Of Water and Glass

There is something so magical about water to me. It captures my complete attention and takes me to a place that is so serene and peaceful. I love hiking along creeks and around waterfalls just to be able to stop and reflect by them. So when thinking about my different gardens, bringing water into them all was a no brainer!

When you go out my back door, you are instantly greeted by the sound of gently falling water. We created a waterfall the very first year we were in this house! It isn't perfect but I love the way it sounds and how it makes my garden feel when you enter it. I often find myself retreating here just to be able sit, close my eyes, and listen. Purely and simply; listening to the water trickle over the rocks we put so much elbow grease into just to pack them home and place them strategically; to the birds as they serenade each other in the breeze, or wind, or quite simply, the early morning calm.

In my front yard, I also had a water feature...to bring this tranquil aspect to all those who gaze and come into my home. It was basic; two pots, the large on the bottom and the small on the top, with water cascading over the edges of the smaller pot into the one below. It was cute and completed my front garden. But this winter, it got really cold really fast and I forgot to get the last bit of water from the bottom of the pot one night...when I awoke the next morning, I was greeted by a very shattered pot. As upset as I was, I also knew this would give me the opportunity to create a new water feature! This was definitely a task I was eager to take on!!

Now that the weather has finally decided to warm up a bit (even though it was in the mid-20's last night!) I felt it was time to build it. After some contemplation I finally decided how I wanted to make my new water feature...this is what I came up with!

The glass globe coverings to the older outdoor lights are abundant at re-sale home-goods stores. I know that I have seen numerous, and always unique, globes and always wondered what could be done with them. I stumbled across one several months back that was about 25 cents at a garage sale. It is in the shape of a Victorian finial or a 'pinecone.' When I was trying to plan out what I wanted for my new water feature, I though how lovely water would look cascading down the delicate sides of this uniquely shaped glass and into a small pond below. I knew I wanted to use a basic yet interesting flower pot as my base "pond" making it inexpensive and fun, I had the pump, and could rig up a support for the small globe in a heart-beat. My problem came when I gazed at the globe once more: it was completely solid. Aside from the opening at the bottom, there was no other aperture for which water to escape. Knowing that this was what I wanted to use for my fountain, I was determined to fix this! Here how I took a simple discarded piece of glass and created my new water feature:

The first step was of course, to create a hole at the top of the globe in which the water could bubble out of. I purchased a tile/glass drill bit at our local hardware store, 1/2", and went to work. I began by drilling with constant, yet reserved, pressure for about 10 minutes. After making a little progress, I took a break and returned to try again. After another 10 minutes I had finally drilled all the way through. Now I had a clean smooth 1/2" hole at the top.

The next step was to get my standard flower pot ready to act as a pond.

 

 I bought some landscape foam to seal the hole at the bottom of the pot. I followed the directions on the package and used a small piece of scrap metal to set in the foam to create a cover. I then used a little more of this foam around the top and edges of the metal just to make sure it was completely sealed.

Once the foam sealant had completely dried and cured, I was ready to start assembling!

This is a fairly deep pot so I needed something to act as a support between the pump at the bottom and the globe at the top. I found a basic metal meshed trashcan at my Dollar Tree store which was sturdy enough to hold the glass and was perfectly meshed to allow water to flow around the pump.

My pump is a small pond pump that has the solid plastic pipe that comes directly from the top. The pipe was long enough, after a bit of finagling, to reach the height I needed so all I had to do was cut a small hole in the bottom of the trash can for the pipe to fit through. I placed the pump at the base of my pot, inverted the trashcan over it (so the bottom of the can was at the top of my pot), made sure the pipe was securely through the opening I made in the trash can, and placed the glass globe so its newly drilled opening rested over the pipe and on the bottom of the wire trashcan.

After re-checking the sturdiness of the structure, I filled it up and plugged her in!

I love it!

It's always so much fun to be able to create something new and different but it's even better when the thing you've created works and fits your every need. And as of now, this exactly what I've accomplished. I took my coffee out onto the front porch this morning and this wonderful water feature blessed me with its delicate presence. We even sat out next to it this evening and enjoyed a glass of wine and relaxing conversation! It's great!

So if you haven't yet brought water of some form into your garden, I would encourage you, whole-heartedly, to do so! It can be basic, fancy, purchased, or home-made. Whichever route you take, I hope you'll find as much enjoyment in this new sensory aspect as I have!

Enjoy!