Wall fountains- the whys, wherefores and how tos

WALL FOUNTAINS

 
Wall Fountains can be self-contained, and as such form the most minute feature
to which a water garden can shrink. They can also give an imaginative
purpose to the start of a stream or rill. TaLiz Roberts and Mary Macgregor designed and built this garden 'Dreaming of Italy' for the Tatton Park Flower Show: It shows the simple use of a preformed drainage channel making a rill to a pool. The water appears to come from a simple wall fountain, but the rill is likely to have an extra feed at the 'header pool' level.king the long tradition
from Roman times we almost expect to see a spring-head or outlet or
even any conduit of fresh water to be adorned with a figure. Originally
perhaps it was as a reminder of what god we ought to thank for this
life sustaining fluid, but the effect of the water spouting is to bring
the ornament itself to life. It is easy to see why water spouts with
figures attached became popular.
Although the theory of adding a water spout to a pool, or a wall
fountain to a wall is quite simple it does in the first instance
require a wall through which the pipe-work from the pump must be
threaded, and in the case of a wall fountain – the cable for the pump
in the feature reservoir needs a conduit to the mains. The most
professional approach for the former is a double skinned wall with the
spout on one side and the pipework travelling between. If the wall with
the spout on it is only viewed from the front then the pipe from the
pump can run through the base of the wall almost at pool level and
connect up with a pipe from the spout higher up.
An alternative is to build a wall in front of your existing wall,
building the fittings and the pipework in behind. This can be formally
rendered, or plain brickwork or perhaps a grotto effect with rough
water worn stone or tufa.

The magic of a wall fountain is that there are no cables or pipe work to be seen....

...unless you look behind the wall and you can see a pipe threaded through.: 'Quick Fit' plumbing fittings make this a very reliable and permanent feature instantly. These fittings can be hidden with more judicious planning. This was a temporary show garden.

This Haddonstone ornament could self-contained or, as in this case, be overflowing into a pool.

A brick facia on an already established wall helps hide the pipework from the submersible pump in the pool.

A grotto effect hides the plumbing and creates a romantic image of nature taking over the classical ruin.: Haddonstone again.

For myself in the past I have just used trellis and evergreen plants to
hide the pipe work. With some strong trellis fitted to the wall with
screws and rawlplugs and I could then hang the wall fountain from that,
running the pipe work behind the trellis into the reservoir below.
Planting a vigorous ivy under the trellis soon has trellis, pipework
and fixings invisible in no time (see above)

Triton Castings from the UK.: A similar grotto feel. Notice the small stones in the bowl to hide the tiny submersible pump. Many self-contained wall fountains will actually have the pump concealed in its own sump away from view.