Water features are beautiful and soothing additions not only to gardens, but also to outdoor retreats, whether they are small balconies or spacious backyards. If you want have your own water features, the usual approach is to get them from a specialty shop for home improvement. They tend to be expensive, and as such, it’s no surprise that they are considered investments, if not luxury items.
Fortunately, you only need to spend a whole afternoon creating your own water features that are suitable for gardens, decks, patios, or yards. The only things you will need are either items in the house that you can recycle or supplies that you can easily find at a shop nearest you. And the best part of this type of project is the fact that it is customizable—water features can be of any shape, style, or size you want them to be.
Below are more information on making your own water features.
Here are the things you need:
* Container: You can opt to purchase containers for fountains. However, if you wish to go for a more decorative appearance, go for a well-crafted bowl shaped planter, preferably one which does not have holes at the bottom, instead. Yet another great container option is recycling a large bowl, large basin, or large dish. Any container fashioned from either plastic or resin should hold up longer under the weather compared to other materials.
* Water pump: You also need to get a submersible fountain pump. The rating for a fountain pump is based on how many litres they put out each hour. If you want just a small fountain, then you only need the smallest pump. Once you’ve made your choice as to the type of pump you should get, the next thing to do is to find one that has an adjustable valve.
* Outdoor electrical outlet: For the pump to work, you need to plug it into an outlet. And the best outlet to use is the outlet of a weatherproof extension cord.
* Structure and design: At this point, it’s time to get creative! Use rocks, your favourite sculpture, found items, pottery, or any object you believe should enhance the appearance of the fountain and hide or hold its pump in place.
* Plants: Aquatic plants most suitable for water features cost quite much, but even just two will do to fill the fountain up with life.
Creating the water feature:
* Set the container up: Begin by setting the container up in its new location. You can nestle the container down into a hole, or you can tuck it among other planters or be set up freestanding.
* Set the water pump up: Set the pump up in the middle, then drape power cord up, then over back edge. Make sure that you follow any instructions which came with the pump.
* Arrange the objects: Add objects such as rocks to conceal both pump and its power cord. Clean both of the items first to free the pump of sediment. And ensure that they aren’t blocking the output or input of the pump.
* Add in both the water and plants: Fill in container with enough water—preferably rainwater that has been purified, then stored in a large tank—to submerge the pump. Add the aquatic plants in afterwards.
* Test the pump: Make sure that the power cord is dry, then plug in the new fountain and enjoy. Adjust pump valve as is necessary so that you get as much gurgling noise as is preferred, and to prevent the splashing of water out onto the ground.
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