Near the rest area
The fountain is best placed next to the seating area. This could be a gazebo or patio. It is advisable that this place be viewed from the windows of the living room, so that you can once again admire such beauty up close.
The pond in which the fountain splashes will look more natural in the lowest part of the site.
It should not be placed entirely in the sun, where water may bloom, or in deep shade, where it is less decorative. The best place for a fountain will be partial shade.
You should not build this object under deciduous trees; the leaves will pollute the fountain bowl, and the roots can damage it.
The fountain should be positioned so that it reflects other decorative garden objects or beautiful plants.
Pros and cons of creating
A decorative fountain is primarily an element designed to decorate the surrounding space. It has several key advantages:
- Bright and elegant appearance. The fountain will transform and refresh any design, perhaps becoming its main element.
- The fountain will do an excellent job as a source of coolness and will be able to maintain fresh air in any place where you install it.
- Falling water is a very beautiful action. The sight of a seething stream or streams of water rushing down promotes relaxation and helps to distract from bad thoughts. Additionally, the sounds of water allow you to achieve harmony and unity with nature.
- If you choose the right location, a fountain can help give your area a complete look. Such structures can help hide unattractive objects, for example, utility rooms.
But artificial fountains also have certain disadvantages:
- The need for special care and periodic monitoring. This structure must be cleaned regularly to prevent debris from clogging the pump. It is also necessary to monitor the serviceability of the equipment and promptly resolve any problems that arise.
- Given that the pump requires electrical power to operate, the fountain will incur certain costs to operate, which can be particularly high if the installation will be in operation for a long time.
Soothing noise
Any water project suits the garden. There don't have to be large bodies of water or streams with cascades. Water is good in any size. This especially applies to moving water. The sound of flowing water attracts attention, creates peace and comfort.
The fountain, this unusually expressive element of landscape design, is the most impressive decoration of the entire yard.
The photo of a garden fountain with water fireworks amazes with its sophistication and beauty, emphasizing the extreme sense of taste of the owners and the filigree workmanship.
Stylistic design
Fountains used for decorative purposes can be made in a wide variety of styles. Whether a design belongs to one direction or another depends on various factors - appearance, shape and size, material of manufacture.
There are several design options applicable to decorative fountains:
- Classic option. The installation can be made in the form of an asymmetrical bowl made of ceramic, plaster or stone with a stream of water falling in the shape of a bell or jet.
- Fountain in English style. In such designs, the bowl has a non-standard shape and is necessarily supplemented with stucco.
- The design is in the form of a sculpture with gilding or decorated with bronze elements, made according to all the rules of such colorful styles as Baroque or Rococo.
- Installation in eco-style. This fountain is made in the form of a natural waterfall, giving it the most natural look. An installation that is a container buried in the ground complete with a nozzle disguised with stones, associated with a rock from which streams of water fall down, can best cope with this role.
- Country style fountain. A structure made from an ordinary wooden barrel or cart will be an excellent decoration for a personal garden.
- As part of the Provence style, you can use romantic sculptures made in the form of angels or sophisticated girls. Moreover, the sculpture can be specially made slightly flaky or cracked, which will give it a special flavor.
Full bowl
The container with water for the functioning of the fountain can be made of any material. Her choice depends on the desires and financial capabilities of the owners of the site.
Buy a plastic bowl of the required size in a store or construction market. For a fountain container, you can use an unnecessary bathtub, a barrel, a car tire, or even a basin.
The bowl can be made from a cement mixture or using durable reinforced film. The main thing is that the container where the water will circulate is sealed, durable and resistant to temperature changes.
To install such a container you need to dig a hole or pit. This will depend on the size of the container. A layer of fine gravel is poured onto the bottom of the recess, then sand is added and compacted tightly.
A bowl is installed in this recess so that the ground level is several cm below its edges. The fountain pump with installed nozzle is installed in the center of the container.
A submersible pump with a flow regulator, from which a plastic or rubber tube with a spray nozzle extends upward, is lowered to the bottom.
Pumps must be equipped with special filters. Do not fill the bowl with water all the way to the top.
Shapes and sizes
Although the fountain can have any size and shape, when choosing them it is recommended to use common sense and remember that it will be somewhat more difficult to care for an installation with a more intricate shape and large dimensions.
