Do-It-Yourself Small Outdoor Water Features

An outdoor water feature is soothing, particularly if it has moving water, such as a fountain. Creating one is a fairly simple project that can be accomplished with materials you may already have on hand. Purchase anything else you need at a home improvement or garden-supply store. The most important part of this feature is a pump to circulate water; no external plumbing is necessary, but most pumps require an electrical connection.

Electrical outlet
Large pot, urn or trough
Plastic pond liner
Garden scissors
Hose
Small pond pump kit
Bricks
Plastic grill
Water feature urn
Pebbles, shells or marbles

Instructions

- 1
  Place a small plastic pond liner in the bottom of a large pot. Alternatively, you can use an urn or a trough. Buy a liner that's big enough to come up the sides of the container.
- 2
  Cut the liner to fit the pot, using garden scissors. None of the liner should be visible when the water feature is finished.
- 3
  Connect the end of 25-inch water-pump hose to the output spout of a pond pump.
- 4
  Place the pump in the bottom of the large pot. Position its flex so that it comes over the back rim of the pot.
- 5
  Position two bricks inside the pot, one on each side of the pump. The bricks should be slightly taller than the pump.
- 6
  Fill the pot with water, up to the top of the liner.
- 7
  Place a plastic grill with slats big enough for the hose to fit through on top of the bricks, and pull the hose through. Make sure the grill fits snugly inside the large pot.
- 8
  Position a water-feature urn on top of the grill. The urn you use should have a drainage hole on the bottom. Push the hose through the hole.
- 9
  Place pebbles, shells or marbles inside the urn and on the top of the grill, hiding the liner and the pump.
- 10
  Place plants behind the water feature to disguise the flex. Turn on the pump.

Garden Art Projects for Seniors

Good Evergreen Plant Container

Lawn Ornaments