DIY Inexpensive Solar Fountain for the Garden

5 Materials
$30
10 Minutes
Easy

I have always wanted a fountain for my garden however, the word pricey comes to mind. :0)


I had seen several idea's using solar fountains for hummingbirds, birdbaths, and so on and since

they were inexpensive I decided to try a simple one that doubles as a planter for my own garden.

So I picked up 2 inexpensive pots that had optional drainage holes, and I chose different sizes because I wanted to stack them and have it double as a planter as well.

(*I chose to use a 12 inch and 15 inch size)

I used a screwdriver to pop out the optional drain holes on the larger pot as I was going to use it for a planter.

Then I chose to add a larger size rock it in as well to add some weight to it and then simply filled it with potting soil, starter fertilizer, and planted my flowers spaced evenly around the edge.


I placed the top pot in the center then placed the stacked pots in my yard.

I filled the top pot with water and simply added my floating solar fountain that I had purchased.

The solar fountain came with different style tips so I tried a few out before deciding on the one I liked the best.

I also tried it in my bird bath and I really like it there as well.

(photo's on my blog)


However, I will have to add water often as it does tend to spray a lot of the water out. If it were in a larger container it may not have to be filled quite so often. Another note would be it doesn't charge from the sun, it only works when the sun is shining on it. My overall opinion is for the price point it is a neat item to have.


**Update 2 months later**

My fountain is still working great!

I actually had someone comment and share that you could remove the tips and it wouldn't spray out as much, so I gave that a try and it works great!! (thank you so much for the info)

I don't have to refill the water nearly as often.

Also something that I have noticed is it starts to slow down from time to time and in looking it over, it gets a little green underneath from sitting in water constantly. So I just sprayed off the underside with my garden hose and it goes back to normal.

So happy with this little fountain. icon

Resources for this project:
See all materials
Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Hometalk may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.More info
ClutteredCorkBoard
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Go
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
3 of 6 questions
  • Lisa Lisa on Apr 09, 2019

    I bought that solar fountain last year. Problem was it kept spraying outside the container and running itself dry. I was constantly filling it. Even tried to secure it so it wouldn't move. Still found a way to spray it out . bigger container? Lol. Nope. That didn't work either. Nice idea. But save your money.

  • Lyn Lyn on Apr 15, 2019

    I already bought one of those solar fountain inserts. It didn't work, and I've since read that a lot of people couldn't get theirs to work. Any suggestions on where to buy another , better one?

  • Carol Cole Carol Cole on Apr 24, 2019

    Where did u get the solar fountain?

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 24 comments
Next