With more than 50 years of combined experience, Jonathan Robert Landscapes has been transforming homes to match the vision and dreams of our customers. Find out how our team of certified Ottawa landscapers can help you realize the potential of your home. If you're looking to add a touch of relaxation to your outdoor living space, consider incorporating a water feature into your landscape design. Water features come in many shapes and sizes, and can be used to create a beautiful backyard sanctuary.
Not every outdoor living space can house a pool, nor does everyone want a pool in their backyard. That doesn't mean you don't want the sounds and aesthetics of relaxing and fascinating water. Regardless of the size of your backyard, you can effortlessly incorporate a variety of water features into your backyard designs. Water fountains are purely relaxing, and even the simplest designs create beautiful backyard spaces.
The relaxing sound and relaxing natural view of the water can help you escape the stresses of everyday life. Water fountains aren't limited to the backyard either. They should also be considered for front yard garden ideas. When buying water fountains, consider the following features. Water sources need energy to pump water, and they can be solar-powered or connected to your home's power supply.
To use your home's electrical supply, your water source will need an outdoor extension cord connected to an outdoor outlet or to an outlet in the shed or garage. You can bury this cable to hide it, but you'll need to use a special shielded gutter to avoid damaging the cable or passing the cable through a buried duct. Solar water sources do not require cables and are a greener option. However, they need to be placed in direct sunlight, which could limit your placement options.
And since they don't necessarily store energy, they may only work when they're powered by the sun, so they can't work at night. Many water sources do not require piping for an external water supply, since they have their own internal water tanks. So, consider standalone water fountains that only require you to add water to top them off from time to time. If you have irrigation, you can also connect it to your system with an automatic recharging option so you have no worries. Water sources should be cleaned from time to time. The water becomes viscous and you'll have to clean the water source before and after winter, and even prepare it for winter, depending on the type of source you choose.
You may have to learn how to drain the water source to clean it properly and clean the sump or clean the outside of any decorative element, such as statues, orbs or decorative stones that are part of your water source. The amount of time you're willing to spend maintaining and cleaning water fountains will affect the size and type that best meets your needs. You may want to start small if you have a tight schedule. Or you can hire a professional to clean and maintain your gardens and water features. Consider placing your water feature between plants and gardens to make it look like a natural part of your backyard oasis rather than a standalone fountain. You'll also want the style of the feature to complement the rest of your landscape, not conflict with it.
Modern features, such as reflecting pools or hot tubs may look out of place in an older landscape design. You should decide on the location before installing the water fountain, as it may be difficult or impossible to move it once installed. Place a water fountain where it gives you the most benefit. Most people have a “zen” spot around their water source - this is a place to completely relax close to the sound of dripping water and let the stress of the day fade away. Also, consider the foliage that could end up in your water source when choosing a location for installation. Trees could shed leaves in the water source, creating additional work for you.
Consider accentuating the water fountain with lighting, either with built-in lighting or spotlights, so that you can also appreciate the water fountain at night. The safety of children and animals should be considered when installing any body of water in your backyard. Therefore, if you have young children in your family, take extra precautions and build a fence (such as a pool fence) around any large body of water. From the simplest to the most elaborate, there are many types of aquatic features and combinations of aquatic features that can be used to enhance your outdoor landscape. Here are some ideas for incorporating different types of water features into your landscape design:
- Pools come in different shapes, sizes, and depths to fit a variety of backyard needs - such as training pools, plunge pools, dive pools - large enough to accommodate family and friends.
- Consider adding a waterfall, spa or fountain to your pool for two water features in one.
- Hot tubs and spas provide relaxation in more ways than one - in addition to being a relaxing place to relax your muscles after a long day - many hot tubs and spas are aesthetically pleasing and create beautiful water fountains in backyards.
- Reflecting or reflecting pools are used as focal points in garden landscapes - often placed near a decorative landscape feature - such as statues - orbs or decorative stones - these pools usually have geometric shapes with walking surfaces that hang over the edges.
- Ponds also come in various shapes and sizes - from small transparent ponds surrounded by natural stone - spiced up with lilies and fish - all the way up to small ponds with added waterfalls.
Versatile in size, material and style - these fountains add relaxing sounds while making them aesthetically pleasing additions for both backyards and front patios. Regardless of which type of water feature you choose for your landscape design - make sure it is properly maintained so that it remains safe for children and animals while providing years of enjoyment.
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