When I pictured how I wanted our garden to look I pictured flowers flowers everywhere and sitting in the middle…..a fountain. Now I love period piece movies, seeing the beautiful gardens, water fountains, architecture. I wanted that, I mean who wouldn’t want a fountain in their garden? Or should I say I wanted to emanate the same feeling I had when seeing those gardens. There’s something about hearing the trickling of water while you’re working in the garden that will always add to the relaxation of it for me.
If you have been here a while with us than you know we did have a fountain when we first created the garden but over this past winter the basin for it cracked. So we decided to build a bigger one in the corner of the garden using materials we have accumulated over time. Isn’t that what normal people do? I thought it would be a great idea to show you how you can build your own for where ever you were wanting to place a fountain.
For ours, we designed this one in the shape of an arch going from one post to another (think of a short fat pizza slice) in the corner of the garden, where it wouldn’t be in the way ( which Steve liked) and bigger and in the ground instead of sitting on a pedestal (which I liked). So we got started.
size
When measuring out the size, make sure you dig the outline down a little deeper than the middle so the cinder blocks will sit down in the outlined shape. With a mix of 3 parts sand : 1 part Portland cement pour a level footing for the cinder blocks to sit on.
With weed blocker laid down and the cinder blocks in place it laid out measuring it to just under 7′ down the straight aways, a 10′ radius on the arch side, and around 2′ deep. Mixing a 3 parts sand : 1 part Portland cement to set them in place. Letting it dry till the next day.
liner
Before laying liner into place spray glue a piece of wall foam along the entire inside of the walls. This is to protect the liner from rubbing against the cinder blocks, which would cause tiny little tears in the liner after a while causing you to have to replace it in time.
When it comes our liner we used a pool liner we already had and trimmed it down to fit, other options is pond liner or an insert. Now if you go with a pond liner than when you’re ordering the size you need we recommend adding an extra 10′ to it. This way you have the extra material for when you fold the liner over the top, otherwise you could come up short and you want to have extra which will end up being sealed down with the stone when you get to that point of the project.
**Tip: When we folded ours over the top we made little cuts in the edges so we could tuck those pieces down into the cinder block openings. It helps when sealing down the cap stone because it lets the mortar come in contact with not only the liner but also the cinder blocks.
face work
We used pink stone which we had on hand from a past project and I knew I wanted a rough edge to ours so I was happy to see we had enough of it for the entire face of the fountain. Now this is when your design comes into play because you can pick whatever style of stone you want. It doesn’t have to be what we used, I say run wild and do what you want to do because like we always say you are the one who it is for and who’s going to enjoy it.
When it came to setting the stone we did a dry stack look. To achieve this apply mortar to the back and only half of the bottom of each stone which keeps the mortar from being seen when you look at the face of the fountain.
Same goes for the capstone, the mortar is applied to the bottom and the sides. Not all cap stone looks the same so when you’re picking it out make sure you measure the space of where it is going. Nothing is more frustrating than having to make extra trips to the store. Steve was able to barter for our cap stone. If you can barter for materials for your project, I say barter your little heart because nothing makes a project look even better than knowing you didn’t have to pay a lot for it. It makes it that much sweeter (insert sly smile here).
in closing
Seeing it completed with the fountain placed, pond light in, and a couple plants to start with I am in love with how it turned out. We plan on adding a couple little LED lights under the front ledge of the arched front to shine down the front of it because the stonework is so beautiful I want to be able to see it at night when we go into the garden.
As the garden takes shape into to what I’ve imagined for a some time, I feel at ease walking through it falling in love with the bright colors of the flowers and vegetables growing in our raised beds. All while the sound of the water trickles in the background as if it’s giving its approval of them as well.
If you need anything else we will be in the garden lounging in the chairs by the fountain.
Product Links
- Pond liner
- Insert (this is just an example of a shape and size)
- Spray Glue for Wall foam
- Wall Foam
- Portland Cement
- Sand (purchased from a landscaping yard)
- Pond light
