| Even if you want a big water garden with a | | | | Many people who begin small find they've enjoyed |
| fountain, waterfall, stream, and a variety of fish | | | | their first creation so much that they want to do |
| and plants, make a starter garden first. A | | | | a second, more ambitious feature, building on the |
| small-scale project offers experience you'll find | | | | skills they have learned. Beginning gardens can also |
| helpful when tackling larger projects later. A | | | | provide the first piece of a much larger project. |
| starter garden brings the beauty of water to | | | | For example, your small pool could eventually |
| your landscape in a minimum of time and for | | | | become the foot of a waterfall or stream. Clay |
| much less cost than it takes to develop a large | | | | pots and pottery shards create a whimsical that |
| water garden. It is also more manageable when it | | | | takes little time to build or maintain. In cold |
| comes to time, requiring less than an hour of | | | | climates bring such a fountain indoors for the |
| maintenance every few weeks. You can have a | | | | winter. Your starter garden with a fountain could |
| water garden with a, in a small space. Sometimes | | | | be just a temporary one until you move on to |
| called mini ponds or mini gardens. Starter gardens | | | | bigger projects. If you dispose of it, you can |
| set by an entrance are a delight for visitors. | | | | reuse the flexible liner and move flagstones and |
| Tucked into a corner of a patio, they're a | | | | boulders in the landscape to another site. When |
| pleasant source of sound or a sparkling focal point | | | | finished with a water garden container, you can fill |
| when incorporated into the landscape. You can | | | | it with soil and use it as a planter. And you can |
| make a starter water garden with a fountain | | | | reuse a pump in a new water feature or sell it to |
| that's formal or informal, raised or in the ground. | | | | another aspiring water gardener. Fish and |
| A starter water garden with a fountain is the | | | | Fountains For plants and fish, a mini garden should |
| logical choice for small yards or patios and mini | | | | hold at least 5 gallons of water, but leave out the |
| gardens since they all provide a point of interest in | | | | Splashing interferes with plant growth and creates |
| a courtyard or in a tiny plot outside of an | | | | currents the fish have to fight. Instead, equip |
| apartment. Home or Factory Made Fountains? | | | | minimum-size gardens with a small poolside spitter |
| Urns are popular containers for fountains. And | | | | fountain or a gentle aquarium bubbler to aerate |
| they're easy to set up. Simply install a small pump | | | | the water without creating too much disturbance. |
| in the bottom of the urn and fill with water. | | | | If water becomes cloudy or foul smelling in a |
| Starter gardens can be handmade or arrive from | | | | small starter water garden with a water fountain, |
| the factory ready to install. Make one from a | | | | remove 10 percent of the water from the |
| ceramic pot or try a small kidney-shaped pond | | | | bottom with either a siphon hose or water pump. |
| formed with flexible liner and tucked into a | | | | This reduces the buildup of toxic organic wastes. |
| flowerbed. A pre-made fountain, outfitted with | | | | Elizabeth Jean writes water fountain and related |
| fish and plants, or an aboveground preformed | | | | topics for Garden-Fountains.com, the Internet's |
| garden complete with flagstones stacked in a low | | | | premier destination for wall fountains, indoor |
| wall around a liner can serve as a starter garden. | | | | fountains and distinctive water features for your |
| There are even portable water gardens. A starter | | | | home and garden. |
| water garden with a fountain is an inspiration. | | | | |