easy to DIY small balcony water feature fountain

Being an urban condo dweller, I try to make my small balcony, my bit of outdoors in the city, an enjoyable space despite my balcony’s size. Over the years I’ve brought together a variety of furniture, planters and plantings from a variety of sources that present a peaceful setting and balcony garden. Yet despite the serenity, I’ve always wanted to do something a little more elegant with my small water feature fountain, to amplify the sound of the traffic-noise abating, trickling water.

So, inspired by this bamboo fountain design, from sources unknown, and since I already had the pump…

I made this easy to DIY balcony water feature fountain.

First, I cut down to size a few 3/4″ diameter bamboo pieces ($0.59 / 5′ length I picked up Toronto’s Chinatown) that I bound together with gardening twine (nabbed from my mother’s gardening supplies).

I then drilled a 3/8″ hole in the bottom of a bamboo artist brush cup/holder (about $4.00 on sale at DeSerres art supplies) and inserted a length of 3/8″ outer diameter flexible clear hose. I bought a number of different diameters of clear hose (available by the foot for about $0.55 – $0.89 per foot in the plumbing department at Lowe’s and Home Hardware) and combined them to create a graduated ‘adapter’ at the pump nozzle as my particular pump didn’t include an adapter.

Finally, I fixed the bamboo cup on its side to the three bound lengths of bamboo, connected the pump (that I concealed with river rocks from the dollar store) and have been enjoying the relaxing sounds of the more audible stream of water ever since.

Update: Click on over to an updated version of this DIY water fountain that repurposes a bamboo tiki torch…