Guest Blog: Selecting The Perfect Water Feature For My Cottage Garden by Emma Diaz

Planning our dream cottage garden

When planning the redesign and renovation of our garden, many things were on my checklist…. Cotswold stone, an archway covered with a climbing rose, fruit espaliers trailing along the walls, and a water feature.

Our garden is tiny and very narrow, but I was hoping with lots of planting and almost thinking of it in sections, that we’d be able to create something with a ‘secret garden’ type feel.

I never even dreamt that we’d be able to fit a water feature into our little cottage garden. When discussing our wish list of items we’d like to include with our garden designer, this was one of the last things I mentioned, you know… “IF we could fit it in, it would be lovely”. But we just couldn’t work out where we had the space for one.

Image credit: Emma Diaz @thelittlestonecottage

Creating our little piece of paradise

The terrace, which we step straight out of the cottage onto, is surrounded by high walls. We wanted to make this feel like a walled garden, and eventually they’ll be rambling roses climbing around here once they’ve established.

It was here that our garden designer suggested to include a wall fountain. I’ve never really looked at wall fountains… I mean, until now we haven’t had a usable garden for four years so there was no need!

But we all agreed that the inclusion of a fountain would add to that country garden feel we were going for, whilst also distracting from roadside noise on the other side of the fence.

It would make the space feel more tranquil, our little piece of paradise.

Image credit: Emma Diaz @thelittlestonecottage

Finding the perfect water feature for us

So, I began my search. We were after something fairly traditional, but not too old fashioned. Something that would complement our garden, rustic but chic- not shabby! The fountain also needed to work with the colours of our Cotswold stone and fit a certain space on the wall (we’re always limited to space here so every inch has been meticulously planned! This is when we came across the Athenian Wall Fountain by Haddonstone.

It was perfect, and straight away I could see it in pride of place, high up on our wall, surrounded by climbing roses blooming in the summer. We decided to go for the ‘Portland shade’ which has been a lovely contrast to the warmth of our creamy Cotswold stone walls.

The roses are of course freshly planted and given the time of year have been cut back a fair bit, but in a few months’ time when spring starts to emerge, this little area of our garden will be our haven.  If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen that the garden project has been relentless, to say the least. It’s still not finished, and in the new year we’ll be looking to add coping stones to the walls and ‘stone bench’. But it’s so lovely to finally have a sense of the finished space. We’ve worked so hard on it, and I really can’t wait to sit here in the summer with a drink in hand, watching the water in this beautiful fountain fall.

Image credit: Emma Diaz @thelittlestonecottage

How to Choose the Right Water Feature for Your Garden

With so many water features to choose from, how do you choose the right option for your outdoor space?

In this helpful blog, we run through the benefits a water feature can bring to your garden.

We also share our top tips for choosing the right water feature for you.