| Indoor Water Garden |
From "Ask DIY"
episode ADI-201 |
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Q: I keep seeing these small water fountains in stores, and I'd like to create my own using some plants. Can you walk me through the steps? A: (Jesse Mack Burns, Ask DIY Gardening Expert) One of the hottest things going, these fountains are sold just about everywhere. With a little imagination, you can put together a unique indoor water garden. Here's how: Safety alert: Anytime you work with water and electricity, be careful – and always follow the fountain manufacturer's safety instructions. Materials: Ready-made water fountain
Terra-cotta tray at least 6" wider than the base of the fountain (be sure it doesn't have a drainage hole)
Three or four indoor plants such as maidenhair fern, mahogany fern or small African violets
River rocks, purchased (figure A) or collected
Sheet moss, if desired
- If the tray will rest on a wooden table, make sure the outside is glazed so it doesn't sweat on the wood.
- Place your plants (figure B). Try a potted maidenhair fern on the corner of the fountain. Upend another terra-cotta pot on the tray, beside the fountain, and place a mahogany fern in a pot on top, using putty to keep the pot on the base. Place a third potted fern directly in the tray
- Fill in the rest of the terra-cotta tray with more purchased river rocks, even in the back of the fountain. Then fill the tray with water, just to the tips of the rocks.
- Nestle several African violets in the wet river rocks inside the tray. With any luck, your violet will come with a "wick" (figure C) that extends from the bottom of the pot to the water and absorbs water for the plant, provided you tuck it into the rocks. If your violet doesn't have a wick, make your own by knotting a piece of cotton twine so it won't fall through the drainage hole of a small terra-cotta pot. Then, before you plant a violet in the tiny pot, thread the knotted twine through the pot's drainage hole so that several inches dangle from the bottom to act as a wick.
- Use sheet moss to prop up any rebellious plants and also to hide any mechanics of your arrangement. If the moss isn't sitting directly in the water, make sure to mist it.
- Regularly water any plants that aren't sitting directly in the water bath. The ferns in particular will enjoy the humidity created by the fountain.
More questions for Jesse: Q: I want to put a concrete lotus-flower fountainhead in my garden pond. How do I treat it to prevent alkali and salts from leaching into the water? A: If your pond has fish or plants, chemicals can leach into the water and be very harmful to the aquatic life. You can use a brush and plain water – but no chemicals – occasionally to clean the fountainhead. Q: I have a preformed pond in between two oak trees. I read that the leaves are toxic for the pond. Is that true, and do you have any suggestions? A: The leaves can become toxic if you have fish in the pond, and it's a lot of extra work to keep them out. What's more, they're unsightly. Since your pond is preformed, I would suggest digging it up and relocating it. Q: How can I make faux rocks that would be weatherproof? A: It can be time-consuming, but try cutting your form out of plastic foam. Then use a light plastering material on top, with a texturing material such as vermiculite mixed in. Finally, seal it with latex. Website resources for Water Gardening: Wonderful Water from HGTV.Com Underwater Garden from HGTV.Com Book: Water Gardens
By Sunset Books
Sunset Publishing Corp. (1997)
Div. of Time-Warner
80 Willow Rd.
Menlo, CA 94025
Phone: 650-321-3600
Fax: 650-322-1043
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