Electrically-powered water features

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Electrically-powered water features

Transform a terracotta pot
Nestling a beautiful pot or urn among your border palnts and then using it as a water feature will give your garden a restful feel. You can buy complete kits, such as the terracotta urn water feature, £449 from Crocus, or create something similar to the one pictured for yourself. Simply choose a suitable pot or urn from your local garden centre, find the perfect place for it in your garden and then ask a qualified electrician to install the cabling to run a water pump.

Make a focal point with a wall feature
For a timeless look to your patio, install a traditional wall fountain. You'll need an electrician to connect a water pump (from £20 at DIY stores) to the electricity mains indoors, which will feed water from a water reservoir through a pipe behind the wall to the mouth of the fountain. For a selection of wall fountains, try Arcadian.

Create a two-tier cascade
Give your garden an informal look by using recycled materials, such as old stone tubs and troughs - your best source will be local architectural salvage yards (check out www.salvo.co.uk for your nearest). Expect prices to start from around £40. To create this tiered water feature the water is pumped up through a hidden pipe from the reservoir trough to the tub at the top. The water then overflows naturally back down into the reservoir. Get a qualified electrician to install the cabling needed to run the pump.

Be different with a pebble design
If you would like something a little unusual, a pebble fountain is ideal. You'll need to install a small water reservoir under the pebbles and a pump, which will require electricity, to circulate the water. Use a qualified electrician to do the electrical work. Buy a bag of pebbles from somewhere like B&Q and let the water spill over them.

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