The sparkling waters of a garden fountain also lend a touch of preciousness to the setting. Water is so much a part of man’s history. Water was and still is essential for maintaining life. In the old days, just as today people needed it for preparing food, for growing crops, for cleaning their homes, for personal hygiene and for health. The ocean, the rivers and the streams were the principal arteries of trade in those days. Through them precious necessities were exchanged for gold. Water also provided food through the millions of fishes inhabiting the rivers, streams, ponds, lakes and oceans. Installing a garden fountain evokes the feeling of abundance and shows the esteem in which you hold your home, and yourself.

People congregate in beaches, public baths and exclusive resorts to relax and cast of inhibitions. Rushing water cleanses the body and clears the mind of anxieties. Surprise, two-thirds of the human body is water. A garden fountain evokes congeniality, stimulates the desire of people to share, each one, his thoughts with the others and enjoy each other’s company. A congenial atmosphere is essential for enhancing personal interaction and a fountain in your garden should get that interaction started on the right foot.

Garden fountains come in all sorts and shapes. Simple fountains typically have a single spout from which water gushes out. The water may fall directly on the ground or be caught in a basin. The spout may be inserted into an elegant figurine holding a water jar or may come out of a sculpted fish’s mouth or a rock. Garden fountains may even come out of a wall, in which case it is called a wall fountain. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to make with the right skill in using boring tools. A pond fountain is a pool which can feature multiple sprays of water arranged in pleasing patterns either within or on the sides of the pond or both. These garden fountains can be very elaborate in effect.

The water may be made to dance by using a wire technology which choreographs the spouts to produce a variety of designs. Large pond fountains may use multi-colored lighting displays which enhance their dramatic effect. Outdoor dancing fountains may be powered by the sun. The technology takes advantage of the exposure to sunlight to build up and store free energy for running the fountain.

Whatever type of fountain you choose to put in your garden it is certain to increase the pleasure of your space for years to come. Don’t be afraid to get creative and have fun with your new fountain.

Several makes of the Dutch-light houses are supplied with a portable concrete base which may be laid directly on to the ground and the house erected over the base, there being no need for tedious brick laying. Or the house may he erected on old railway sleepers which, like the concrete blocks, may be moved about the garden if the house is being used to cover various crops growing in the open.

The more conventional greenhouse with a brick or wooden base extending to a height of 1 feet and with glass sides extending for a further 3 feet before meeting the roof, will require less heat to maintain a temperature similar to that of a Dutch-light house and will enable a wider range of horticultural activities to he performed. Tomatoes and cucumbers may be grown at the back, planting them in deep boxes or pots and first training them in an upright direction, then to the top of the roof whilst other crops may be grown at the front of the bench, or seedlings raised for a considerable time when heated and even after turning off the heater, there will be no rapid fall in temperature as there is with air heating. The use of soil warming wires in a heated greenhouse will enable the air temperature to be reduced to a minimum whilst keeping the plants growing by gentle bottom heat. Where a hotbed cannot be made from manure, electric soil warming is a reliable substitute.

For raising seedlings and striking cuttings, a sand propagating frame may be made in a cold greenhouse by using either low voltage or mains warming cables. A wooden box is made with 9 inch boards, the base being covered with felt. Over this is placed a 2 inch layer of washed sand before laying down the warming wires which ;1 re covered with a further 3 inch layer of sand on which the seed boxes or pots are stood; or cuttings (to be rooted) may be inserted directly into the sand. $ watts per square foot of bed should be allowed, whilst a soil thermostat is necessary to control the temperature of the bed.