From Fountain to Planter
by
Terry
$52
3 Hours
Easy
I've had this old fountain sitting in my courtyard for several years collecting mold and mildew waiting to be hooked up. My husband couldn't convince me how to get electricity to it without the wiring being seen or tearing up the paver sidewalk so it sat waiting for a solar pump or another solution. We hit it a lick with the pressure cleaner and that's when inspiration struck. I found a way to use the fountain, eliminate the need for electricity, and satisfy my love of all things succulent.
Fontain right after pressure washing it.
My husband, who is wonderfully handy and helpful, stacked and reinforced it so it wouldn't topple over.
Stacked and reinforced and almost clean.
He also convinced me to drill drainage holes in both basins so we wouldn't have standing water (good idea!) since succulents don't like to have wet feet.
Drainage holes in both basins.
Next I added some pea rock to each basin for further drainage (it rains a lot in south Florida) and added a good thick layer of potting soil. I was too impatient at this point to take a picture of the soil since I just wanted to plant....
I took all the succulents I had from around the yard and in planters (did I tell you I liked succulents?) and put them in the two basins.
First planting of succulents...
Then I went to Home Depot and bought a small pallet of succulents to fill in all the spaces because, again, I was too impatient to wait for it to fill in. I wanted it full and beautiful immediately. I planted some small trailing succulents next to the edge so they will eventually fall over the sides of the fountain.
Second planting of fill in succulents.
As a finishing touch, I placed a small green bird in the fountain top spout. So cute!
I really like the way this re-purposed fountain turned out. It makes me very happy.
A view of the whole side courtyard.
Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 183 comments
-
Thank you, I've been wanting to do this with an old concrete fountain we have and was unsure of drilling holes in it.
-
definitely drill holes, at least 1/2 inch in diameter about every 6 inches,otherwise you will waste a ton of money on succulents, they are not cheap!
-
-
Love your idea so beautiful. What are the pink flowers on the right side of the picture behind the planter.
-
Katie, it is a Belladonna or trumpet flower. I answered that above more thoroughly. Thanks for stopping by and looking.
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?