Water & Garden Fountains ... Top Tips For Fountain Care

Probably the easiest way to add water to a garden or patio is to buy a fountain kit. By this I mean look for fountains that you can order complete with free fittings and accessories such as fountain pump, pipe and where used spray nozzles. However let's start a the beginning and talk about the different types of garden fountains you can buy for yourself or as a garden gift.

What qualifies me to talk and advise about garden fountains and their care?

For many years I was the exclusive South African importer of Henri Studio cast stone garden fountains. I remember the very first time I saw a Henri fountain ... it was in a Derbyshire UK garden centre and I could not believe the realism and beautiful construction and attention to detail included in the products I saw. The fountains, their appearance and design was second to none and this applied to whether the fountains were table-top fountains, water wall fountains, a garden birdbath, a piece of garden art or sculptures to match almost any theme you can dream about. Much of what I write about here is based upon what I learned from handling these gardening products and fountains over the years.

Today I no longer order, buy and sell Henri Studio fountain products because the long distance shipping costs to South Africa made the selling price of these exclusive garden fountains too high.

In 2000 we started to export lightweight fiberglass garden water fountains to the USA, Australia, UK, Germany, Spain & Italy. These are totally different kinds of fountains ...

• Fiberglass fountains are lightweight whereas Henri fountains are heavy

• The design of fiberglass water fountains are made to look like garden rock, slate or timber (wood) and as such are natural looking whereas the design of Henri fountains tend to be more classical, art-like or whimsical in nature.

• The fiberglass fountains are also lower in cost and both types are perfectly suitable for indoor or outdoor or patio use.

One of the things I always remember from when I imported cast stone garden fountains was the amount of marvelous beautiful and free garden product information that Henri Studio produced every year. Their customer service was also of the highest standard.

Water Garden Fountain Types

These can be divided into a number of different categories essentially based on how many components come in the fountain set. Broadly there are 2 types of water containers ... shell and bowl.

1.  The shell design is perfect for patio corners or up against walls because the statue or sculpture that attaches to the bowl is at the back of the item. The fountain pump is normally hidden beneath the statue in a small cavity and the fountain's pump cable comes out of the back of the set so it cannot be seen.

2. Bowl type of water receptacles in general are designed to be round and to present a beautiful view of the ornament set from any angle or point in the garden. With these bowl type fountains it is more difficult to hide the pump cable which normally leaves from the bottom of the unit at floor level. Bowl type fountains or sets are best used in entrances, in the middle of courtyards or spacious garden areas and of course as centrepieces on patios.

Garden fountains that allow water to fall from a significant height or popular fountain designs using umbrellas will splash so they must not be used indoors.

Setting Up Garden Fountains

• Cast stone fountains are heavy. This means the fountain set must be carefully installed on a level surface so that the risk of toppling over is removed. In addition to removing the risk of falling over the water flow will not look at its best ... you may have seen fountains that don't have an even flow of water around the circumference of the bowl and this is almost always due to the fact the fountain was not leveled firmly.

• There is a basic fact about cast stone garden fountains ... if they fall over or get dropped they resort to their original state namely a lump of concrete and become of no value. So take care.

• Make sure that the fountain set you order comes complete with free accessories and fountain pump ... this latter point is vitally important because specifying garden fountain pumps is extremely difficult. The point of the pump of course is to re-circulate the water and for this reason the pump is always in the lowest part of the fountain if there is more than a single water receptacle in the water fountain's design. All you have to do occasionally is to use your garden hose to top up the water in the bowl.

• Water fountains need electricity to run the fountain pump so always ensure maximum attention to safety. This means you should always connect the pump up via an earth leakage device (RCD or residual current device) designed to immediately cut off power in the event of any short circuit in the power supply. The maximum setting should be 30 mAmp

• When you order a garden fountain product to be delivered check on the shipping costs since these can be very high. And if you order online always make sure your privacy is protected.

• Water wall fountains for garden and patio use need special attention because they are positioned off the ground. Some units hang on hooks screwed into the wall. It is vital that the hook is not only designed to hold the weight of the water wall fountain but it must also be securely anchored into the wall. Some garden fountains for fixing to the wall must be installed using special and strong rawlbolts.

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