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Create a Fountain Garden
A fountain garden is a garden in which a water fountain is the main event.
This type of garden will have all landscaping and décor arranged so that it calls attention to the fountain, making it a grand centerpiece. You can create a fountain garden on nearly any scale - whether you have several acres available to work with, or a tiny townhouse yard.The first step to creating a fountain garden is to determine what size fountain you need. Most fountain gardens, in average size yards, look best with a large concrete or cast stone garden fountain, about five to six feet in height.
Smaller yards may look more proportionate with a smaller tiered birdbath-style fountain, and palatial homes generally require a custom installation to fit the scale of the house.Alternatively, some people choose to use groupings of smaller fountains to achieve an interesting visual effect. Just make sure that the designs of the fountains work well together. You may want to stick to one material, such as granite, or several different sizes of the same fountain.
Use odd numbers to enhance the visual interest of the grouping.Some landscape designers choose to highlight a fountain by placing it in a courtyard, made up of brick or tile, which is laid into the ground. These kinds of courtyards are usually octagonal, circular, or square-shaped. A fountain garden can be further enhanced by other sculptural elements which serve to call attention to the fountain.
For example, a fountain garden with a classic tiered fountain centered in a tiled courtyard would benefit from planters situated on pedestals in each corner of the courtyard. Alternately, you could choose to place gazing balls, garden stakes, torches, lion or cherub statuary, or any other vertical decorative item around the fountain.In addition to courtyards, many fountain gardens have walkways leading up to the fountain. You can create this using the same materials that make up the courtyard, or with stepping stones, gravel, or mulch depending on the formality of your landscape design.
These pathways create a clear visual line to the fountain. Benches placed near the fountain will encourage visitors to linger and enjoy the flowing water.Your existing trees, shrubs and flowers needn't be completely changed to fit your new landscape design - work with what you have. If, however, you are starting a fountain garden in your yard from scratch, it's better not to plant a tree too close to the area where the fountain will be placed.
When leaves fall into your fountain and decay, they can make maintenance more difficult.When your fountain garden is complete, you and your family will have a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the water sounds, and to entertain guests.Stephanie Gottschalk writes the blogs 'Picnic Fun - Tips and Recipes' and 'The Joy of Water Fountains' for Specialty Living Inc., an Asheville, North Carolina-based company that aims to share their love of people, nature and life through high quality water fountains and outdoor living products.
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