Country fountain: a variety of ideas

It seems that the days have passed when the summer cottages and private courtyards of the Russians represented exclusively the territory with broken beds and planted trees, shrubs. A modern garden, a large private courtyard or a tiny backyard within the city housing can be a work of landscape art. Beautiful flower beds, neat garden paths, barbecue areas, swings and gazebos - there are plenty of options for arranging even modest yards. But according to the Japanese - great specialists in creating the perfect landscape design - for a harmonious atmosphere in your yard or summer cottage there must be three components: plants, stone and water. This publication will be dedicated to bringing a source of water into the arrangement of the local area. Let's look at possible options for creating a fountain in a summer cottage or garden, as part of a small courtyard or a huge house territory.

The generally accepted opinion that a fountain in a summer cottage is expensive, labor-consuming and generally troublesome, has long lacked an evidence base. It is not difficult to organize a source with constantly circulating water on your own, if you approach the issue with care and accuracy. Well, there are so many ready-made options in modern stores that it is just right to get confused.

The choice of a fountain, like any device for decorating a local area, requires accurate calculations, the correct selection of shapes, sizes and materials. Before you go to a store or on the Internet in search of videos with master classes on making a fountain with your own hands, you need to decide what fountains are and how they differ from each other.

This type of fountain can be considered the simplest in terms of installation and installation. The peculiarity of the submersible mechanism is that the jet hits directly from the water. But this option requires the presence or creation of a small reservoir - an artificial pond or a large bowl of water, which is immersed in the soil. Submersible version of the fountain - one of the least expensive. It is enough to choose a suitable spray nozzle forming a stream and to fix a hose from the pump. Installation of additional technical devices is not required.

It is such constructions that we represent most often when we talk about fountains in parks and squares. This type of fountain suggests the presence of any decorative elements that mimic the source of water. In a stationary fountain for a summer residence and a private courtyard, jets, sculptures or their compositions, various elements of landscape decoration can be used.

The design of the stationary fountain design itself is somewhat more complicated than the submersible type mechanism, but such a decorative element of landscape design also looks more respectable and effective. This is especially true of those cases when it was possible to find a model of the fountain suitable for the general concept of designing the site (or to do it yourself).

Among the many models of stationary fountains, products made of a polymer material that perfectly imitates natural stone are especially popular today. Products made of polystone look like models made of natural stone, but at the same time they are much cheaper, lightweight and easy to install and operate.

Fountains from a polystone can be either a single object or a composition of several elements - there are no options to consider. In any case, the material is not subject to decay and deformation, is able to withstand jets of water even under sufficiently high pressure.

Fountains in which water flows through the main element or the whole composition of objects look stylish, modern and creative. It seems that the stone itself is a source of moisture. Meanwhile, water flows through the hose, which is located in the center of the hole of the boulder (or any other decorative element).

No less than varieties of fountains, imitating both jets and water flowing from something like a waterfall. In such a combined composition, fountain jets, rising upwards, do not easily fall back into the water, but fall into a cascade of stones or stepwise arranged decor elements.

So, you have decided on the type of fountain and are ready to get to work. But wait, dig a pit. Popular wisdom says: “Measure seven times, cut one.” It is necessary to carefully plan your actions, make the necessary calculations, conduct a series of preparatory work.

A good choice of a zone for the location of the fountain is an important item in the list of affairs for arranging the local area. After all, we want difficult decoration of the site, and creating an atmosphere of peace and comfort, in which the sound of running water will allow you to relax and forget about the bustle of everyday work. On the one hand, I want the fountain to be in a zone of constant visibility so that you can admire it from anywhere in the site (but most often this desire is unattainable, because there are buildings, trees and tall bushes on the territory), on the other hand, to be located near the recreation area .

