it started with a 5 gallon pail.....

a small statue pump, 4 ceramic pots from the dollar store, a 10 inch plastic pot the same diameter as the pail, a length of garden hose, and some pea gravel scrounged from the greenhouse floor....... a drill and a rat tail file....and a couple hens'n'chicks from the rock garden

A half inch hole was drilled through the bottom of the plastic pot, near the side. the pump with hose attached was put into the pail.

A bit of the edge of the pot was filed away to allow the pump cord to fit through. The pot was placed up side down into the pail, and the hose fed through the hole in the bottom of the pot. The pot was pushed down snug and level.

Fill the pail with water, and plug in the pump (so see how much 'lift' I had to work with, lol)

Fed the hose through the drainage holes in the ceramic pots, putting them in the order I wanted. Once I had them placed and angled where I liked them, I added the gravel to the pots and the plants to the gravel.

love the sound of running water.....

That is wonderful! What creative juices flow for you.

That is beautiful - I love the sound of trickling water too!

Marvellous! Nothing beats a pretty water feature in the garden! Really creative.

Joanne

That's awesome driven! Okay, gotta ask, but will those pots hold up over winter or do you have to do something special to protect the whole set up? I really think I could make something like this if I just use my noggan......love creative projects!

Erynne

Beautiful, and very creative!

thanks all for your comments!

I get bored easily, lol, and it's been raining so much here, I've spent a lot of time in the greenhouse, listening to the rain on the roof......

I can't count the number of times over the last week or so that I set the stack of pots up, (more, less, different colours, one colour etc)and then took it apart 'cause I didn't like the look of it, or it was too top heavy, or the pump could not lift the water that high....... (I really just like to play in the water, lol)

Erynne, I'll just bring the bucket and all into the basement for the winter, or just take it apart completely, the only thing holding it together is the hose running through the pots, it's a tight fit on the smallest pot.....

Once the water is out, the whole thing weighs maybe 10lbs

I'm dreaming about building some sort of raised pond someday....... with a water feature........so this little project was just 'looking for ideas'....and spending a rainy day playing letting my mind wander off on tangents.....

happy gardening!

How much fun was that...it's lovely..just love listening to the sounds of water...

That is awesome. You could spray paint your pail a funky color to match your spilling pots.

Looks great!

Oh I see (re:hose running through pots). That doesn't sound too bad at all to disassemble and store.
Another question, since you've had it going for several days now....do you have to top the water up quite often? I have a fountain from HD and I'm sure I have the thing levelled well enough but I notice I have to top that water up every couple of days because it dries up some. I do love the sound of the water however so I deal with it.

Erynne :o)

I only have it on when I'm home and out puttering in the garden.

But it's amazing just how much water has to be added to top it up, though.....

I have the same proboem with my rain chain fountain. The bowl is not huge and it does splatter so I have to keep an eye on the level or I will burn out the pump.
Same thing happens with another fountain if it is windy - I suddenly realize there is almost no water in it! So far have not lost a pump but there is always a first.

And speaking of pumps why cant they make one with an off/on switch!

I now have my fountains plugged into remote control extensions so the controls hang in the back porch and if I forget to turn them off at night I dont have to run out in my bare feet to unplug them

Remote control - why didn't I think of that? Forgetting to unplug at night was the bane of my existence the past couple of years!

Remote control! That's a fabulous idea fancy! Obviously, I don't get out enough to know what's in the stores these days.

ooh, plug in timer, plug in extention in timer....set timer.... problem solved!

must look for timer....

This is not a timer - I have timers for Xmas lights but dont always want the fountains running on a regular basis.

The other nice thing is there are 2 outlets on each remote.

I got my remotes at CdnTire.

I will definately check those out! sounds perfect..

THis is what it looks like. ( I have a rather more elegant one that I bought a couple of years before this one but cant find it anymore)

Thanks for showing what it looks like. DH has to go to Canadian Tire this Sunday, so now I can show him what to look for. Get to use up my CT funny money too!

Erynne

Hmmmmmmmmmm CT funny-money (got that), & HD gift cert for $50.... got that..... now, need to do the water feature thingie.
I used to have a 1/2 wine barrel which I lined with pond liner, then put in rocks & topped with paving rocks that looked like shelves. Some shelves got tea lights, and fairies, and water splashed down the other shelf rocks....... very ethereal at night...... The pieces of liner that showed were covered with bark.

Tucked it in a corner so you came upon it unexpectedly and was very effective.
Wish I had it, and a pic of it now.......... was before I moved.

I would have liked to see a pic of that 1/2 barrel, Tallulah, maybe you'll make another at your new place?

Hi drivenbonkers! Love your water feature! Guess I missed this thread because we were on hols, but I wanted to say that you were so nice to give me and my friend a tour of your most interesting garden back in June.

