![2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI4156839 Garden water feature](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/05/2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI4156839-8b05e29.jpg?quality=90&resize=940,627)
Ideas for garden water features
From babbling fountains to sleek rills, find inspiration in our favourite garden water feature ideas.
Water features enhance any garden, providing ornamental interest, soothing sound and a habitat for wildlife.
Adding a garden water feature needn't cost a fortune. Something as simple as an attractive garden water bowl can make a real impact, reflecting light and neighbouring plants. Calming trickling sounds can be generated by a rill or fountain, while a pond will allow you to grow aquatic plants and provide a home for newts, frogs and dragonflies.
Related content:
- Three ways to improve your garden pond
- How to clean a garden pond
- How to introduce fish to garden ponds
We share nine inspiring ideas for creating a water feature, below.
Water rills
![Chelsea Flower Show 2012 (21st May 2012) Water rill with pittosporum and libertia](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/05/2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI2101263-af5a94a.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Water rills are shallow channels that provide a flow of water from one area to another. Their flow provides a constant tranquil noise and they can suit any garden. For inspiration, take a look at the water rills at Rousham and Coton Manor gardens. The rill pictured is made from metal that has oxidised to a warm, burnished tone.
More like this
Garden water bowls
![2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI4135111 Reflective water bowl](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/05/2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI4135111-eadce20.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Garden water bowls, like this wooden one, can be placed anywhere in the garden, but they're particularly useful in shady areas where they help to bounce light around. They're easy to set up and come in lots of styles, from pretty stone bowls to sleek metal bowls with a more contemporary look.
Garden ponds
![BBC Gardeners' World Live 2014 (12th June 2014) Garden wildlife pond](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/05/2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI2514998-4e8d694.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
A garden pond will work in any size of garden or design style. They can be wildlife havens packed with plants, or minimalist, contemplative pools with linear boundaries. Add bubbling sound with a fountain or rill.
Garden streams
![2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI3098979 Artificial garden stream](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/05/2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI3098979-60c195e.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
If you're lucky enough to have a natural stream running through your garden that doesn't dry up in summer, you can surround it with colourful, moisture-loving plants like candelabra primulas and ligularias.
Garden pouring jugs
![2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI4187652 Terracotta jug water feature](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/05/2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI4187652-88dda68.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Pouring jug water features like this terracotta olive jar have a romantic, classical feel to them. Purpose-made jugs with a hole for the pump to discreetly slot into are easy to find and they can be either be free-standing features that pour into a bowl, or used as a starting point for rills, pouring into a pond or even a swimming pool. Plant around the jug to integrate it in your overall design.
Garden fountain
![2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI3100078 Slate ball fountain water fountain](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/05/2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI3100078-6e70ee5.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Decorative garden water fountains are ideal if you have an area that's in need of a focal point. There are lots of different styles to choose from, including polished metal spheres and stone monoliths and columns.
Garden whirlpools
![2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI3543947 Whirlpool water feature](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/05/2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI3543947-4ccf4c4.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Vortex or whirlpool water features have a mesmerising effect and as the water swirls it creates a lovely swishing sound. The burnished copper bowl in this image is the perfect foil for the surrounging drought-tolerant, angular plants like yuccas, aloes and agaves.
Garden pebble piles
![2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI738846 Pebble pile water feature](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/05/2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI738846-fc3e5b2.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
This pebble pile is one of the simplest and cheapest to set up. A pile of artfully placed stones and pebbles conceal a pump and water reservoir beneath. You can use a similar set up with a millstone – a pump hidden in the central hole of the millstone will radiate water out, and if needed, can be concealed by a heap of pebbles.
Garden troughs and tanks
![Tatton Park Flower Show 2017 (18th July 2017) Rectangular water feature](https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/10/2018/05/2048x1365-Water-feature-ideas-LI4030992-b2b426c.jpg?quality=90&fit=700,466)
Watertight troughs and containers can be filled with water to create interesting unique features. This upcycled metal trough has a bed of grey pebbles to precent the water looking too dark and murky, while a colourful planting of achilleas, stipa, echinops and pennisetums softens the hard edges.
Avoiding mosquitoes
In ponds, you can rely on invertebrates and other pond wildlife to eat mosquito larvae, but this can be trickier in water bowls and other containers with still water. From hatching, the larvae take around 10 days to become adults, so change the water every 10 days or so, if you spot mosquito larvae.
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