Learn the basics of building forms and casting concrete.

You don’t need a big space to build a water feature for your garden or patio.

Large ponds and waterfalls are beautiful, but you can achieve similar appealing sights and sounds of water in your landscape by creating a small fountain.

Small fountains are also easier to build and maintain and much less expensive than large water features.

Making the forms is the trickiest part of this project.

Any texture or blemish on the inside face of the form walls will be cast in the concrete.

If you want the sides of your fountain to be smooth, you must use a smooth material such as melamine for the form walls and carefully smooth any joints with silicone.

This fountain features a cast concrete reservior and a concrete pillar that acts as the spout.

The spout and reservoir are cast separately in this design.

A path is created for the water to travel up through the spout by embedding 1/2-in.-dia. copper tubing in the spout (pillar) form.

Another option when casting your own fountain is to incorporate decorative objects such as shells, stones, tiles or glass into the form.

Secure these objects to the side of the form with a very thin layer of silicone.

After the concrete has cured and the form is removed, the objects will be flush with the surface of the concrete and you can polish them.

A small pump that moves 50 to 75 gallons per hour (GPH) is sufficient for this fountain.