If you plan to make a submersible fountain, then you need to consider the following nuances:

• the fountain should not be placed directly under a tree or a tall bush - falling leaves will not only clog the water, but can also cause a pump breakdown. In turn, the root system of a tree can cause destruction of the entire structure;
• a fountain in even a small pond will cause high humidity and possible damage to the facade if it is located in close proximity to the house or other buildings;
• It is also important to consider the wind rose in your area, at least the preferred wind direction. If you place a pond with a fountain on the leeward side, then most of the time you will have to deal with garbage collection, and not enjoy the beauty of the structure and the sounds of pouring water;
• but also an absolutely open section of the yard is not the best option for the location of the fountain (especially for the regions of our country where the summer is very hot). During the day, light and shadow should succeed each other. Otherwise, the water in the tank can become very hot, which leads to the failure of the pump. And the water will start to turn green faster in constantly hot water.

In this regard, the determining type will be the type of fountain and the size of the produced reservoir. In order to optimize the costs and time for making a fountain with your own hands, it is easiest to choose a finished bowl from a composite from the existing assortment of stores. A wide range of shapes, sizes and colors will allow you to do this without much effort.

Experts recommend choosing bowls from composite materials, because they do not have thermal deformations. If your reservoir will be small in size, and the choice of some original form is unprincipled for you, then it is better to purchase a ready-made version. Otherwise, you have to make the cup yourself - this is a laborious process that takes a lot of time. But as a result, you get the perfect vessel for your summer cottage. This topic is extensive and worthy of a separate publication. But not all elements for the garden fountain are selected.

The pump for the fountain should not easily push the stream of water to the desired height, as required in the cottage waterfall or artificial stream, but also push the water with the right pressure to a certain height above the surface.Of course, there are formulas for finding the required pump power for a given jet height and optimal hose diameter, but for those who do not want to delve into the calculation features, we offer the following list of matches:

• for a jet height of 50 cm, a hose diameter of 1.5 cm is pressed, and a pump capacity of 1000 l / h;
• for height 100 cm, diameter - 1.5 cm, pump 2000 l / h;
• jet 150 cm, diameter - 2.5 cm, productivity 3000 l / h;
• head height 200 cm, hose with a diameter of 2.5 cm, power 5000 l / h;
• for a jet with a height of 300 cm or more, a hose with a diameter of 2.5 cm or more will be required, and a pump with a capacity of 8000 l / h or more (but such constructions are rarely used for a country landscape).

There are many varieties of nozzles for creating original types of jets, all of them leave an imprint on the choice of technical characteristics of the equipment. In any case, all parameters of the pump will be indicated in its marking, on the box and in the technical passport of the goods. If you want to make a fountain of the “geyser” type or use original nozzles (such as “bell, etc.), then contact the store’s consultants for help.

Of course, the main criteria for choosing a decor for the fountain will be only your imagination and financial capabilities. Although, for many types of decor, the costs will be symbolic. For example, if you chose a fountain model from a polystone, then decor is not needed at all. Such models are most often presented in a rather concise design and do not require jewelry.

If you want to create the most natural atmosphere close to the atmosphere of wildlife on the entire site in general and near the fountain in particular, then it will not be superfluous to adhere to the following simple recommendations:

• for the decor of the fountain, use stones of one, a maximum of two rocks, because in nature it is rarely possible to meet a pile of stones that differ significantly in their aesthetic qualities;
• plants that will be in close proximity to the fountain or located in a pond, it is better to choose from the class of those for which water or very high humidity is a natural habitat;
• if there are fish in your artificial pond, you need to know in advance whether a particular decorative breed is able to calmly tolerate the noise of falling water.

The listed fountain options and the photos proposed to them are only part of the ways to create an original source of water for a summer cottage, private courtyard or just a house adjoining territory. Fantasy for creating combined models, the use of non-standard materials there is no limit. Whatever your choice, it is important that any fountain give your site a special flavor, make landscape design complete, more harmonious, increase humidity and create a soothing, relaxing atmosphere in the recreation area (or near it).

Recently, the so-called "vertical fountains", which are literally a "water wall", have been especially popular. They look stylish, modern and easily fit into almost any style of landscape design, without taking up much space.