I came across a way of building a garden fountain out of pots that I hadn’t seen before. The idea of using pots as fountains is not new, but I think this version makes an excellent addition to any garden, and it’s very easy to do. The first thing to do is choose the pots for your fountain. The three containers will be used for a basin, a base and the larger pot that will be used as the fountain. When choosing the shape of pot for the main fountain, keep in mind how it will function and not just how it looks. Slightly tapered pots that are smooth will be quieter since the water clings to the sides as it goes down. Other pots having rings or ridges will cause the falling water to produce more sound.
Start with the large terracotta (or stone) bowl as the basis for your garden pot fountain. This will be the foundation for your fountain where the overflowing water will fall into. Using a power drill and masonry bit, drill out a hole from the center of the bowl (if necessary). Now you can run the cord from the pump out through the hole. Cover this hole with duct tape and fill it in with a car body filler. When it’s dry, use silicon to fill in around the cord. You should now be ready to place the pot in your desired location. Try to place this as level as possible, but it’s not crucial for the fountain to run properly.
For the base, use a standard terracotta pot and turn it upside down to house the pump. Make sure to choose a pot with a base diameter that is equal to the base diameter of the large fountain pot. If you soak the pot overnight in water, it will be easier to cut in notches around the top of the pot. They allow water to pass through to the pump which is inside the base.
For the tubing, cut a piece of pipe about a foot longer than the height of the main fountain pot and attach to the pump. Now you must feed the pot used for the base down over the tube through the hole in the bottom. Apply silicon around the gap between the tube and the bottom of the pot. The whole set up at this point will be the basin with a pump inside an upside down pot sitting in the middle of it and the pipe sticking out the top of the base pot.
Now things should start taking shape. Take the fountain pot and test fit it down over the tube by placing it on top of the base pot. Don’t glue it down yet. If it looks good (with the pipe sticking out past the top of the pot), you can take it back off and run a couple of thick beads of silicon around the top of the base pot. The bead around the outside diameter helps hold the two pots together, and the bead on the inside closer to the hole will keep water from running in between the pots.
Once everything has dried, fill with water and test. Now you will have to adjust the height of the tubing to get the desired effect you are looking for. Finish by filling in the basin with rocks.
