Spectacular Waterfall - A Dream Come True

BY TODD ABRAMS

olleen Brannan

Cremembers the first time she thought about having a water feature at her home. She was at a restaurant in Chesterfield that had a small waterfall off the patio. She told herself that she would love to have one like that someday. Years later she and her husband Bill bought a house in Sunset Hills with a steep, wooded back yard sloping down toward the house. She thought, “This is where I am going to have my waterfall.” The first thing they did was replace the old railroad tie wall with one built from more solid and attractive stone. She also hired a company to build a waterfall. They dropped off stones for the falls, and never came back. The company that installed the stone wall said they could build the waterfall. They did, and it leaked. They rebuilt it and it still leaked. Colleen knew that rebuilding it again was not an option. They first contacted Chris Siewing, owner and principal designer at Nature’s Re-Creations, in 2016. On the St. Louis Water Garden Society’s Pond-A-Rama tour they had admired his projects, but never thought they could afford him. They also had often walked by Chris’s previous home and watched him build the extensive falls and ponds there. In 2020 they hired Nature’s Re-Creations, and the spectacular pondless water fall at their Sunset Hills home was completed later that year. Colleen said that it was important for her to let Chris execute his vision. “I trusted him because I had seen his work. From the minute he walked on the property, he knew exactly what he wanted to do.” And the result? Colleen says, “Our water feature is wonderful – we are thrilled with it. We put a picture window in our dining room to look right out on it. We enjoy it as much from the inside of our house as we do outside. We particularly like the natural beauty of it, and the sound is so soothing. I can work outside for hours and thoroughly enjoy it.” Chris says the Brannans’ water feature is one of the most challenging that Nature’s Re-Creations has ever built. It is 13 feet in elevation, and about 20 feet wide, with water dancing in raging, sheeting and cascading falls, some hidden in nooks and crannies that can only be seen from different angles. The huge boulders they brought in and planted in the hillside look like natural outcroppings of rock. One of Chris’s signatures is logs in the falls that, with the other vegetation that was already there, add to the natural look. There is one huge cedar log in the Brannans’ falls that took them hours to get up the hill. The pondless waterfall is pretty easy to maintain. Colleen takes care of the property herself, blowing out leaves and acorns a few times in the fall, and adding a few plants each year that blend in. She says, “It’s my hobby.” What would Colleen tell other homeowners contemplating a water feature? “I would tell them to hire the right person the first time. Chris did everything he said he was going to do. His team showed up every day and cleaned up when they were done. His quote was accurate, and we added some things that he came back later to complete.” “We keep our falls running 24 hours a day, and from the first thing in the morning when the sun rises behind the hill, my life revolves around it. When guests first arrive at the house and walk around the back, they are just knocked out by what they experience.”

CHRIS SIEWING is owner and president of Nature’s Re-Creations, nationally recognized as a Master Certified Aquascape Contractor, Missouri’s first Water Garden Excellence Member, first-place winner of the North American Pond and Waterfall Building Competition and in the elite group of Aquascape Artists of the Year recipients. Nature’s Re-Creations is the area’s leading designer and installer of custom water features. For over 15 years, they have been committed to high quality design, workmanship and customer satisfaction. Nature’s Re-Creations stays on the cutting edge of technology and installation techniques to continually improve their projects and the environment. To discuss a water feature project, you can contact Chris Siewing at 636-223-2330 or check out their gallery at www.Re-createNature.com or their portfolio at Facebook.com/NaturesReCreations.