It looks great early mornings and evenings, and on full-moon nights. They have well-defined trails that lead to a pet cemetery, to the edges of the property, and to a tool shed with glass in the roof that serves as a small greenhouse for starting seeds.
They get a lot of birds and other wildlife. During the first winter they lived there, they had a flock of snow buntings, which is why they named the property Bunting Hill. On the morning I visited, they had a heron in the pool, and they regularly have other birds.
"We always have one really large green bullfrog, who we named Pickles," Lanucha said. They swim mornings, and on evenings they float on rafts and have a glass of wine, enjoying the serenity of being in a quiet, wilderness setting in their backyard.
"I love the feel of the water," Pierce said. "It's warm and so clean, and you just feel great when you get out."
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