If you’ve spent any time outside this spring, you already know that something shifts when the weather turns. We look at our backyards differently and begin to imagine the possibilities. It’s during this time that our team often hears: “I’d love a water feature.”
In fact, water features are on the rise in Lancaster County and are one of the most requested projects at Eshelman Mill Gardens and Landscapes. That’s because homeowners are investing more intentionally in their outdoor spaces, and water has a unique ability to transform a property’s atmosphere. The sound alone creates a calm that’s hard to explain until you experience it in your own backyard.
What People Are Actually Asking For
Right now, popular requests we’re hearing are natural ecosystem ponds, koi ponds, and pondless waterfalls. Our landscape designer, Lauren Engle, describes the trend this way: “There’s a real pull toward features that look like they’ve always been there — like nature put them there, not a contractor.”
Lancaster County’s landscape lends itself beautifully to this style. The natural materials and rolling terrain across our region make stone waterfalls and winding streams feel genuinely organic rather than constructed.
For homeowners with smaller yards or those wanting lower maintenance, pondless waterfalls are a great option. And for the right homeowner, a koi pond becomes something else entirely. “I’ve watched clients completely reorganize how they spend their evenings around a koi pond. There’s something meditative about it,” said Lauren.
What to Think Through Before You Start
Location, scale, and style are the three things we work through with every client before a single stone is placed.
Location should be driven by how you actually live — think: where you have your morning coffee, where you entertain, what you see from inside the house. The feature should meet you where you already spend your time.
Scale matters more than most people expect. A feature that’s too large overwhelms a space, and one that’s too small disappears into it. Getting the proportions right is what makes the difference between something you love for decades and something that starts to feel out of place.
Style should reflect both the home and the people in it — think: a natural fieldstone waterfall with native plantings, or something cleaner and more architectural. Neither is wrong; what matters is that the design feels honest to how you live.
“A water feature should feel like it belongs, not like something dropped in from a catalog.” – Lauren Engle
More Than a Trend
Water features aren’t going anywhere, and we think it’s because they meet a real human need. People want to feel connected to nature. They want a reason to go outside and stay there.
Lauren says it best: “When a client tells me they’ve started having their morning coffee by the pond instead of inside, that’s when I know we got it right.”
Interested in adding a water feature to your property? We’d love to chat. Contact our team at Eshelman Mill Gardens and Landscapes — sometimes the best projects start with a simple conversation.
Eshelman Mill Gardens and Landscapes proudly serves Lancaster County, PA, and the surrounding region.
