Build a pebble fountain

What to do

Time needed

2 hours

You will need

• Pump (350 gallons per hour)
• Reservoir tank
• 8 bags of pebbles or cobbles
• A length of hose
• Spirit level
• Jubilee clip (to secure hose to pump)
• Bag of soft sand
• Strong wire mesh grid
• Roll of chicken wire
• Spade
• Fork

Marking out

• Choose the position of your water feature and use the empty reservoir as a guide to help you mark out the site.
• Use a fork to break up the subsoil and dig out the hole, making it slightly larger than your reservoir so that there is room for adjustment.
• Place the reservoir in the hole and lay a spirit level across the top to check for levels. You can adjust the level by adding sand to the bottom of your dug out hole.
• Once the reservoir is completely level, fill in the gaps around the edge with the soil that was removed from the hole.

Positioning the pump

• Attach a length of pipe to the pump and place it in the reservoir.
• Place a sheet of strong metal mesh across the top.
• Fill with water and then check that the pump is working.
• Place the stone in the centre of the mesh and carefully feed the pipe running from the pump through the hole in the centre. Be careful that the hose doesn't kink when placing the stone onto the grid, as this will restrict the water flow.
• Turn the pump on and check that the water flows through correctly. Adjust if necessary.

Finishing touches

• Tip out the pebbles and arrange them attractively around the outside of the central stone. If the pebbles are too small and fall through the mesh, or you want a variety of sizes of stones then add some chicken wire to the top of your strong mesh.
• Check the reservoir is kept topped up as levels will drop with evaporation. It's best to keep the pump running all the time as there'll be more wear and tear if you keep stopping and starting it.