Home Gardens - Fountains and Flowers

Am I the only woman in the world to love to watch shows like "This Old House" or anything about making your home and yard look better? No, I am sure not! I love seeing projects from beginning to end and judging the finished product.

Some of the shows I used to watch would take a yard and turn it into something wonderful with just flowers but many times they added a fountain. Some were really weird things, such as a faucet on a tree running water into a bucket below, or a watering pitcher tilted forward with water continually being poured into a small bowl in the middle of a variety of colored flowers. Of course, the water only circulates so this is a very good thing. No waste. As you will hear in one of the videos too, you may use a little chlorine to fight mosquitoes from overtaking your garden having water there. Careful of animal access to this though.

I love the outside as many of us do and am not above dirtying my hands. I love the feel of dirt and would spend the whole day outside if heat and duty did not keep me from it.

Who can have enough flowers? The only thing greater is natures water and if you can't have a lake or pond or pool (or even if you can) you can certainly have a fountain. You can go big time or you can have them for such a small amount and make them yourself.

Put a large pot (ceramic or anything you want to use) wherever in your yard you want your water fountain to be. Make sure that it doesn't have holes; if it does, seal them up and let them dry.

Place the pump at the bottom of your container. Switch the pump power button to "On," without connecting the power yet. Put together the pump hose and let it trail over the top of the container. Put the power cord of the pump over the back side of the container; out of sight.

Put stones or river rock (as shown in the above video) in the bottom of the container, hiding the pump from view; being sure your hose is not twisted or mashed to allow free flow.

Make a mound in the center of the container with stones that you will place the top part of the fountain on. Allow about three inches free at the top of your container.

Feed your pump hose through the hole in the pot, or attach it to the hose nozzle of your fountain nozzle. Adjustment of the hose is as simple as cutting with scissors. Adjust to your desired look.

Fill with water minus about one inch from the top of your container or rocks. Put the power to the plug now and the water will be pushed up from the pump hose, creating a twirling fountain.

There are alternative water flows in your pump so you can have a choice here. I love the spray of water personally.

You may have a solar-powered fountain; featuring a water pump connected to a solar panel. With no battery, so it will not work at night and may not work on cloudy days. If that is no concern to you then this is very good. If you are in an area with many cloudy conditions then you may have it battery powered. with a battery bank. This, of course, is for only outdoor fountains and usually the floating ones. Such arrangements are generally floating fountains and can be incorporated only outdoors. If the panels are installed separately, with connections running from the panel to the pump this kind of fountains can be installed in shady areas or indoors.

This can be beneficial not having to electrically be concerned and after the initial price of materials, it is free of cost running it. If using indoors it puts humidity in the home which is very beneficial! So you have lots of choices and if you are into flowers and their loveliness; fountains and lighting will give you years of pleasure. With the cost of vacationing and rising gas prices, why not spend the summer at home making your yard and/or home or patio a place of real beauty and peace and surely have fun planning and doing.

So here you go. If this interests you please watch the videos to see just how simple this can be. Of course, the waterfalls are more work and maybe not for everyone but have a look at how simple it is too real and nothing to it especially if you can get someone to do your digging and heavy stone lifting for the falls.

This doesn't nearly show you the beauty you can have but it can get your imagination going and the sky is the limit on ideas, aren't they?

Be a first. Think up something no one else has even considered!

Fountains come in smaller sizes and we can have them right indoors now if we want! You find them today in lobbies of all kinds and they are so fantastic why not have one of our own?

Indoor water fountains can go with any style of furniture you have in your home. There are so many designs but come in three basic models: tabletop, floor, and wall mounted and these three types are made with a reservoir for water containment, the fountainhead, and naturally, the pump which is forever moving the water from the reservoir to the fountainhead. These three features will no doubt remain the same.

Tabletop indoor fountains are for the most part small in stature and fit well on a desk, end table or the like. They take very minimal space and the height on them can vary depending on what you want or have in mind. These work very adequately in small rooms so that is no problem. There is also a tabletop water fountain battery run where most have two reservoirs instead of one reservoir and one fountainhead. Most often the top reservoir will have a lip so the water will drip down to the bottom reservoir.

The floor model fountain is basically the same as tabletop but a larger version. These are very beautiful and can be costly but there are smaller versions of the floor water fountain that are to a degree free standing but are leaning against the wall; unattached. These are more appropriate for the smaller room or entryway.

The wall indoor water fountain is great to add a style to any size room not taking up floor space; just a wall space you chose for your beautiful fountain. You can add style around to add to your theme or just simply let your fountain speak for itself!

diy-garden-waterfalls

how-to-build-outdoor-waterfalls

Youtube videos

Author's own experience