The Many Construction Materials of Large Outdoor Fountains

Today, a lot of people choose copper for their sculptural garden fountains. Copper fountains are the best choice because they are perfect for the inside and outside. If you choose to go with copper, your fountain can be any style from fun and whimsical to modern.

Also popular, brass fountains often have a more old-fashioned appearance to them versus their copper counterpart. You will see a lot of brass fountains, as their interesting artwork makes them trendy even if they are on the more traditional side.

The most stylish metal right now is perhaps stainless steel. Adding a modern-looking steel design will immediately add value to your garden and improve the overall atmosphere. Like all water fountains, you can get them in just about any size you choose.

Fiberglass is a common material for fountains because you can get the look and feel of metal at a much lower price, and it is lighter weight and easier to move than metal. Keeping a fiberglass water fountain clean and working properly is quite effortless, another aspect consumers love.

Where did Garden Water Fountains Originate from?

From the onset, outdoor fountains were simply meant to serve as functional elements. Residents of cities, townships and small towns used them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash, which meant that fountains needed to be linked to nearby aqueduct or spring. Up to the late nineteenth century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and higher than the fountain so that gravity could make the water move downwards or shoot high into the air. Fountains were not only used as a water source for drinking water, but also to adorn homes and celebrate the artist who created it. Roman fountains usually depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners included fountains to create smaller depictions of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to demonstrate his superiority over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created baroque decorative fountains to exalt the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the spot where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.

The end of the nineteenth century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to supply drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to strictly decorative elements. The creation of special water effects and the recycling of water were two things made possible by swapping gravity with mechanical pumps.

These days, fountains adorn public areas and are used to recognize individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.