The Countless Choices in Garden Wall Fountains

With its basin placed on the ground, freestanding wall fountains, or floor fountains, are normally quite large in size.

You can decide to place your wall-mounted fountain on an existing wall or build it into a new wall. This style of fountain adds to a cohesive look making it seem as if it was part of the landscape instead of an added feature.

Modern Garden Decoration: Outdoor Fountains and their Beginnings

The central purpose of a fountain was originally strictly practical. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to provide potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up to the late 19th century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and more elevated than the fountain so that gravity could make the water move down or shoot high into the air. Designers thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and celebrate the designer responsible for building it. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times used by Romans to decorate their fountains. Muslims and Moorish garden designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions of the gardens of paradise. To show his dominance over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains built to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.

The end of the nineteenth century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.

Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.