All About Garden Fountains

 Adding the pleasing sights and sounds of flowing water to your backyard can transform it into a relaxing retreat

Landscape Feature

Few things soothe like running water. If you don’t happen to have a meandering stream in your yard, there’s another way to harness water’s therapeutic benefits: a garden fountain. It provides the same calming qualities and can dramatically lift the look of your landscape. Styles run from classical tiered towers to contemporary orbs, and a fountain’s design speaks to more than aesthetics; the architecture determines how the water flows and the music it creates, from a splashing that drubs out street noise to a bubbling that provides a subtle background score to patio conversation.

On the flip side, the way the water moves and catches light has a lot to do with the feature’s visual appeal. Water sheeting off a colorful, rounded urn is more playful than a forceful stream pouring from basin to basin. You pick a fountain for its looks, but knowing the options in materials can streamline the search. Glazed ceramics come in colors that pop; lightweight fiberglass can be elaborately shaped; cast concrete looks just like stone. In any case, you’ll want to head to the garden center to see them in person. That is, right after you read everything you need to know right here.

Anatomy of a Fountain

A pump hidden in the basin of this classic tiered fountain recirculates the water, sending it through the tubing to the top, where it continually fills and overflows each tier.

Falling Water, Five Ways

The path water takes down the fountain helps set the tone of the feature, not to mention the volume level and how often you’ll have to refill it. Here are five options to consider.

Tip: Fountain too loud? Try adding a layer of river rocks to the basin. They’ll soften the crash of the water while reducing the distance the water falls.

1. Running

A sheet of water slips down the surface of an object, such as an urn, to a reservoir that holds a pump beneath a layer of decorative stone (a pondless fountain). Smooth surfaces make the water sound like a running garden hose, while something textured disrupts the flow, creating more of a trickling sound. Water clinging to the side of the fountain is not easily lost to splashing, but that thin layer evaporates quickly on hot days, so frequent refilling may be required.

2. Bubbling

A bubbler set in a basin gently churns the surface of the water, providing a primarily visual experience—and a strong magnet for birds and butterflies. Because the water doesn’t tumble down the side, bubblers are probably the quietest fountains. They lose very little water to splashing or wind, minimizing your refilling duties.

3. Raining

Dozens of droplets squeezing through holes and falling like a beaded curtain into a pool of water or a rock-filled basin create the hypnotic patter of a rain shower. The taller the structure and the deeper the pool, the louder the storm. A lot of water splashes out and gets carried away by wind, so plan on replenishing the pool frequently.

4. Pouring

Concentrated streams of water gushing from one level to the next into open pools make a forceful sound, like that of a pot filler—distracting for some, meditative for others. Leapfrogging basin-to-basin leaves the water vulnerable to wind gusts, so maintaining the level can be a bit of a chore.

5. Cascading

Water spilling over from the top pool and into subsequent tiers produces a symphonic splashing that can mask unwanted noise. This fountain also needs to be refilled more often than the other configurations, save for the rain fountain. The pump’s flow control can reduce the fountain’s volume and splash loss, but the point of this style isn’t to cue up quietude.

The Big Picture: Where to put Your Fountain?

There’s a fountain for every kind of yard, but selecting the right spot calls for balancing its size and shape with the style of your garden

The Accent

Tucked into a planting bed, a gently bubbling urn attracts pollinators. Scale it slightly taller than adjacent plants to make it visible from other points in the yard, and keep it away from loud mechanical noise—air conditioners, say—that might overpower its soothing sounds.

The Centerpiece

A 6-foot-tall fountain is hard to miss, from either the yard or a window with a view. Place a traditional tiered version at intersecting pathways in a formal design that divides the lawn into quadrants. Keep a feature this large about 8 feet from any entertaining area, to avoid having to shout over your glass of rose.

The Destination

Use a fountain as the focal point of a gathering place set in a far corner of the yard. Encourage guests’ sense of discovery with a style that can be seen or heard from a distance, and create a winding path to its location. Complete the scene with planted containers and seating, and you have a relaxing little hideaway.