The bowl of the fountain can have a symmetrical or non-standard asymmetrical shape. For example, it can be made in the form of an oval, square, circle, triangle, as well as any other geometric shapes, including those that follow the contours of the silhouette of an animal or a person.
Also, fountains can be complex multi-level or made of several interconnected containers. In this case, each element can be equipped with its own nozzle, being an integral part of a more complex installation.
Merry Pond
The presence of a pond on the site already charms and pleases. But the fountain for the pond is its special decoration. This motor revives the motionless surface of the water, makes it move, play, reflecting glare from the sun's rays.
If there is already a pond on the site, then installing a fountain will not be difficult. The fountain pump runs on electricity, so power points should be provided.
If plants live in the pond, then the water stream should be located 50 cm from them. The shoreline of the pond must correspond to the overall landscape design of the entire site.
Enchanting effect
Fountains are decorative in appearance, especially during the day. With the onset of dusk, their undeniable beauty hides in the darkness. But this can be corrected with the help of underwater and surface lamps.
Under artificial lighting, streams of water become magical, bewitching threads. With the help of LED waterproof lamps, the fountain turns into a fairy-tale object.
The stream of water in the fountains near the walls flows freely, gravity helps in this. The appearance of springs originating at the bottom of a reservoir can be created using nozzles that should be immersed in water.
Special devices
Special accessories – nozzles – will add variety to the fountain design. These simple devices create amazing water patterns. The same fountain in the country will look different when using nozzles of different shapes. The intricate shapes of a geyser or dome, hemisphere or umbrella create an amazing atmosphere.
And the lighting further enhances the romantic effect. When dusk falls and the decorative lighting of the fountain turns on, the mood immediately changes. Relaxing in this magical corner of the dacha, we feel like we are in a fairy tale. Recently, designers have been actively using floating lamps and devices that illuminate the surface of the water from the inside.
It is worth paying attention that the underwater lighting apparatus must be completely sealed. This is a strict safety rule that must be followed.
If there is not enough space
It is not worth constructing a global water feature on a small area. A small fountain on the site can also be a worthy decoration.
Such a structure will not require large expenses. The container can even be an old basin. The pump should be selected with low power.
The tube that is attached to the pump can be a piece of a regular garden hose. Prepare flat stone slabs in advance and drill in the center of each hole. They must be larger than the diameter of the pipe itself.
The pipe attached to the pump serves as a frame for stringing stone layers with holes. The result will be a pyramid of stone that resembles the surface of a rock.
To prevent the water from overflowing, you need to make a drainage system, which should be located lower in level and go into the garden or drainage. This fountain can be located wherever you want.
Such a miniature fountain will be safe in the area where small children frolic. Such an object can have two designs: stationary and portable.
A portable fountain can be arranged in a large clay flower container or in a wide vase. They can be decorated with gravel and pebbles. You can decorate them around them or hide them completely. In any case it will be beautiful.
Fountain device
From the very beginning it may seem that making a small fountain is very difficult, but this is not entirely true. Of course, there are also complex hydraulic structures, but for the dacha they choose simple models that you don’t have to spend a lot on, since you can use improvised means for the work.
The main difficulty in manufacturing is its decoration.
All fountains have two types:
- Closed - in them water constantly circulates in a circle. The pump is installed in the main tank and supplies water from there to the pipeline system. The pressure in it is created only by pumping equipment.
- Open - water enters such a system from foreign sources. The source can be a natural reservoir or river, or the water supply system of a country house. The pressure in such a system can be created by the pressure drop in the system due to physical laws. We will talk about this in more detail below.
A garden fountain for a summer cottage is an oasis on the territory of a summer cottage.
In gardens, the first option is often built, since they are easy to maintain and simpler in structure. In this case, water must be periodically topped up (it evaporates and splashes) and cleaned (filtration equipment is installed). Sometimes they even perform a complete pumping out and replacement.
Open models require a water supply system and a water removal system. Good drainage and devices that control the filling level of the main tank are required.
Interesting to know! Water from a flowing fountain can be used to water plants, but it is not required around the clock, so such a fountain will have to be turned off at some intervals.
An example of an open option without a tank - water goes into the ground through the drainage system
Therefore, let’s continue to talk specifically about closed fountains, because they are preferred by the majority (read the article about the types of fountains for dachas).
