5 Ways to Incorporate a Water Feature in Your Balcony or Terrace
If you find yourself drawn to water, here is how you can bring it home into your balcony garden
Nothing imbues tranquility better than a garden water feature, while making a powerful statement at the same time. It’s especially true when dealing with petite spaces, such as apartment balconies or terraces that are attached to the living room or bedroom. Small water features are an attractive option and most are large enough to provide the pleasant sound of bubbling or running water. Here is an all-you-need-to-know guide to get you going.
Essential considerations
a. Water supply: Depending on the type of feature you choose, you will need a water supply that will bring water to it.
b. Electric supply: Make sure that you have a functional 5 or 15 ampere electrical point to drive the pump.
c. Pump: There are two types of pumps found in home water fountains – submersible pumps and surface pumps. Submersible pumps are made for safe, quiet operation underwater. Surface pumps sit above ground and must be concealed separately.
d. Maintenance: Every once in a while, your feature will need cleaning to keep it functioning properly.
Find a landscape architect to help design your garden
a. Water supply: Depending on the type of feature you choose, you will need a water supply that will bring water to it.
b. Electric supply: Make sure that you have a functional 5 or 15 ampere electrical point to drive the pump.
c. Pump: There are two types of pumps found in home water fountains – submersible pumps and surface pumps. Submersible pumps are made for safe, quiet operation underwater. Surface pumps sit above ground and must be concealed separately.
d. Maintenance: Every once in a while, your feature will need cleaning to keep it functioning properly.
Find a landscape architect to help design your garden
Water features you can use
1. Water bowls
Sound: Water bowl features are great for bringing the sound of gurgling or bubbling water into your garden. They need a central bubbler nozzle that connects to the pump.
Placement: Water bowls are great as the central focus in the garden, with the plants forming the backdrop.
Garden style: Bowls suit both modern and traditional garden styles.
Lighting it up: Think about a waterproof light fixture inside the bowl, which will make it glow, or even lighting up the bowl from below that will highlight the water indirectly.
Great for: Established gardens where it can be an easy addition.
1. Water bowls
Sound: Water bowl features are great for bringing the sound of gurgling or bubbling water into your garden. They need a central bubbler nozzle that connects to the pump.
Placement: Water bowls are great as the central focus in the garden, with the plants forming the backdrop.
Garden style: Bowls suit both modern and traditional garden styles.
Lighting it up: Think about a waterproof light fixture inside the bowl, which will make it glow, or even lighting up the bowl from below that will highlight the water indirectly.
Great for: Established gardens where it can be an easy addition.
Pictured here is a precast urn, sitting inside a water trough. The slight tilt of the urn makes water overflow and cascade into the trough below, giving rise to a beautiful but forceful sound. Cleverly, the water trough below houses the pump and the mechanism needed to recirculate the water.
2. Constructed water feature
Sound: Constructed water features offer a lot of choice as to type of sound the water can generate. It can be anything from a steady calm trickle to a more audible waterfall.
Placement: These are great as central focus in the garden, or even as a combination, if sited together with the plants.
Garden style: They go well with a modern style of garden.
Lighting it up: Think about a waterproof light fitting inside the basin, which will make the water shine.
Great for: New balcony gardens or remodels where a lot of civil work is possible.
Sound: Constructed water features offer a lot of choice as to type of sound the water can generate. It can be anything from a steady calm trickle to a more audible waterfall.
Placement: These are great as central focus in the garden, or even as a combination, if sited together with the plants.
Garden style: They go well with a modern style of garden.
Lighting it up: Think about a waterproof light fitting inside the basin, which will make the water shine.
Great for: New balcony gardens or remodels where a lot of civil work is possible.
Pictured here is a combination of two kinds of water nozzles, one with a sheet flow of water like a waterfall, and another with a bubbler nozzle. The water feature is complemented by plants near it, creating an interesting combination.
Did you know: In these and most types of water features, there will be a reservoir of water which has a pump that moves water up a pipe to the upper portion of the water feature. Gravity brings the water back down to fall into the reservoir and the process is repeated.
Did you know: In these and most types of water features, there will be a reservoir of water which has a pump that moves water up a pipe to the upper portion of the water feature. Gravity brings the water back down to fall into the reservoir and the process is repeated.
3. Water wall
Sound: A calming, relaxing trickling sound, as well as restful for the eyes to see the movement of water down the wall.
