Deciding where to place fountains in your yard

Deciding where to place fountains in your yard
Apr 1, 2019

An outdoor fountain can effortlessly create a serene vibe in your outdoor area. In a place as beautiful as Rock City, Iowa, and the surrounding areas, you want to make the most of your outdoor area.

However, you may be creating more stress for yourself if you position your new fountain poorly. There are a few factors to take into consideration when finding a spot in your garden for your fountain.

Sound
The sound of a fountain is one of its strongest assets. Trickling water puts most people at ease. You can also use a water feature to mask the noises from the surrounding area.

If you have an outdoor seating area, like a patio, you should position your new fountain so that you can hear its watery music. Face it towards your seating area. Even minor adjustments can affect the way the fountain sounds, so test out a few different ones.

If you’re using the fountain to mask street noise or any other noise pollution, place your fountain in between your seating area and the offending noise.

Electricity
Most fountains run on an electric pump, so it’s crucial for your new fountain to be positioned near an electricity source.

You can potentially run wires from an electric source to your fountain, but this will make the installation more complicated, and create hazards. The wiring, exposed to the elements, will be more susceptible to the wear and tear of time.

Safety
If you have kids or pets, you need to think about their safety when planning your new fountain’s location.

Place your fountain out of the way if you have active kids that like to play games in your yard. You do not want them falling into the fountain and whacking their heads, or worse.

For pets, the consideration is different. You want to place your fountain so that your pets will not be tempted to drink from it. In a place that gets as hot as Sioux Falls, Iowa, you will want to stop your pets from using your fountain as a water bowl. Most fountains use recycled water and drinking recycled water isn’t healthy for your pets. A wall-mounted outdoor fountain is an ideal choice for pet owners.

Plantings
One of the other considerations as to where to put your new fountain is to think about maintenance and the landscape design around your fountain. Do not put your fountain too close to plants or trees that drop a lot of their vegetation often. If your fountain is too close to some of these types of plants, you will constantly be scooping dead leaves and detritus out of your fountain. Even worse, petals, leaves, or bird droppings from overhanging tree branches will make your fountain function poorly over time.

There is not really any wrong answer when it comes to installing an outdoor fountain in your garden, but you may want to put some thought into it before you take the plunge. Professionals like those at Outdoor Elements Inc. have the expertise to answer all of your fountain-related questions.