Flowing water adds movement and sound to a normally quiet landscape. It speaks in different tones, depending on whether it is splashing vigorously, bubbling rhythmically, or lapping gently on rocks and pebbles. If the shape, dimensions, and setting of a pond create the mood of a garden, the addition of moving water augments that mood, making it more expressive, and adding the pleasure of sound to the joy of sight.
Benefits of a Water Fountain
Apart from the aesthetic rewards, a water fountain or waterfall offers practical benefits. Water sprayed in the air is aerated, which benefits fish. Pumped and recycled water, when filtered, is cleaned of suspended matter and, therefore, is clearer.
Whether you choose an outdoor fountain, a rock waterfall, or both for your garden, you should consider the effects of moving water on plants. Water lilies will not tolerate being splashed by water or jostled by strong currents. Underwater pool currents must be slight enough that they will not disturb the surface. Aquatic plants with floating flowers and leaves must be out of the range of splashing water. Water lily leaves will rot if continually splashed. Moving water also retards the plants’ growth and they will not thrive in it.
The style of outdoor fountain or waterfall should fit the appearance of your garden. An elaborate pool ornament spouting water into a scalloped basin would be completely out of in an informal pond and a naturalistic landscape. A better choice would be a tiered fountain/waterfall flowing over a rocky outcrop. In a formal pool, a stream of water spilling over a straight ledge or shooting from a pottery urn works well. Whatever the style of you garden, the fountain ornament or spray should create an effect that harmonizes with the landscape style.
Choosing a Fountain
Garden Fountains can be of several types. They may gurgle, spring-like, from a pipe with an outlet at the surface or fall from a pipe stand ing well above the surface. If the pipe is fitted with a nozzle, the water will spray out, than fall in a bubbling column. Depending upon the nozzle, the water may flow out in a symmetrical bubble, a tall jet, or, if the nozzle rotates, as a zigzag spray. The pipe may be fitted into an ornamental statue such as or ceramic duck, swan, or frog.
When selecting an outdoor fountain, consider its size and the height of its spray in relation to the pool dimensions. A small pool would be overwhelmed by a spray that soars up high and falls back all the way to the water's edge. When a breeze comes up, the spray will be blown beyond the edges of the pond or fountain basin and dissipated; the pond may even be pumped dry. Water splashing onto a nearby patio looks sloppy. As a rule, the spray should be no more than half the diameter or width of the pool basin.
For a very small informal pond, select a simply designed bubbling fountain without statuary. You may choose to have water spilling from a pipe emerging from a rock arrangement above the basin. In a formal setting, have the water spill from a pipe or statue into a dish or urn. Browse some some example pond fountains and pond aerators for some ideas on outdoor water fountains. |
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