• A really elaborate fountain might be just what a drab landscape needs.fountain image by cherie from Fotolia.com
  
  Falling water makes its own magic. The sound and the sight of it are both invigorating and relaxing, and a cascading water feature can be a high-dividend investment in home landscaping. Even a city townhouse feels like a country oasis when there is a waterfall in the back courtyard. A fountain can be as simple or as theatrical as space and taste allow. A water wall is a drama all its own against a garage or standing in the garden.
  
  

Water Fountains

• Water fountains in an entry, in a garden or on a patio provide a musical accompaniment to outdoor activities and can be designed to fit in any space. Fountains do not require a pond, although they can be incorporated into ponds. Depending on the style of the home and grounds, fountains may be elaborate sculptural statues, such as the figures you might find in a Roman piazza, or tiny tabletop additions to a balcony or terrace. Standalone fountains are delightful when they are hidden in a large garden and reached by a path of random pavers that winds through the flower beds and shrubs. A fountain may shoot computer-orchestrated streams of water into the air in balletic patterns or burble out of the top of a hollow boulder and wash gently over it to a hidden reservoir below. Some fountains do double duty as birdbaths, with the moving water helping to keep the basin clean.
  
  

Waterfalls

• Waterfalls are the most natural and stunning manmade water features in a garden landscape. They are typically sited at the edge of a pond but may be added to a stream on the property. A waterfall requires a strong submerged pump, a power source and an edifice of rocks with flat ledges that allow the water to sheet over them and fall to another ledge or a pool below. A simple rock pile of small boulders and flat stones arranged over a support form and designed to empty into a pond is a do-it-yourself project for a weekend. A more complex design that interrupts a stream or flows down a hill over a rock-strewn course may call for professional installation. In a really tight space, a waterfall can be set up to splash down a series of rocks and vanish into a covered reservoir hidden beneath it.
  
  

Water Walls

• Water walls, like vertical green walls, are a relatively new development in backyard water features. They are occasionally incorporated into green walls, which doubles the interest---and the complexity of maintaining balance between rooted plants and flowing water. In general, a water wall is a rock slab or a covered plywood precipice over which water falls in a series of steps or a single curtain to a reservoir below, where a pump recycles it. A large wall might be a sheet of slate or granite with a sheer drop, or a fall broken up by stone ledges that interrupt the water and send it in new directions. The wall can be built of wood or resin and covered in tiles or sculpted concrete. A water wall works best in a large area where its sound will not interrupt conversation and a windy day won't inundate the patio.