About Peter J May, The Perfect Pond Detective

Here I am, Peter J. May, professional gardener, landscaper, garden designer, writer, illustrator and photographer. How do you get to be all these things?

Pond maintenance articles by Peter May

My experience in horticulture comes from ten years working as an Apprentice Gardener up to Craftsman Gardener and Deputy Head Gardener working in a large garden, which was run on the lines of a Victorian garden under the auspices of the University of Bristol Gardens Department.

The hierarchy and activities in the garden were virtually as they had been since the 1760s. This was therefore the perfect place to learn the principles of gardening.

Whilst there I was trained in tree work and I was then put in charge of a Tree Team to manage the extensive plantings on University properties.

In the late 70s we also repaired and replanted the historic Goldney Hall gardens that belonged to Bristol University, in order to present it to the outside world as it would have looked in 1769. This gave me my first large dose of landscaping proper.

In May 1981 I became self employed and set myself up as a garden designer/landscaper. I very soon fell in with a family that ran a small water garden centre some way out of Bristol called Blagdon Water Gardens. In return for designing and maintaining the layout of the centre, I would follow up any landscaping enquiries that came in.

So started a career in building water gardens that would tide me through the next 17 years. Here are some of my landscaping highlights: In the early days, I worked with Rosemary Verey on the establishment of a Knot Garden (after a 17th century design) at Dyrham Park near Bath.

Ironically this has been dug up now and replaced with a pathetic water garden. Nearly 20 years later, as a garden writer, I was the last person to interview Mrs Verey very shortly before she died.

The complete interview has never been published.

1988 I was accepted as a member of BALI (British Association of Landscape Industries) and soon became an active committee member for the South-West region.

Designed and built water gardens, scripted, co-ordinated and acted in an HTA video on WATERGARDEN CONSTRUCTION, which sold out several times over.

Consultation for Bridgmere Nurseries (the largest Garden Centre in Europe) on their water features at the Stoke National Garden Festival. Built two ponds for Central TV's 'Gardening Time' programme at Clack's Farm. I also appeared on the programme and became CTV's watergarden 'expert' for the programme 'Gardening Time' with Arthur Billet and Howard Drury.

Consultation and construction of various types of water habitats for the Sunday Times Conservation Exhibition on their own stand at Olympia. 'English Country Garden' designed and built for K.F.S at the GAFA Exhibition at the Messner in Koln, Germany.

Consultation and construction of the water garden for The 1991 Daily Express Garden at Chelsea. The project was co-ordinated by John Van Hage, for which he not only received a Gold medal but the ultimate accolade of the Fiskars Sword of Excellence.

Gardens and ponds built for CTV/Time-Life sponsored Video on water gardens for a forthcoming horticultural video library. ( Heavily budgeted video - now lost!). I was consultant on this project and landscaping director.

1995-96 Design for the Creation of a Heritage, Ecology and Water Saving garden in the grounds of Bristol Water Company's central offices, to celebrate the bicentenary of Britain's oldest water company.

At the 1998 prestigious BALI Landscaping awards, I received a National Award for the Bristol Water Water Saving Garden, for a mainly soft landscape construction under 1 Hectare.

Interesting pond maintenance articles by Peter May

Peter J May's Perfect pond maintenance. Planting and maintaining good water pond plants

Peter J May's Perfect pond maintenance. Your Water garden calendar

Peter May's secret to the perfect pond maintenance. Every pond needs a filter system this is why?

The Perfect pond maintenance, pond filters, water clarifiers and biological filtration...

Perfect pond maintenance for garden waterfalls, st.0.reams, pond liners and fountains...

Preventing fish diseases and viruses by maintaining perfect water pond

The perfect pond maintenance for cleaning ponds and conservation of ponds

1996, At the "Amateur Gardening Magazine" Show at the West of England Showground, top award (Platinum) for the best garden at the show.

1998. Tour of South Africa lecturing on Water Gardens sponsored by Focus Water Garden Products of South Africa - importers of water gardening equipment. I also featured on South African Talk Radio 702.

Apart from designing, building and planting the layout of the displays for a second and larger Blagdon Water Garden Centre that eventually became Europe's largest water garden centre, I have also designed the whole layout for two other Garden Centres in England and aquatic centres in Scotland, Germany and France.

Blagdon Water Gardens eventually became one of the major manufacturers in the world of all types of water garden products, many of which I was closely involved in their research and development. I therefore have an inside out knowledge of the development of the water garden industry and many of the products that are marketed by that industry.