CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Anna and Pete Daily had an empty spot in their yard and a bad case of empty-nest syndrome. A 1,500-gallon pond filled both holes quite nicely.

Several viburnum bushes in their back yard had to be removed last year. That coincided with son, Brandon, leaving for the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.

"I left, and they needed a project," Brandon joked as he was home this summer between his freshman and sophomore years.

The Dailys are not new to outdoor projects. They have created a little Eden on their modest lot overlooking the city near Spring Hill Cemetery. A hillside garden leads to a flat spot where four Yoshino cherry trees grow.

"We planted those in 1994, when we built the house, so we could have hammocks eventually," Anna said. "The hammocks went up in 2000."

A deck with an overhead trellis sits next to a mosaic patio the couple created. The one thing missing was a water feature, and when the viburnums met their fate, Anna and Pete started to research koi ponds.

"We have two ecosystems here," Anna said, pointing to the series of ponds that fit neatly between the deck and a bamboo fence. "There are 11 small koi and four large ones. Two were gifts from neighbors."

Anna created habitats for the fish using 4-inch PVC pipes with glass bits and pebbles glued on using aquarium-safe silicon.

"The fish use them for shade until the plants grow in," Anna explained.

The pair agreed they have had an equal hand in the construction, but Pete jokes about the mosaic floor they created. When Anna said she created the floor, Pete laughed.

"She told you that?" Pete said. "When it came down to the hands and knees part, well ..." He trails off, smiling about his project-finishing labor.

Pond supplies, and advice, came from near and far. Bruce Foster of Landesigns, who created the hillside bed a few years ago, gave ideas on where and how to place ponds into the narrow, confined area. Tubing, lights, pump, biofilter, food, chemicals and many plants came from nearby Green's Feed and Seed. "One-man boulders" -- rocks that can be picked up by one person -- and Pennsylvania flagstone came from Peerless Block. Valley Gardens was the source for many plants around the pond, as well as great advice.

The Dailys were eco- and budget-savvy, using carpet from Habitat for Humanity's ReStore for underlayment as well as an old screen door that Anna turned into a mosaic focal point. The door is flanked with old columns from Stray Dog Antiques.

They found recycled glass for the mosaic projects ("bring your own empty bucket," Anna said) at the Kanawha County Solid Waste and Recycling Center. Many of the rocks came from the side of the AA Highway in Kentucky. The water and fish waste from the pond is recycled to water and to feed the nearby flowerbed.

A marble bench and "bottles of wine to take to other pond owners as we planned the pond" came from Drug Emporium, according to Anna.

Plants around the pond include a butterfly Japanese maple, black mondo grass, bergenias, buckthorn fineline, stonecrop, sedge, hens and chicks, creeping jenny, sweet flag, water lily, pickerel weed and Irish moss.

Black Japanese trapdoor snails eat the fish waste and algae in the pond, and they are not egg layers that overwhelm the pond. They survive harsh winter climates, as well.

One friend helped them immensely in the planning and research for the pond. As a gift, the Dailys took a couple of pond plants to the friend.

"Overnight, all of his fish -- 70 of them -- died," Pete said in horror. "It turns out, he was having pump problems, and there wasn't enough oxygen in the pond to begin with, and adding those plants depleted whatever oxygen was left. We knew it wasn't our fault, but we felt terrible!"

Before building their pond, they called the city to learn if there were any restrictions. A building permit wasn't necessary, but a fence was needed.

"Any body of water needs to be fenced, and the fence can't go over 6 feet in height," Pete said. They made theirs from bamboo.

"Bamboo makes noise when the temperature changes ... it pops!" Anna said. At first, she couldn't figure out where the sound was coming from, and then if it was an unusual occurrence. "I looked on the Internet, and found out it's not unusual at all."

The fence, however, didn't protect their pet dachshund, Kojo, from falling into the pond.

"He kept going after the fish. This past March, I kept hearing him bark. I thought Pete was out there with him," Anna said. "The bark was getting softer. I went out to find him, shivering, in the water. He doesn't go there anymore!"

Reach Sara Busse at sara.bu...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1249.