How to Create a Boulder Water Feature

The sound of running water in the garden is always relaxing - as its gentle babbling tones mask other noise pollution replacing it with therapeutic, meditative softness to calm away the stresses of the day. Unlike manufactured water features, natural stone features are always unique and the water moves over the stone in random patterns, following the natural contours and strata of the stone formed over thousands of years. Achieving a natural boulder water feature in your garden is often easier than you think and can be completed over a weekend. To start with, you need to ensure you have provision for powering the pump. Then, dig a hole where the feature is to be positioned. Fit a reservoir kit into the area ensuring it is the correct product for the weight of stone being used. Place the pump into the reservoir leaving a section of pipework through the centre hole of the reservoir. Set the boulders over the reservoir and fill in around the area with pebbles and cobbles to create a natural finish. If you plan to extend the pebble area into a surrounding planting bed, be sure to lay weed membrane over the area first to keep ongoing maintenance to a minimum.   Feed the pipe through the centre of the boulder feature and cut to size.   Fill the reservoir with water and turn the pump on. Chances are, the water will shoot out through the top of the boulders like a geyser, so you can either turn down the flow rate on the pump or use a series of pebbles and cobbles over the end of the pipe to dissipate the water flow.   Make any final finishing touches to the appearance of the feature in order to make it appear as natural as possible and then enjoy!