3 Beautiful DIY Fountain Projects Using Planters

With so many DIY garden ideas, it’s hard to pick which project to tackle next. DIY planter fountains are a winning garden enhancement because they’re challenging enough to hold your interest, but easy enough to complete in a day.

Plus, they’re the perfect mix of customizable and ready-made. Simply find planters that inspire you, and choose the best way to bring them to life with the soothing sound of water!

Here are three DIY planter fountain projects that you can follow to a T or use as inspiration for your own design.

 

Gorgeous Glazed Ceramic Fountain

This affordable DIY project packs a big punch and takes just a few hours to complete. The two-tiers of matching planters create a very luxe look, and fortunately it’s easy to find complimentary planters in different sizes.

What really makes this fountain pop are the warm-toned rocks next to the blue dripping glaze. After you’ve chosen your two matching planters, consider what type and color of rock will have the most impact.

You can find the step-by-step instructions for this project here (alongside a video tutorial). Some of the top tips from this project can be applied to any custom planter fountain you may be designing:

• Use plastic plugs and caulking to cover drainage holes in the planters
• Move the large planter where you want the fountain to go before filling with water
• Fully rinse the rocks before using so that debris doesn’t clog the fountain

Consider creating more than two tiers or working with complimentary planters in different shapes, instead of just different sizes.

 

Babbling Brook Fountain

This small multi-tiered fountain provides beautiful, refreshing river-like sounds thanks to streams of water that trickle down the sides of the saucers. Though it can be built at any size, this fountain project is intended to fit on a table top, and the base saucer is just 14 inches in diameter. The other saucers and planters are between 3 and 6 inches wide.

The most fun thing about this fountain, is that once it’s created, you can alter it any way you like. You can place flowers in bloom on top, add small garden accessories or statues to the saucers, or use seashells instead of rocks.

Here are some of the top tips learned from this project that you can apply to any fountain of your own design:

• File notches in the sides of saucers to create a spout
• Soak unglazed terra cotta planters for at least one hour to make them easier to drill and file
• Drill small width holes for the fountain tubing first and then file to make larger to get the perfect fit.

 

Large Stand-Alone Statement Fountain

Find a planter big enough and beautiful enough, and it won’t require any other elements (other than a pump) to become a fabulous fountain. What’s so special about these large urn fountains is that they are large and bold enough to be a true water feature in your garden, rather than just a small accessory. If you don’t want the maintenance that comes with building a pond, but want to add a water feature to your outdoor space, a large planter fountain is a really great option.

Big impact doesn’t come without effort however, and this DIY fountain project is certainly the most involved. The large container actually sits on top of a basin dug into the ground to catch the water that trickles over the side.

The benefit of going the extra mile (by digging a 16-inch deep basin), is that you’ll have a water feature that is built into your garden and has a more custom style than a fountain that can easily be moved around. Because it’s built into the ground, the top design considerations for this fountain project are which rocks to place over the basin and which plants to include on the periphery. Consider both texture and color when deciding.

Ceramic and terra cotta planters make the perfect base for DIY fountains: they’re available in any design style you can imagine and they’re built to endure the elements. After just a day’s work, you’ll have a beautiful fountain to enjoy for seasons to come.

Let us know which project you’ll be tackling in the comments below.