Creating Simple Water Features

A Touch Of Class For Your Garden

By Raymond Koberstein

Are you looking for a really spectacular and unique water feature for your garden? How about a gorgeous pot that’s sitting in the middle of a flower bed, with water bubbling up through it, and then overflowing and cascading down the sides?

Here are some instructions for how to create exactly that - a simple water feature for your garden. It’s a fairly easy project, and it doesn’t require much time at all! You’ll need a few supplies beforehand;

1. a length of vinyl tubing
2. a medium sized fountain pump
3. some silicone or waterproof caulking
4. a large plastic container with a sturdy lid to act as a water reservoir
5. a beautiful pot or decorative container with a drainage hole; the bigger the pot, the more dramatic the effect

Now follow these simple steps;

1. Most commercial pots or containers will already come with a drainage hole in the bottom of the pot. If yours doesn’t, drill or cut a drainage hole in the bottom of the pot slightly larger than the diameter of the tubing.

2. Insert one end of the tubing through the drainage hole in the base of the pot. Seal the rest of the drainage hole with the caulking to prevent the water from running out the bottom. Set this aside and allow the caulking to cure according to the directions for the product.

3. Your fountain pump will need a power source. If you’re building this for use in the garden, you will need to feed an extension cord from an outlet, or contact an electrician to run an underground service to your garden.

4. Dig a hole in the garden large enough and just deep enough to accommodate your reservoir, making sure that your extension cord can reach this hole. Place the reservoir, without the lid, into the hole you’ve dug.

5. Cut a hole in the center of the lid of your reservoir at least 2 inches in diameter. Cut a second hole off to one side just big enough so that the cord from your pump can fit.

6. Place the pump in the reservoir, then place the lid loosely on top. Pull the cord of the pump through the small hole in the lid, and connect it to the extension cord (be sure that the power is disconnected!).

7. Feed the other end of the tubing through the large hole, and attach it to the outflow valve of the pump. Secure the lid.

8. Place your pot on top of your now lidded container. You may have to position the pot with a little bit of the 2” center hole showing. Fill the reservoir with water.

9. Plug the extension cord into your power source. Watch the water level in your container, as it may need to be topped up as the pump goes to work.

10. To completely disguise the top of your container, cover the exposed top with woodchips or decorative stone.

This fountain works on simple principles. Water in the reservoir is pumped up through the tubing into the pot, causing the pot to fill and then overflow. The overflow water runs down the sides of the pot, and goes back into the reservoir through the hole in the center of the lid. The fountain is fairly self-sustaining, but may need a little water now and then, especially during hot days.

Here are some variations to this idea;

1. You can set up the reservoir above ground, and then build up decorative stones, tile, or brick to disguise your container.

2. Use more than one pot. You can take several pots and set them at several angles to make something truly unique. The top pot will have to be the one with the tubing, as it will have to fill with water first. All of the drainage holes in the bottom of the other pots will need to be sealed with the caulking.

Have fun and use your imagination!

If you have questions, feel free to call or e-mail me.

Raymond Koberstein
Giftware & Outdoor Living
667-2234 ext. 28
raymond@schriemers.ca