Placement: Good as a feature to highlight a wall if you are in a space crunch, or just want to keep things minimal.
Garden style: Great complement for a minimal, Japanese-themed garden, because of the quiet sound of water.
Lighting it up: Light the water wall from the top, using some wall-wash light fixtures, and watch the garden space come alive after sundown.
Great for: Both established as well as new gardens.
Sound: A calming, relaxing trickling sound, as well as restful for the eyes to see the movement of water down the wall.
Placement: Good as a feature to highlight a wall if you are in a space crunch, or just want to keep things minimal.
Garden style: Great complement for a minimal, Japanese-themed garden, because of the quiet sound of water.
Lighting it up: Light the water wall from the top, using some wall-wash light fixtures, and watch the garden space come alive after sundown.
Great for: Both established as well as new gardens.
Pictured here is a modern version of a waterfall, where the wall has been clad with a subtly textured stone tile that causes ripples in the water as it flows down. The lights from the top as well as the bottom create a shimmering effect.
Pro tip: Measure, in feet, from the water level to the highest point of the fountain where the water will emerge; choose a pump that has an ideal pumping height of at least one foot higher than the height you just measured. (check on the specifications that come with the pump).
Pro tip: Measure, in feet, from the water level to the highest point of the fountain where the water will emerge; choose a pump that has an ideal pumping height of at least one foot higher than the height you just measured. (check on the specifications that come with the pump).
4. Fountain
Sound: This is great for for those who like a gentle sound more than a forceful one.
Placement: Good as a central feature or as a foreground to a good collection of water-loving plants (like umbrella grass, Alocasia, Colocasia, palms and so on) in the background.
Garden style: Suits the traditional or old-school garden style, but can also go with a few other styles, depending on what fountain you choose.
Lighting it up: Up-light it from below so that both the fountain itself and the water are highlighted.
Great for: New gardens or remodels.
Sound: This is great for for those who like a gentle sound more than a forceful one.
Placement: Good as a central feature or as a foreground to a good collection of water-loving plants (like umbrella grass, Alocasia, Colocasia, palms and so on) in the background.
Garden style: Suits the traditional or old-school garden style, but can also go with a few other styles, depending on what fountain you choose.
Lighting it up: Up-light it from below so that both the fountain itself and the water are highlighted.
Great for: New gardens or remodels.
Featured here is a combination of a statue with a fountain. The water trickles down from the hands of the statue and flows down into the pebble bed below, from where it recirculates. In this case, the pump is housed below the sculpture.
5. Lily pond
Sound: This is a silent water feature, because it features water as a source of life, by creating a mini ecosystem of plants, algae and fish within it.
Placement: Surrounded by other plants.
Garden style: Goes well with traditional, modern as well as themed garden styles, such as Japanese.
Lighting it up: Submerged waterproof lights in the water work best, but you can even leave lights out completely, and instead let the ambient lighting in the rest of the balcony garden suffice.
Great for: Established gardens where it can be an easy addition without putting in a lot of work.
Sound: This is a silent water feature, because it features water as a source of life, by creating a mini ecosystem of plants, algae and fish within it.
Placement: Surrounded by other plants.
Garden style: Goes well with traditional, modern as well as themed garden styles, such as Japanese.
Lighting it up: Submerged waterproof lights in the water work best, but you can even leave lights out completely, and instead let the ambient lighting in the rest of the balcony garden suffice.
Great for: Established gardens where it can be an easy addition without putting in a lot of work.
Pictured here is a lily pond sitting in a cosy corner of a balcony garden. To incorporate sound, a simple bamboo spout mechanism has been added.
Read more:
A Beginner’s Guide to a Moon Garden
A Guide to Making Your Children Fall in Love With Gardening
5 Mosquito-Repelling Plants for Your Balcony
Tell us:
Would you like to incorporate a water feature in your balcony or terrace? Would any of these ideas work in your space? Join the conversation!
A Beginner’s Guide to a Moon Garden
A Guide to Making Your Children Fall in Love With Gardening
5 Mosquito-Repelling Plants for Your Balcony
Tell us:
Would you like to incorporate a water feature in your balcony or terrace? Would any of these ideas work in your space? Join the conversation!
First, you must figure out whether you like water more for its visual quality or its sound. This will help you decide on which water feature style to introduce into your garden.
The challenges
The nature of balconies or terraces poses certain challenges for the type of water feature that can be created, because many times there are space, height and other design constraints.