Garden Features

 

 

What are water features?

In landscape architecture and garden design, a water feature is any of a full range of fountains, pools, ponds, cascades, waterfalls, and streams. Water features are powered by electric pumps and therefore you need to be able to get the electricity to your pump. A water feature may be indoor or outdoor and can be any size, from a desk top water fountain to a large indoor waterfall that covers an entire wall in a large commercial building, and can be made from any number of materials, including stone, granite, stainless steel, resin, and glass.

How do they work?

Water features are powered by electric pumps and therefore you need to be able to get the electricity down your garden to the pump. There are increasing ranges of innovative designs on the market as people become more aware of the advantages of using solar power. These advantages include environmental benefits, no mains electricity in the garden, and free energy.

Most water features are self-contained, meaning that they do not require water to be plumbed in; water is recycled from a hidden reservoir, also known as a sump. The sump can either be contained within the water feature, or buried underground (in the case of an outdoor water feature).

Where can I buy a water feature?

You can either buy a pre fabricated water feature out of a box or build your own from scratch.

Pre fabricated water features come in a variety of designs and materials. These are available at most garden centres.

On this site we have links to some very good suppliers of water features and other garden accessories, in my own experience the cheapest and more unusual garden items are found on the internet, but it can take some research to find exactly what it is your looking for which is why it is sometimes better to build your own and get exactly what you want.

Build my own water feature?

Alternatively you can build your own waterfeature, this is often a cheaper and more satisfying option. Water features can be built from anything, scrap a piece or a pile of stones. You can even recreate a miniature version of a river, stream or waterfall that you’ve seen.

They are not difficult or complicated to build. However you will need to buy some pieces of equipment first. We’ll assume that it is a self contained water feature.

Things you need to buy:

• A pump with electrical cable reaching from your house or outdoor plug (when using electricity in your garden make sure a qualified person is installing any devices as water features can be very dangerous if wired in the wrong way, electricity and water do not mix).
• A sump (a big purpose made bucket to fill with water and put your pump in).

The rest is upto you, anything you like can be made into a water feature, a collection of flower pots, buckets, watering cans, rocks etc.

 

Inspiration

For inspiration of what you might want from a water feature, click on our Gallary page for photos of existing ones.