A resident of Timber Pines in Spring Hill, Michele DelVecchio, has come together with friends, family and the Botanical Gardens to create a water curtain for visitors of the gardens to enjoy. A water curtain is a line of closely spaced sprinklers to create a rain like shower.
Michele has been working on the water curtain since May of this year. She originally wanted to build a pond but was told that wouldn’t work. She kept thinking of other ideas and thought this would be great. She wanted to include a water feature in her assigned space of the garden in order to draw attention to the spot.
Before receiving her own area of the garden, Michele had been tending a friend’s section of the garden for a period of time. Everyone saw what an amazing job she did and how well it was taken care of. They then decided to offer Michele her own spot in the garden where she would later create the water curtain.
The water curtain started with her drawing a plan and giving two proposals to the Botanical Gardens. Then they accepted it and the project began. The water curtain is nine feet tall by eight feet wide and the waterfall drop is seven feet. The water curtain required many materials and elements. It has reservoirs, boards, pumps with plugs and electric installed for the water curtain to function.
“I love working on it, it makes me feel helpful, strong, but tired at times, and I’m excited for what it will look like when it’s done,” Michele said.
Many people have helped Michele work on the water curtain, especially her husband Rob DelVecchio who lent her his construction expertise. Several helpers pitched in to assist when she got stuck or needed extra hands.
It took a team to get the water curtain moved. They worked on a lot of it at Michele and Rob’s workshop located in Spring Hill. When it finally came time to moving the water curtain it took eight friends and volunteers to help them get it to the gardens. It was a very tricky project to move, with the size, the weight, the reservoir, and the chance of having it leak. If it broke during the move, the whole project would be ruined. Michele and her daughter Emily Holstein said they lost sleep over the thought of them moving it.
“I have loved working on this project. I love helping out with something other than for myself, this is something everyone will enjoy. I have so much free time being retired and I love helping my community. It has made me feel good making a plan and being able to accomplish it,” Michele exclaimed.
They do have two other projects planned for her garden space but not quite as big.
“I have loved seeing how happy my mom is doing this project. They have made so much progress and I love seeing the pictures since I live out of state. I love when she calls and is working on the project, she’s always so excited which makes me excited,” Emily remarked.
Michele has always loved completing projects, whether it be home projects, remodels, and gardens. “She always helped my brother and I get an A plus in school projects. But everytime she shows me one of her new masterpieces, it’s so hard not say wow! It’s impossible not to be proud of her,” Emily said.
The water curtain can be found at the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens. Located at 1489 Parker Avenue in Spring Hill. Stop in and enjoy the beautiful scenery and check out the new water curtain that should be finished by the end of this week.
“She never lets anything get in her way, she always ‘knocks it out of the park.’ She’s such a strong woman and I’m so blessed she’s my mom,” Emily said.
