Make Your Own Fountain

I've been working hard out in the yard for the last couple of days. Digging, planting, smoothing, arranging, rearranging, then standing back to consider the effect. Adding roses, herbs, perennials, and a few bright annuals in the pots on the porch. I need someone to visit! Won't you come over?

Come with me to my new patio, shaded by our big messy Chinese elms. (I have to say that this month for the first time they aren't shedding or dropping anything, just providing beautiful, cool shade where we like to sit and eat, or read, or look up at the mountains).

Now, close your eyes. Feel the warm breeze against your cheek. Hear the birds in the surrounding trees--doves, blackbirds, finches, and our resident mockingbird. Smell the roses, the lavender, the rosemary, the basil, and the warm May desert air.

And today on the patio for your listening pleasure, we have a fountain. I have to tell you that there is nothing like the sound of trickling water when you live in the desert. It is soothing and cooling like nothing else.

The fountain I just put together is courtesy of my sister, Auntie Bucksnort. She taught me to make fountains years ago, and is lending me this one for a while. Here it is, made out of objects discarded by the original owners--the wooden base of a table and a large rustic-looking metal bowl. With the addition of some rocks and the purchase of a small water pump from the home improvement store, we have a fountain that provides a tranquil and soothing background for all our birdsong.

By the way, the water you see below the fountain is not from leakage or overflow--I had just been watering some nearby plant pots.

I added a plant to cover up the spot where the electrical cord comes out of the little pump.

If you look really hard, you can see it.
So, just to review--all you need for your new indoor or outdoor fountain are the following materials (remember, recycled is best, and it's free!):

• A bowl or any waterproof container
• A small pump, purchased from the nursery/pond supply section of your local home improvement store. These pumps are adjustable, so you can make the water barely trickle or shoot as high as you want
• Some rocks, or marbles, or? These will conceal the pump
• A heavy-duty extension cord, depending on where your electrical outlet is located
• Just add water!

Here are a couple of links for ideas about making fountains. Trust me, this is a simple project, so don't be put off by any seemingly complicated directions. Just do it!

• Homemade outdoor fountains
• Make your own indoor fountain