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orcascove

My strawberry pot bubbling fountain

Orcascove
15 years ago
last modified: last year

I've had this Strawberry pot sitting around since my Hens and Chicks were moved to a rock garden last year. And I wanted to make use of it, so this is what I came up with. What do you all think? I put artificial spiked grass in it for now, but would love to find a real spiked looking plant to use. As you can see the artificial ones kind of flop over. Any suggestions out there on a real one that will handle shallow water with a river rocks as the planting material?



Comments (15)

  • daisydal
    15 years ago

    omgosh!you are so talented! who would of thought!!? that is so beautiful and i bet it sounds wonderful on the terra cotta pots. there is an annual grass that is real pretty called purple fountain grass, but it might get too tall. even some monkey grass would be pretty.
    happy planting!-sherri

  • cindee11461
    15 years ago

    That is a great idea!!! Looks great too!!!

  • texasfern
    15 years ago

    Now theres an idea I can do!
    I have been wanting the sound of water on my patio!
    Great thinking!

  • craftylady-2006
    15 years ago

    What a great idea!!! I love it. You might be able to plant some "fiber optic grass" in the lower container (or at least set them in the bottom container). It looks pretty shallow and I'm not sure how far you have to plant them for good growth. It's a really pretty plant though. You can check it out by just typing fiber optic grass in your web browser line.

    Sal

  • Orcascove
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    craftylady-2006

    Thanks for the suggestion, I love the look of the fiberoptic grass, and what I saw online said it tolerates marshy areas well, so I think it sitting in water all the time will be ok. The bowl is actually 14 inches around bowl and about 7 inches deep, so I'm hoping that I can put the roots down under the small river stones and that will work. Now I just have to figure out where the heck to actually get Fiberoptic grass here in Columbus. Thanks again!! I'm off to start making phone calls. LOL!!!

  • jeannespines
    15 years ago

    ocra - Does your Hy-Vee's in Columbus have nurseries? Our's here sells Fiberoptic grass as one of their annuals. Also have seen it about any nursery...it's pretty common anymore... or maybe even a K-Mart, Walmart, Lowe's or Menards, Home Depot. Good luck! Love the pot fountain! Jeanne S.

  • Orcascove
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    I have gotten several emails asking how to make the fountain, and while I can't take credit for the original concept, I can tell you how I made mine. Here is a list of what I used and how I constructed it:

    1 Strawberry pot

    1 large terra-cotta bowl (needs to be at least tall enough for azalea pot to be under the height of the bowls rim because when the bottom bowl is filled with water, the water should be able to flow into the slits on the azalea pot so the pump has water access.)

    1 azalea pot (get the kind with the drainage slits on bottom side edges to save some work)

    1 table top fountain pump and appropriate sized tubing long enough to reach through top of strawberry fountain. ( I bought 3 ft and cut to length)

    1 terra-cotta saucer (must fit snuggly into top rim of strawberry pot)

    1 drill bit larger then your water supply hose. ( I found a concrete bit worked best for the terra-cotta)

    a drill and GEII silicone.

    Assorted pebbles or rocks. (I used river rocks)

    water plants etc...

    First I ground a notch in the top outside rim of the azalea pot big enough for the pumps cord using the drill and bit.

    I also needed to drill a whole in the middle of the saucer making sure my water supply hose fit through it.

    Then I laid the pump with the water supply tubing already attached into the center of the large bowl, then turned the azalea pot upside down, and placed it over top the pump, feeding the hose up through the drainage hole. While making sure to match up the notch over the cord, so it was not pinched by the weight of the fountain. Next I fed the hose up through the drainage hole of the strawberry pot, and set it directly on the bottom of the azalea pot. Then I applied the silicone to the entire rim of the strawberry pot. After feeding the water supply hose through the center of the saucer I set it into the silicone on the rim of the strawberry pot. I also applied another bead of the silicone on top and smoothed it into the crevice for a good watertight seal. I let it dry until the silicone was cured, and then added my small pebble stones into the top saucer, I then cut the water supply hose to length. Put the rest of the stones in the large base bowl and added water to cover the slits in the azalea pot.

  • regine_Z 10 Fl gw
    15 years ago

    I love the way yours turned out. I had a slightly different version but had to dismantle it. My grandaughter kept playing with the rocks that held the hose in the place and the water would spray everywhere! I'll redo it when she is older.

    Regina

    {{gwi:7552}}

  • kudzukween
    15 years ago

    Wow,these are really nice!

  • Orcascove
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    regine - your little strawberry pot is so cute, I've never seen one that size before. I bet you were sad to take it apart, but at least you know it will be up and running again some day when your grandaughther grows up. Maybe you should get her a bunch of those rocks of her own to play with.. LOL!!!

  • aja2
    15 years ago

    Rushes are grasses that grow in shallow water grass that will grow about 10" high. You can use pea gravel or other ddecorative gravel for the medium. This link shows photos and other info.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pond Plants Direct

  • Janice
    15 years ago

    Orca--while a lurker on this forum, I couldn't help but fall in love with your idea for the fountain. I wanted to also suggest that you can plant Inpatiens
    directly into water! I use panty hose to contain the roots and soil that comes with them, and set them directly in water, such as a small pond I made to
    attract cheepers! I think that would be a nice look, as well!!!

  • slr8
    15 years ago

    If you like the way it looks with that grass, try Live Wire. It is an annual and I have it in pots this year. Each little soft grass has a little flower on the end. Looks like Fibre Optics (Is that the right word?) Here is a pic.

    {{gwi:148557}}

    I have seen people put them right into water and they live well.

  • Orcascove
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    hey_j - Thanks for your suggestion, I still haven't found anything quite right, so the artificial grass is still there. LOL!!! I love impatiens, but this fountain is in full sun, so I don't know if they will make it there. Sure would be something to see...

    slr8 - your live wire is lovely, another option I will need to check out.

    Thanks for the suggetions everyone- I guess I better get something soon, or it will be time to tear everything down for the winter before I realize it. LOL!!

  • concretenprimroses
    15 years ago

    That is so funny about inpatiens. Many years ago when we planted some impatiens under trees in our downtown, someone pulled some of them up. One of them they threw into the fountain, which was in full sun. I couldn't reach it without wading in and no one else bothered and it stayed all summer! At the end of the year I did pull it out, and it had formed these bladders all over its stems, I thought it was some sort of mutant adaption! Love the idea of putting them in pantyhose and setting them loose. SEems from my experience that they can take more sun if in water as well.
    kathy