Welcome to the joys of building a pond. I have the Savio compact skimmer (because of it's size). I used a 2" bulkhead fitting in the bottom of the skimmer in that space between the filters and the back of the skimmer. I use a small threaded filter in this bulkhead fitting in the skimmer--just in case small fish came through the skimmer I don't want them in the pump. From the bulkhead I have a short piece about 3" of ABS, then a 90 to bring the pipe up again before going into the pump house. My skimmer and pipework is only about 18" away from the pump. 2" ball valve then a wye as joins the line from my sc. My valves are Ipex valves (given to me by a friend) so have quick disconnects for the pump. I glued the fitting that comes with the skimmer for a submersible pump into the skimmer. The one problem I have with my new pump is that I can no longer run skimmer only when shutting down the sc for water changes. The skimmer draws down too much and the pump wasn't getting enough water. So that might have to be something you calculate for in sizing your pump. In my case I would have to be drawing water from another source-perhaps a midline point but don't have space for any more prefilters before the pump. I also don't have my bd plumbed into the skimmer--someone else will have to advise you on this and draw down issues. If you do a search on this site there are instructions for installing the Tetra bd. If you rock the bottom of your pond there really isn't much point in the bd as it just won't work. The knife valve is to shut off the flow to the pump and or sc for maintenance. Ball valves are usually used to control the flow of the water. Leaf trap/priming pot even if external pump is in ground is a good idea. I didn't have one and found out the hard way when filter floss got wrapped around the pump. If I had a leaf basket it would have got caught in there. Also the Savio waterfall filters are expensive. A skippy type filter would give you more filtration at about 1/3rd the cost.

We have one of those nurseries in my area, surrounded by homes of the Rich and Famous, replete with private golf clubs, tennis courts, etc., etc. Their indoor sales area is about as large as the outdoor garden sales area and features hundreds of potted tropical & houseplants, every conceivable size and design of ornamental pots and garden knickknacks, plus a bookstore, stocked only with garden related tomes. Outdoors, there is a large garden railroad and a huge Koi pond, which, during the summer season, is decorated like a jungle. Huge selections of annuals, many trees & shrubs, but slim choices for the perennial gardener. They have an affiliated company, that performs landscape design, installation & maintenance, so I suppose they stock what is mostly used in that business. Within the building, there is a large conference room, that will accommodate about 100 people, which is available, free of charge, to garden clubs and plant societies. Aside from attending many meetings there each year, it's always a treat for me to browse through the sales areas, while munching on a bag of popcorn, which is also free, from an antique popcorn machine. They offer discounts to groups that meet there regularly, but even so, everything is still terribly expensive, except when they have a clearance sale. The company has been in business for more than 100 years and started as a seed store, later branching into a catalog mail-order business, which was terminated several years ago. I suppose, that in certain locations, there is a niche market for that type of business, but it surely isn't a mainstream nursery that most gardeners would frequent!

WHen I was a tiny girl there was an old Dr W Van FLeet rose blooming out in the middle of one of our pastures. It was supported by a timber framework in the shape of a box and spilled out so huge around me as a tiny 3 yr old. PArtly I remember because I have a photo of my 5 yr old brother and myself in front of it, but I really think I remember the sense of wonder at its thousands of blossoms as gently pink and fragrance as a new baby's skin. Later, when Dad sold the work horses and bought a tractor he moved the roses to an area along a creek that ran through a grove of seedling damson plums. As a teenager, it was my special get away place, just out of sight of the house if one sat down the bank near the water, which babbled along over the stones. THe plum trees were magic in spring when they were a cloud of pale pink, then followed by the rose, which must have climber huundreds of feet through the trees. I can still remember looking up at the puffy clouds moving through the blue sky and thinking the pale fragrant roses were among the most beautiful things on earth! And yes, I have one now that I started as a cutting from a friend's mother after Dad purposely killed the rose and cut down the plum trees. (He was a farmer who fought "wilderness") Mine has filled the fence and now mingles with the grapevine and really needs to be tamed, but when it blooms I am in touch with the little girl still in me 60 years later!

Perhaps the question should first focus on the process and not the result. For me, gardening allows me to participate in the process of creation...specifically, the ongoing creation that continuously renews the natural world as well as those who take the time to notice. The subtle change in the angle of incident light as autumn approaches, the appearance of next year's flower buds alongside this year's fruit on a Dogwood, the almost imperceptible increase in root flare of a specimen tree...these are unnoticed by most and likely not appreciated by most even after it is pointed out to them. Is it more worthwhile to garden in the 'Japanese' style, or does that sentiment imply a sense of superiority of one's sense of aesthetics? Can the gardener who specializes in the traditional English garden, or even the homeowner who takes pride in his/her vegetable garden, realize as much satisfaction, or take as much pride in, or feel as connected with the natural world as does the 'Japanese gardener'. I would submit the answer in many cases must be yes. On the other hand, characteristics that a casual observer would interpret as a 'Japanese garden', such as asymmetry, subtle use of color, water and stones and the appearance that all this happened without the hand of man (or woman!) would more easily evoke the sense that the garden is a place in which to celebrate nature. The real afficianado/professional can chime in on the cultural traditions, religious metaphors and subtly profound wabi-sabi stuff and then half fill cyberspace discussing it. ;-) Which brings me to another point discussed on an adjacent thread. ;-) Does the Tradition suffer by the use of non-traditional techniques and tools? I think the answer must be...not necessarily! ;-) Does the Tradition suffer from this most non-traditional form of electronic communication and research? If you are reading this your answer must be 'no'. More efficient tools, whether it be the internet, a better pond filter or some power tool, enable the gardener/artist/homeowner to do more then one could otherwise. It remains up to the practicioner to see that the end result is acceptable. There are many similarities to bonsai design and development. Some are more stylized representations of the ideal tree, some are styled in a more naturalistic form. Some may have their deadwood carved with simple hand tools, some using a power die-grinder. The top bonsai artists in Japan currently have designed their own power tools as the art progresses. John