waterless fountains Archives

Fountain surrounded by flowers Hot Gardens — Water once trickled out of the top of this solar-powered fountain. As water restrictions increased the fountain was turned off. Here flowers cascade around it. To see how it looks in 2018 go here.

In Mexico, just south of Tijuana, the highways are lined with semi-improvised shops – at least they were the last time I was there several years ago. In almost every one of these shops cast concrete garden fountains were for sale. Some were two-level; some three-level; all had elaborate decorations. But I suspect that the never-ending drought conditions across California and the U.S. Southwest have forced those garden fountain fabricators to turn to making other garden ornaments. Benches, perhaps, or concrete angels.

Drought conditions also have forced many people who purchased a fountain in Mexico or their neighborhood garden shop to turn them off as urban water restrictions increase. So it is time to put those fountains and the shallow pools that surround them to another use as raised flower beds. Cascading flowers, obviously, replace cascading water.

The photo at the top of this page gives you one example. The solar-powered fountain has been turned off and colorful and sturdy coneflowers, daisies, California poppies, and black-eyed Susans (Echinacea) spill over the sides of the raised bed around it. This design works best when the fountain is relatively plain.

(In my last post you can see how this fountain area has changed again as the drought has continued. In the current version of the fountain at the entrance to Arlington Garden in Pasadena, the colorful flowering plants have been replaced with low water usage, mounding plants that do not bloom abundantly. The fountain still isn’t flowing but an inch of water has been added to the basin for use by birds and small animals.)

3 level fountain succulents Hot Gardens — **This fountain never has had water bubbling over the sides. It has always been used as a planter for succulents, which need regular hand watering.**

Arlington Garden also has a good example of how to convert a three-level fountain into a very attractive planter. Instead of plants to spill over the sides, this one is planted with succulents some of which trail over the edges and all of them can survive in relatively shallow soil.

Plants like the Coneflowers or Lantana would not work because their roots need deeper soil than is possible in a shallow fountain basin. The succulents, of course, need to be watered to survive. They may need a daily or every-other-day splash of water. I especially like the blue-green gravel mulch around the base and in the basins. It is suggestive of flowing water.

And my final suggestion about a waterless fountain: simply leave it in place as a garden ornament. Most of the fountains I’ve seen are very attractive on their own.

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pampas grass waterless fountain — **In the center of a circular driveway the homeowner planted a fountain of Pampas Grass to “rise up and fall” over the edges of the planting bed in a home in Las Vegas.**

Fountains in the U.S. Southwest have almost become things of the past because of water restrictions. If however you have a yearning for that “falling and spilling over” effect you can create a simulated fountain using plants instead of cascading water.

I have two suggestions, but in this post I’ll start with the Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) fountain, pictured at the top. (Avoid planting the other Pampas Grass (Cortaderia jubata) which is an invasive weed. Given certain conditions–usually by a stream–it self-seeds and spreads wildly forcing out native plants.)

Here is how to make this waterless green fountain

You will need a raised garden bed for this design which you can create with stacked stones (real or artificial) or poured concrete as a containing wall. Ideally, it should be at least 8 to 10 feet long by 6 to 8 feet wide by about 1 foot high, but can, of course, be smaller.

Now for the planting: mound good garden soil in the bed where you want your “fountain” located. The mound of soil in the center should be somewhat higher than the soil nearer the edge of the “fountain”. Plant 4 or 5 Pampas grass plants on this raised bed including one at the center. Leave a generous space between the plants. Pampas grass grows very very fast to 8 to 10 feet tall in one season and has a graceful green arching shape – as if it is green “water” rising up and spilling back down to the earth. Toward the end of summer the grass will produce tall white plumes which add another 6 to 8 feet in height to your new grassy fountain.

Rock wall with deer grass — **If you want to use Deer Grass instead of Pampas Grass, here is an example of how it might look. There is a better photo of Deer Grass here.**

If you don’t have the large space required for a Pampas grass fountain, try doing a smaller version with Deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens) or red Fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum). The effect with red Fountain grass will not be quite the same, however because it doesn’t naturally have the “spill over” effect. (Avoid white fountain grass, also known as Buffel Grass, a highly invasive African species.)

The care of your new waterless fountain

Pampas grass is drought tolerant in the extreme. It needs almost no water at all. Once a year, in late Fall, Pampas grass should be cut back to 18 inches in height. The grass blade edges are very sharp so be sure to wear sturdy gloves and a heavy long sleeve shirt.

In the next post I’ll show another type of waterless fountain.