Tickets, which cost $10, are sold at Exquisite's Upland
office. Proceeds are donated to Pacific Lifeline, a shelter
for women and their children.
‘‘I created the tour because I wanted to give something
back to the community, and at the same time put our name out
there,'' said Fontaine, who lives in Upland with his wife Teri
and their children Britini, Tiffany and Seth. ‘‘It's a great
idea because no one has any idea what's in someone else's
backyard. The tour gives them the opportunity to see water
features in yards both small and large.''
Fontaine's pond also is on the tour. He can't wait for tour
days.
‘‘The people who come on the tour are just regular people
like you and me and I love seeing their faces when they come
around the corner,'' Fontaine said as he started to smile.
‘‘Their faces light up and their reaction's like, ‘Oh my God,
I would have never guessed that was here.'''
Fontaine smiles a lot and is quick to laugh. He loves what
he's doing, but it was just a twist of fate that has him
designing people's back yards instead of adjusting their
backs.
‘‘I went to school to be a chiropractor,
but couldn't stand the
thought of being inside all day,'' he said. ‘‘I always liked
working with my hands.''
Fontaine worked a day job and started a landscaping
business at night. He used a lot of rock in his designs
creating dry landscapes and water beds. However, when he
learned of Aquascape Design Ecosystem, he wanted to
incorporate water features into his landscapes. Aquascape
boasted an innovative pond system, low maintenance because it
works with Mother Nature not against her.
‘‘The sounds of running water is so relaxing,'' said
Fontaine who's been installing ponds for more than 10 years.
He knew adding water features to his creative landscaping
would take his designs to another level, however, before he
started spreading the word about ponds, he experienced it for
himself.
‘‘I installed one in my back yard and watched it for a
year,'' he said. ‘‘It was great. These ponds really are
designed to take care of themselves.
To date Fontaine has installed more than 800 ponds, all
with positive feedback.
An average 11-foot by 16-foot pond takes about three days
to install, then a few months for the pond's natural ecosystem
to kick in leaving water crystal clear. The filter needs an
annual cleaning.
Landscaping around the pond is meant to be low maintenance.
Fontaine tries to stay with themes such as English garden,
woodsy and tropical that are maintained by a pair of shears.
Each pond is an adventure in originality for Fontaine, who
seems to bring a positive energy and laughter with him
wherever he goes.
‘‘Life in general is a blessing,'' he said. ‘‘You've got to
enjoy what you're doing. For me, in some small way, I feel I'm
giving back to Mother Earth by creating natural ecosystems.
Nothing relaxes you more than running water and in some small
way creating such an atmosphere is improving people's lives.
It gives me a great sense of satisfaction.''.
