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Water Features in a Kid's Garden

© Linda Mazar

Kids love water. They flock to the fountains at the malls and public gardens, reaching for the streams of water with their hands. They bend over the fishponds running their hands through the water, watching their reflections, and looking for those elusive fish. Kids are just naturally drawn to water and they like to have water features in their own gardens. Why not add a water feature for your child's garden?

Water features add fun and excitement to gardens, but there are several issues to look at before deciding on one. First, consider the age or ability level of your child. Young children can drown in a couple of inches of water. Make sure that whatever type of water feature you put in will be safe for your child and supervise all children when they are near it.

Consider the size of your child's garden. You will want the feature to be in scale to the size of the garden. In a small garden, a birdbath, bird bowl (a bowl sunk into the ground), or butterfly water/mud puddle (a shallow dish or pan with a little water, a flat rock, and some mud) may be all that is needed. Your child will enjoy filling up the birdbath/bowl/butterfly puddle with the garden hose or a watering can (perhaps his/her own watering can that is child sized). These are safe choices for younger children.

For medium-sized gardens, a half whiskey barrel, bucket, or galvanized wash tub could house a small fountain or a container water garden. An easy fountain can be made from a five-gallon bucket (look for a freebie from a restaurant or other food service business), some rocks, a piece of screen, and a submersible pump (a small fountain pump or a submersible aquarium pump). Dig a hole and sink the bucket leaving a few inches above the ground. Put the pump in the bottom (electric cord coming out of the bucket) with the water tubing sticking up to the top and center of the bucket. Cut a small hole in the center of the bucket cover for the tubing to stick through slightly. Cut drainage holes in the cover that are smaller than your rocks (you don't want your rocks to fall in), but big and plentiful enough to let the water back in the bucket. Cut a piece of screening to cover the bucket cover and place it on top or the cover. Put a small hole in the center of the screening so the water tubing can come through it. Put the cover on the bucket with the tubing through the center hole. Mound rocks onto the cover and screen. Adjust the water tubing so that it will put the water where you want it. Mound more rocks around the outside edge of the bucket to hide it. Fill the bucket with water and plug it in. Be sure to keep lots of water in the bucket when the pump in running.

The copyright of the article Water Features in a Kid's Garden in Gardening with Children is owned by Linda Mazar. Permission to republish Water Features in a Kid's Garden in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.