How to make an Elegant Fountain for Your Garden

You've weeded the flower beds, planted the vegetable garden and dusted off your patio furniture. Now comes the fun part: adding some decorative garden accessories to your landscape. And what better way to pull your design together than with a fountain for your patio or yard.

Fountains not only add a beautiful visual accent to an outdoor space, they also create a soothing sound that blocks out noise from the street or the neighbors. With a fountain as its centerpiece, your garden will become a wonderful secluded retreat from the hectic outside world.

But sometimes it's hard to find exactly the right fountain. "Most people have a particular kind of garden; it could be formal or casual, contemporary or old-fashioned," says Larrisa Gleason of the Beckett Corporation, a water gardening products manufacturer. "If you haven't found a fountain to suite your style and have some garden materials you want to put to use, get creative and make your own," she suggests.

Here is an easy project for homeowners who want to create their own three-tiered fountain using some lightweight planters that are designed to look just like terra cotta. All you'll need is a Beckett fountain pump, three planters, a drill, some tubing and small finishing rocks.

Three-tier Planter Fountain

This custom-made fountain re-circulates water in a steady stream pumped up through multiple layers of pottery. The water cascades down the sides re-entering the large pot on the bottom through holes that are drilled into the second tier.

1. Drill one larger hole on the side of the medium planter that will face the 'back.' This hole should be large enough for the end of the pump cord to go through. Drill a hole at the bottom center of the smallest and medium size planters to fit the tubing that will be threaded through the hole. The tubing should fit snugly. Check diameter size before drilling. Add four small bit-sized holes for drainage in the 'lip' of the planter at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock. These holes will be hidden with decorative rocks.

2. With the large planter right side up, place the pump in the bottom. Thread the electrical cord through the large hole in the medium planter. Cut the tubing long enough to fit on the pump and extend approximately three inches above the top of the small planter. Place the tubing on the pump.

3. With the medium planter turned upside down, thread the tubing through the bottom center hole. Repeat for the smallest planter.

4. Press the top two planters down to fit snugly on top of the large planter base. Trim any excess tubing beyond one inch at the top of the smallest planter. Place decorative rocks on the top of the small planter base to camouflage the tubing and around the rim between the medium and large planters. Plug in and viola, a fountain fiesta! Courtesy of ARA Content