Natural Swim Pond

Our clients came to us with a desire for a natural swim pond on their pastoral property in Crozet.  Their original idea was to turn one of their horse ponds into a swimming hole.  They wanted to be able to swim in fresh water and not have to worry about typical swimming pool chemicals.  Once they saw the types of naturalistic water features we create, they knew they wanted a pond along those same ideas. Our clients also desired an outdoor entertaining space they could use throughout the year.  They told us to “dream big”…and that we did. Through various design exercises collaborating with our clients, we came up with the final design.  We transformed what was an unusable hillside into a beautiful water garden with meandering streams, cascading falls and 8’ tall waterfalls that all flow into the natural swim pond.  The swim pond consists of over 80 tons of boulders that cover the concrete shell and create seating areas, the planting zone and main entrance to the pond.  It is 6’ deep and is entirely filtered by plant material.  The surrounding plantings are mostly native and consist of different textures and colors that play off of the surrounding pastures and woodland areas.  The plantings help to define the various spaces while creating year-round interest.  Take a look at the below images to understand our process for constructing this unique project.