Pond owners can even swim or stock fish, creating swim-safe ponds where bass or bluegill flourish, he claims.

Because of a careful biological balance between flora and fauna, his ponds don’t need filtration or chemical treatments to keep them crystal-clear year around. Jesch even says they are clean enough to swim in.

“It was a happy accident,’’ said Jesch of his pond discovery five years ago. “I used to have an out-of-the-way nursery with no source of electricity. And I wanted to build a pond to raise fish in. So I looked around for an aquatic grass that could oxygenate the water.”

Valisneria is a native aquatic grass that looks like a St. Augustine lawn on the bottom, but is butter-soft and delightful to step on.

Jesch installs his ponds by digging a hole first, installing pond liner, a thick layer of sand, then the grass.

He has installed about 100 ponds so far through his Fountain Valley company, Designed II.

Each pond supports small subtropical fish such as mollies, swordtails and minnows that are wonderfully colorful against the chartreuse-green grass. Besides being pretty to watch, the fish are part of the biological cycle that feeds the grass, and they also prevent mosquito problems. That’s especially important now, with the threat of West Nile virus, spread by mosquitoes.

Jesch also builds ponds for homeowners interested in game fish such as bass, catfish and bluegill.

Prices for a small pond suitable for swimming, approximately 10 feet long by 6 feet wide, start at $3,000 and up, depending on terrain, size and other factors. Include a meandering stream around 12 feet long in your plans and prices start at $8,000.