Think you could make this…? Yes.

Boring Deck No More

Oversized planter box, constant recirculating water, a pond, fountains, lights…this weekend project has it all.

Summer of 2020 has been like no other. With people spending more and more time at home, what a great time to refresh the outdoors. While I have generally worked in interiors, when the weather warms up, I like to try to bring some style to the outdoors. However, I was not blessed with a green thumb. So, I do what I do, and build things. And sometimes put plants in them and cross my fingers that they don’t die.

My favorite summer project was inspired by a “hey, isn’t this cool? Think you could do something like this?” text message that resulted in a collaboration to create this “water wall”/planter box/above deck pond/arbor in a weekend. I love the challenge of piecing together a cool idea, figuring out how to make it work, and executing.

It was a custom build for the otherwise empty end of the deck. This was a bit of an experiment, and we made adjustments to the water portion until we got it just right; it now has two flow options, a light rain-like setting and a heavier downfall, and later added two small gurgling fountains in the base of the “pond” to add dimension. So far the plants are even still alive, probably in large part because of the mist from the rain fall. There are even some thriving water plants floating in the pond section, which could host small fish as well.

Talk about a conversation piece! This adds so much ambiance to this deck when entertaining or sitting and enjoying the sunset. I never do the exact same thing twice, but this one would be worth replicating.