Contemporary Garden Decoration: Outdoor Fountains and their Roots

From the onset, outdoor fountains were simply meant to serve as functional elements. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the area. Used until the 19th century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their source of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from the power of gravity. Artists thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and honor the designer responsible for building it. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times used by Romans to beautify their fountains. Throughout the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners incorporated fountains to create smaller variations of the gardens of paradise. To show his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. To mark the entrance of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the construction of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts entered the city of Rome

Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for clean, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely ornamental. The introduction of unique water effects and the recycling of water were 2 things made possible by replacing gravity with mechanical pumps.

Nowadays, fountains adorn public areas and are used to honor individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.

Landscape Elegance: Wall fountains

Garden wall fountains come in lots of different materials, but they are usually made of stone and metal. You need to know the style you are shooting for in order to select the best suited material. The best designs for your outdoor wall fountain are those which are hand-crafted, easy to put up and not too heavy to hang. Ensure that your water feature is manageable as far as maintenance is concerned. Even though installing certain fountains can be hard, the majority take little work because the only parts which demand special care are the re-circulating pump and the hardware to hang them. It is very simple to spruce up your garden with these kinds of fountains.