Contemporary Garden Decoration: Outdoor Fountains and their Beginnings
Contemporary Garden Decoration: Outdoor Fountains and their Beginnings The amazing or decorative effect of a fountain is just one of the purposes it fulfills, in addition to supplying drinking water and adding a decorative touch to your property.From the onset, outdoor fountains were soley meant to serve as functional elements. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, from aqueducts or springs nearby. Until the late 19th, century most water fountains operated using gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a supply of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Fountains were not only used as a water source for drinking water, but also to decorate homes and celebrate the artist who created it. Bronze or stone masks of animals and heroes were frequently seen on Roman fountains. Throughout the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners included fountains to create smaller variations of the gardens of paradise. To demonstrate his dominance over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were glorified with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Since indoor plumbing became the norm of the day for fresh, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely decorative. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to deliver recycled water into living spaces as well as create special water effects.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the purposes of modern-day fountains.
The Countless Choices in Garden Wall Fountains

Usually quite big, freestanding wall fountains, also referred to as floor fountains, have their basins on the floor.
You can choose to place your wall-mounted feature on an existing wall or build it into a new wall. Incorporating this kind of water feature into your landscape adds a cohesiveness to the look you want to attain rather than making it seem as if the fountain was merely added later.