Today 
Overview
This traditional water feature made out of bamboo will conjure up the spirit of a tranquil Eastern garden. You can buy a bamboo water hammer kit from garden centres or water garden specialists. You'll often find them called by their Japanese name of Shishi Odoshi, or Deer Scare. Traditionally, on entering a Japanese garden, you would wash your hands and take a drink to show purification. Today, just enjoy the quietly relaxing clack of the hammer in action.
Do it:
all year round
Takes just:
1 afternoon
How to do it
-
Choose a site for your water hammer and dig a hole that's deep and wide enough to hold the water reservoir. -
Lay a length of wood across the top of the reservoir and use a spirit level to check it's even before you fill the gaps with soil. -
Pour a little water into the bamboo arm and check that it falls into the reservoir. Mark the position of the hammer and dig a hole for it. -
Fill the hole with concrete and insert the base of the bamboo post making sure that the bamboo arm is pointing towards the reservoir. And check that the main post is vertical using a spirit level. Then place the pump on the bottom of the reservoir and pull the electric cable neatly over the edge. -
Make a channel in the turf to take the pump's cable from the reservoir to an armoured outdoor plug socket - ask an electrician to do this if you're unsure. -
Connect the pump to the tube that carries the water to the top of the hammer. Fit the plastic-coated grille snugly over the reservoir. -
Use a hosepipe to fill the reservoir. The final water level must at least cover the pump, but ideally it should be about 5cm below the rim of the reservoir. -
Turn on the pump to check the water hammer works correctly. All the water should flow into the reservoir. If it doesn't make any minor adjustments now. -
Complete the look by covering the grille with cobbles and the electric cable with a larger stone. As a finishing touch, plant up the area.
"Remember to keep the water reservoir topped up during the hot summer months."
"Enhance the hammer with Japanese-style plants: bamboos, ferns, grasses and perhaps an acer."
