In the heat of the summer, there is nothing as refreshing as the sound of splashing water. In many places, however, water is at a premium and likely to be even more scarce in the future. So how can a water feature bring beauty and freshness into the garden in a responsible manner? Consider the pondless waterfall. are wonderful fun, but they are expensive to install and require a fair investment of time and money to maintain. All too often, ponds lose their appeal after the first couple of years and become eyesores of neglect, or worse, health hazards where they are abandoned. So if you don’t want a pond, or simply aren’t sure, try starting with a pondless waterfall. It’s water efficient and lower maintenance.

Okay, what IS a pond-less waterfall? The idea of a pond-less waterfall is to create something between a fountain and a pond. Structurally, it can take any form you’d like to imagine. The basic concept is that water is moved from a storage space, through a pipe and out into the air to splash back into the storage space and be recirculated again. This is the same basic concept in all water features. The difference here is that the ‘storage space’ is not a basin like you would find in a fountain, nor is it a larger body of open water like a pond. By covering the ‘storage receptacle, there is no open water visible (hence: “pond-LESS waterfall”). There are a number of advantages to building a water feature like this. First of all, you will not have to deal with mosquitoes laying their eggs in open water. You also do not have to buy or care for fish. Additionally, you do not have to use chemicals in the water to avoid build up of algae or pests. And depending on how you build this feature, you can create a water feature that is low on water usage and evaporation. You can still plant bog plants if you’d like to have a break from drought-tolerant gardening or you can design your waterfall for minimum maintenance and avoid any organic decor.

To build a pond-less waterfall, you only need to understand the basic concept. An underwater pump needs to be submersed in a container of water. The water will be pumped out an outlet pipe attached to the pump. You can guide that pipe however you wish. When the water spills out the other end of the pipe, it needs to go back into the container again. This is how any fountain or pond works. In a pond or fountain, the water splashes directly back into open water, often cascading down multiple tiers before returning for recycling. If you eliminate the surface of the water, you eliminate many of the maintenance issues discussed above. You can cover the surface with stones, gravel rock or many other materials so the water filters down below into the area where the pump is housed. The pump will need a special permeable house or box that allows the pump to remain submerged under returning water, yet keeps the stones or other material covering the surface of the container away from the pump. A cage with an easy access top – for servicing or changing out the pump – would work well.

Designs for pondless waterfalls are limited only by your imagination. You can create any structure you want to match your home or garden. If you fall in love with a piece of garden décor, such as a sculpture, you can incorporate that sculpture as if it were a part of a fountain. People, animals and objects can be used as a focal point with water splashing over rocks behind, cascading at the sculpture’s feet, or even becoming incorporated with the action of the sculpture if the positioning allows. The trick is to hide the pipe so it can’t be seen. The water can pour out wherever you direct the pipe opening. A common and tasteful version of a pondless waterfall can be seen in bubbling pots that spill their water into gravel covered receptacles. The fun of using these pots is that you can find all colors and styles of pots so you can easily find something to underscore your favorite look.

You can use unusual materials to create pondless waterfalls. Rock and bubbling pots may be popular, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative. Watering cans, hollow chunks of bamboo, anything that you can conduct a line of water through can spill water back into the receptacle. You probably would do better not to choose items with material that can rot or rust badly, but plastic, glass, stainless steel, PVC, and treated wood are all examples of materials that should work fine. You can use less resilient material to surround the water flow as well. That way you could use, say, a wagon wheel or a piece of furniture as a setting in which a more water-friendly material can conduct water though. You could use an old computer monitor housing for an unusual focal point, or send water around a dollhouse, or maybe run an electric train set over real waterfalls. You can go small or large, abstract or realistic. You can underscore a theme, like a lion’s head waterfall in a Tuscan garden or a fabricated cement tree with water flowing from all the branches for a fantasy garden. Not only can you create any type of water feature, but you can cover the receptacle with materials other than stone. Picture the fantasy tree splashing branches of water onto a bed of tumbled glass with the pump hidden safely beneath for a pondless waterfall. Or maybe you might want colored rocks for the Lion’s head. Consider using brightly colored small tiles spaced sufficiently for the water to run down between in a Mexican styled garden. You might even do away with the “fall” of the water fall and simply install a spray that blossoms from the material covering the tub beneath. In short, just about any effect can be created using a pondless waterfall. You might have an artist design something special for you or you might want to play around with your own creative skills. You can bring in a contractor for larger constructions or play with your own smaller versions. Whatever you want to design and build, you can create it with a pondless waterfall.