I got my fountain at a place that only sells fountains and garden statues, it was a good shopping experience because they had so many different styles and sizes I was able to spend some time browsing and pick out one I liked a lot. I have no idea where you might find one in Kansas, but I'm sure that statuary stores are not unique to California. You can also look online, I did that before I got mine but I wanted to see it in person before ordering because I didn't want something that looked good in a picture and then dissapointed upon arrival.

Good luck!

A fountain is basically an underwater pump, available in various sizes at Lowe's & HD, that pulls water in on one side and pushes it back out thru an opening to which you can attach a tube and/or hose. The hose can then go anywhere, into a fountain, up to a water fall, thru the sole of an old boot lying on the edge of a pond and out thru the top. You can buy all manner of fountains, from formal to cute; you can create free form ponds and water falls; you can buy prefab ponds and fountaining attachments to the pump. You can add fish and/or water plants. It all depends on what you want and how much you want to spend.

Having been a fountain owner for 11 years, the things I know now... ;)

The thing I never thought of before I owned one was maintenance. Now maintenance is the only thing I think of! In zone 6 you will need something made of a material that can handle freezing outdoor temperatures, unless you want to drag it in somewhere every winter. If there are trees in the area you will be cleaning out litter. If it is very very sunny you'll have algae. Do you have an GFI electrical outlet in the area? The solar ones don't work well.

I'm not saying fountains are a problem, I love mine, all I'm saying is: plan ahead! All of the above problems are easily handled, you just have to plan for them.

Thanks for the input everybody.

hoovb, I will probably have an electrical outlet put in, but my grown son is keen on finding out about solar instead. Do you know what the problems are with solar?

I have to admit that the maintenance issue has me a bit cowed--one reason I'm trying to learn more about all of this. My neighbor says she just takes the motor inside for the winter and wraps the fountain itself in plastic. But hers is in a semi-protected spot in her back yard. Don't know if my more exposed spot would require more care or not.

Anyone else have fountain experiences--or know which forum might be best for finding info on fountains?

Kate

Kate,

The place you will probably find the most info on is the Pond and Aquatic Plants forum.

I basically have a water feature of some sort around every corner in my garden from a full blown pond w/waterfalls to a wall fountain and a large three tiered fountain with pool. They really are not all that difficult and there's tons of info online. You just have to sort through all the preferential/opinionated commentaries to settle on what works for you.

Thanks for the suggestion, Bozo. Been hanging around the Pond Forum, and also found the Accoutrements forum. Not a lot of fountain posts, but at least there are some.

Does anyone have pics of a fountain in their rose beds? I think I need some inspiration. It is hard to visualize catalog copy transferred mentally to my actual garden. Hate to spend big bucks on a fountain only to find, after it is set up in my garden, that that isn't quite the look I wanted. LOL

Kate

I've had a fountain for about seven years. I love it, but the biggest draw back is cleaning the algae out ever 3 days or so. One thing to consider is to get one small enough to handle by yourself while cleaning. I used to bring mine in during the winter, but now I cover it with plastic. I my opinion no garden is complete without a fountain.

I have two fountains/water features in the back gardens. One is a barrel sunk in the ground with a pump that pulls the water up and through the lips of a fairy statue, laying on her stomach with a seashell held to her lips (as if drinking and the water running off the edges of the shell as if she had just dipped it into the pool.) This one is a lot of work because I chose to have 3 gold fish in there. It takes a lot of care to clean the filter box that houses the pump and keep cleaned up the leaves and other debris that settles to the bottom of the barrel. I have to drain, clean and refill the thing at least twice a year (65 gallons.) It just takes more fussing to keep the fish healthy.
The other water feature is a free standing two tiered fountain. It is made of cast metal and the bowls are aluminum. You have to take apart the fountain to access the pump if it needs cleaning, which is a bit of a bother but I have gotten pretty fast at it. The reason it needs a lot of cleaning is that the birds flock to it. They love the shallow bowls for bathing and they love the running water. It's a real bird magnet. The only problem is I am gone all day at work and so many birds use it that most days by the time I arrive back home it is low on water and humming (which is not good for the pump - I am on my 3rd replacement in about 8 years.) But I see so many birds and they love it in the middle of the rose garden. They eat bugs and dry off on the climbing rose arches. It's a constant parade and worth any amount of effort to see these jewels of nature enjoying themselves in my garden: ruby-throated hummingbirds, goldfinch, rose breasted grosbeaks, evening grosbeaks, baltimore orioles, indigo buntings, scarlet tanagers, purple finch, red-winged blackbirds and more. I no longer take this fountain inside for the winter. I usually lay it on its side and make sure it is thoroughly drained. Then I wrap it in a heavy plastic bag and leave it there in the garden til spring when I stand it back up, give it a good scrub and set it going again.
As to the power, hoovb is so right. Make sure you have a GFCI weatherproof outlet to plug into. No other way is safe. RE: solar powered fountains, my sister went that route and now she has a plug-in type like me. Her solar one worked well when the sun was bright, but even a few clouds would drop the power on it (which of course means the water barely moved at all.) Her DH had even rigged the panel on a sort of lazy susan so it could be turned to get the optimal sun through the day - just a lot of bother! Plus, the solar panel did not last more than a few years and was initially more expensive.
Good luck with which ever way you choose to go. I know you will enjoy this addition to your rose garden. I couldn't imagine mine without the sound of trickling water now! :-)

Anne