Water Garden Wizardry with Ken Jones, the Prince of Ponds

Dr. Roy Yanong on Pet Life Radio

Ken Jones, my guest today, is a well-known and highly respected water feature and water garden designer, who has been in the aquatic landscape business for over 30 years.  Ken has been involved in many aspects of the aquarium hobby throughout his career and his projects have won Designer Showcase awards from the national trade magazine, Watergarden News. Ken also writes for many of the hobby and trade publications and produces and hosts his own television show. Most recently Ken began hosting the Prince of Ponds podcast and founded the Ornamental Water Feature Academy.  Join us, as we discuss the ins and outs of water gardens with Ken Jones!


BIO:

Born and raised in California, Ken has always had a propensity for nature and wildlife.  In High School, in the early 70s, he founded their first “ecology club”. In his youth he worked at some of the finest veterinary hospitals in the state over ten years, focusing on exotic animal medicine. During that same time, Ken created what became one of the first and largest volume pet sitting services in the country.  He went on to create a career of thirty years as a water feature specialist in the landscape industry. Ken has managed a custom aquarium showroom and maintenance service, a water garden retail outlet, and water feature installation and maintenance companies. Repeatedly, his projects won Designer Showcase awards from the national trade magazine, Watergarden News. Along the way, Ken founded an environmental education non-profit, and the Tropical Rainforest Museum, bringing conservation education to Northern California schools with over 1,000 school assemblies and exhibits.  He also served as the Earth Day Chairman for the city of San Jose for two years, received the city’s Volunteer of the Year award, and a Mayoral Commendation for his contributions to environmental education.

In recent years Ken has taken to writing about ornamental water features. His many articles and photos have been published in national and regional magazines, such as WaterGarden News, Pool & Spa News, Sunset Magazine, Flower & Garden magazine, and Ponds & Water Gardens USA.   He also began producing and hosting a television travel show about the Central Sierra of California.  His television show, Calaveras Gold, received industry awards for video excellence for two consecutive years, and was broadcast to nearly 2 million homes in three western states. It was also widely distributed on the internet.

Ken now, with founding the Ornamental Water Feature Academy, comes full circle as he uses New Media - audio and video on the internet - to share his water feature expertise with the water feature industry and general public.  His new Prince of Ponds pondcast covers all aspects of a wide range of water features, with tips for both the professional and the hobbyist.  He also enthusiastically speaks to the joy of water gardening