herbs, vegetables and tropical flowers.

Now it seems that having your own personal pond is the "in'' thing for garden lovers.

The fact they attract Bermuda's toads -- especially around mating season -- and perhaps a few mosquitoes does not seem to bother most pond owners, which is probably because they offer a sense of peace and tranquility for anyone nearby.

Ponds have begun to exceed the definition of being smelly and unpleasant bodies of thick green still water.

In a recent New York Times article, the president of the National Pond Society Alan Spurling, of Marietta, Georgia stated that "swimming pools are passe m''.

He added that the number of residential ponds in the US is growing by ten to 15 percent a year, with an astonishing 250,000 new ponds expected this year and for each of the next five years.

Mr. Spurling also said more new ponds are being installed than swimming pools.

This also seems to be the case in Bermuda.

Warwick resident Anne Powell was tired of not receiving any help maintaining her swimming pool from her family so she threatened to turn it into a pond.

"They probably didn't think I was serious but that is what happened,'' she said. "I let the pool turn green and then I put in a few fish and added 30 to 40 turtles and a goose.

"And I said when I got grandchildren I would consider turning it back into a pool.'' Asked what process she had to go through to make the transformation Mrs.

Powell said: "I just had to wait for chlorine to wear out for it to look green and then you can put the fish in and add some wild water lilies.

"The only drawback is courting toads at night but I put them in a trash can and take them to the pond near White's grocery store. However, I think they hop right back up the road again.'' How did her family feel about the pool-turned-pond? "They were a little surprised,'' Mrs. Powell said. "I don't think they thought I would go through with it but it is less work, less expensive and I really didn't enjoy swimming anyway.

"Furthermore, I really like my turtles and the goose.'' Vernon Douglas also decided to add a small two-level pond to his already beautiful garden.

"I built it last Cup Match because I always wanted a fish pond because it is quiet, serene and it is somewhere to listen to water trickle,'' Mr. Douglas said.

"It took one weekend to build, adding the plants, water lilies -- which I got of the golf course -- some Koi fish and feeders (goldfish) which have grown. I also have a frog that lives in the corner.

"The pond has become a focal point for the curious eye -- it is drawn to it after hearing the trickle of the water.'' Asked what his pond is made from, Mr. Douglas said: "My top pond is made out of an old copper boiling pot that came out of a boiler room years ago. I stuck that in the ground and lined it with PVC liner that I got from over seas.

"The bigger pond is a preform fibreglass pool which blends in the top pool. A stream filters down threw a pebble pathway.'' Mr. Douglas also said the stone that covers the outside of the two ponds is made from old Bermuda stone found in the woods.

"Everything to make the ponds, other than the PVC liner, came from recycled products,'' he said. "Building a pond does not have to be expensive.'' Another popular pond that is owned by a family is at the Palm Grove property on South Shore Road, Devonshire.

Sir David Gibbons said the pond -- which contains a map of Bermuda -- was built by his father and architect Walter Stevens 40 years ago.

"Before my father bought the property, it was a farm. He later came up with the idea to build a fish pond designed with company architect Walter Stevens,'' Sir David said.

He added: "He and my father laid it out but they had the greatest difficulty with masons trying to get a plan drawn up so they drew everything on rolls of wrapping paper that they laid out. It was 80 feet long.

"The pond is a perfect scale, it is compass orientated exactly as Bermuda is on the globe.'' Sir David also said that the pond was originally filled with fish but a plague of herons ate them.

"My father restocked it twice and then gave it up. He introduced the water lilies which bloom every year.

"The lilies came in wrapped with damp cloth and they were planted right away.

This whole thing was a semi-retirement thing for him.''