I want to mention to everyone that it was definitely the garden of someone very creative and resourceful. I'm ashamed to say I didn't take any pics, but the three of us had lots of garden discussion and lots of laughs and I learned a lot about veggie gardening. Driven has 24 or more 4x4 raised beds she made from salvaged wood and it's where she grows heirloom veggies, herbs and some flowers for cutting. Around the property are various gravity-fed rainbarrels that were made from olive barrels. She waters entirely from them, with connected hoses. The charming greenhouse was also made from salvaged materials. Healthy-looking tomatoes grew on poles along side the sunny side of the greenhouse, and when she gave us armloads of tomato seedlings she suggested we plant them on their sides so there's more of a surface area for roots to grow, therefore stronger plants. Who knew! Her greenhouse and veggie area facinated me. (What was it you had in the rainbarrels there, driven? I think it was alfalfa and epsom salts?) Well, you guys can imagine how happy the plants were! There was even running water in the greenhouse from the rainbarrel outside!

Then there were the orchids and the cactus, oh, and one of the most resourceful rustic arbours - circles of shrub trimmings connected with cable ties. Do you have a picture of that, driven, I thought it was so cool !

We had a great time, learned a lot and came away with seedlings, cactus pads and heirloom seeds. Great hands on garden - the kind a gardener really gets inspired by. I know we sure did.

Sandy

Sandy, I'm so glad you enjoyed your visit, the greenhouse door is always open, anytime you're in the neighbourhood, please drop by!

I took this pic yesterday. It shows my new barrel stand, with 2 blue barrels connected together. There's one blue barrel showing, the other is tucked behind the greenhouse.

The red barrel in front of the greenhouse is the alfalfa tea.

Last week was a week of firsts for this year in the garden.. the first sunflower to bloom, the first cactus blooms, the first potatoes dug, and first beans. And I found the first baby praying mantis I've seen in quite a few years. And no camera last week!

Mr. Toad has a relative living in one of the potato beds..... I found that out when I decided to have new potatoes for dinner last week. When I dig baby potatoes, I first pull up the plant.... then stick the fork in and pry out the spuds..... sitting on the top of the spuds was a toad...... He was not pleased to have been disturbed...

no toads were harmed in the making of dinner.

the opuntia in bloom

"No toads harmed in the making of dinner" LOL good one! Wish I had a toad in my garden!!!

yes, I certainly intend on making Some kind of water feature.... hmm I have a rain barrel (blue) that never fills enough with rain water (dunno why, except that we don't have drain spouts or downspouts & no evestroughing either, to drain into the barrel so we rely on rain getting directly into - therefore, not much use for a rain barrel, I guess), so I may just make a water feature out of it. I already have the pump, plastic tubing, etc........... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
(my brain is in overload now, so will be getting back to you!)
.......................................................
painting & stenciling, appropriate spot (side deck or back yard that no one ever sees), theme, cut down size or leave tall........etc. etc, etc........

This message was edited Jul 20, 2008 5:11 PM

Will look forward to seeing your water feature, Tallulah_B.

driven, seeing the cactus blooming reminded me of when you offered to give us some to take home. You suddenly disappeared into the house, and reappeared with a set of kitchen tongs! Another great idea. The right tool for the job, to be sure!

How about a pic of that arbour of yours?

Sandy

message edited 'cause I kant spill

This message was edited Jul 21, 2008 8:45 PM

lol, I've got my camera back from it's vacation out west with my son.... so I'll get a pic if it's not raining tonight!

LUV your greenhouse. Sounds like maybe Mr. Toad has a sweetie ^_^ Looking forward to the birth announcements.

here's the trellis made from the branches cut from the cedar hedge.....

That's incredible drivenbonkers. yooooooo hoooo foolys we could do that with willows methinks? Anyone interested?

my orchid cactus hanging in the tree...

a container of zip ties, pair of pruners and the some of the remnants of half of the cedar hedge. The branches were curved, not a straight one in the pile, so I curved 'em some more! It stands about 6 feet tall....

The poor thing was out over the winter, got blown over and was laying on it's side. Then got covered with snow. So the stick on the one side really should not be there, it's not part of the 'design'. It fits snugly into the 4x4foot block and stays upright, it's not fastened in.

The bed the trellis stands in is planted with blue sweet peas, and I'm looking forward to the blooms....

mmmmm, willow!

limited only by imagination!

We have alot of wild willows that can be soaked and bent. People make furniture out of them. I am totally untalented in this respect but fortunately there are a some VERY talented Foolys ^_^. I would like to a flat trellis like that to go on a fence. Wonderful job and thanks for the inspiration.

Cool trellis!!

I had used a lot of the branches to make my 'bendytwig' fence between the remaining cedars.. These branches were too curved to have been used in the fence.....so they told me they wanted to be a trellis.....

Oh yeah, I loved your fence too - it's in the background in the hanging orchid cactus shot above, you guys. Do you have a pic of your 'real' orchid collection, driven? .... and maybe a long shot of all your raised veggie area? It will remind me of what I'd like to try in the future. Get that camera snappin'! lol

Sandy

Jo-south!!! Hadn't heard from you, in like......... Ages!! How are you?

Susan

love the fountain AND the Bendytwig trellis!