DIY bubbling rock water feature

A Bubbling Rock Water Feature and a Mini Yard Tour

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DIY bubbling rock water feature

With summer right around the corner, I’m enjoying the cooler temperatures as long as I can. Spring has always been my favorite season. If it weren’t for the pollen, it would be near perfect.

I love hearing the background noise of the tree frogs and bull frogs singing their little song at night. It’s my reminder that spring has arrived.

They seem to be drawn to our rock water feature in our backyard.

water feature rock

A few of my husband’s landscaping jobs are in the mountains of North Carolina. After driving past a mulch yard that had about a half-dozen boulders with holes drilled in the center, he decided to bring one home…for me.

This water feature was part of my Mother’s Day present last year.

water feature

I was so surprised that my husband wasn’t actually tuning me out when I showed him all the pictures of bubbling rock water features on Pinterest. 

I didn’t get to watch him make it but if you have any questions, I’ll ask him and answer them in the comments section.

Update: The “how to” is now in the comments section.

I do know that there is a pump that sits in the pond that circulates the water. With our warmer temperatures in South Carolina, it ran all winter without any problems.

You can also see in the background the Japanese Maple that I mentioned in our master bedroom reveal. This is our view from our window.

Rock water fountain

I’m not the only one who’s enjoying it. It’s become our German Shepard’s little watering hole.

Is it a pond or a watering hole

Meet Josie. She’s the only other girl of the household so she deserves her own little spot to cool off.

Josie Wales

Before the creeping phlox’s blossoms died off, I grabbed a picture of the ones we have in the front yard. They’re my absolute favorite ground cover. I just wish the flowers would stay around a little longer.

creeping phlox

We planted this Japanese Maple when Mason, our seven-year-old, was born.

Japanese Maple and creeping phlox

So, that’s a mini-tour of our yard while everything is still green.  I plan on making shutters for the house before it gets too warm. Oh no, did I just put that in writing? The boys have one more month of school left, so I need to hustle!

What is your favorite season of the year?

tricia tag

 

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23 Comments

  1. Bubbling basalt rock columns have been growing in popularity over the years.
    That one looks professionally made. I’ve seen both big and small.
    Some of the larger rock column features can weigh well over 2 tonnes!

    Definitely a great DIY project that is low maintenance. It should be ok as is but to be safe just disconnect it during the winter otherwise any water inside could expand and crack the water feature.

    1. I’d love to go back to the west coast one day. My brother lived in San Jose and I visited him when my niece was born. I hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day as well!!!

  2. hey tricia, I love your water feature. I am a big van of the phlox as well and nothing is more prettier then when it is at it’s full bloom. I planted them on the edges of my beds and I love the way they cascade over the stones. I am in north east georgia so I am thinking our weather and landscape may be similiar. Have a great week!

    1. Hi Laura! I follow your blog and didn’t realize you were so close. Are you totally over all the rain we had the past 2 weeks? Lol! I hope you’re going to Haven so I get to meet you in person.

  3. So pretty Tricia. I love the sound of those! Your yard is so pretty…we’ve done a little here and there in the last few years but have plans to do some major landscaping this year. 😉 Maybe….I hope. lol
    Nancy

    1. Thanks, Nancy! I’ve been hoping we can finally get a cover over our front porch that I’ve been bugging my husband about for years. It doesn’t look too promising. Oh well! I just feel lucky we finally got a roof over our back patio last spring.

  4. Thank you so much for the instructions! I am so glad to hear that you don’t have to go all the way through! My husband would never go for it!! Now I know there is a chance!!

    1. Oh, good! Please let me know if he ends up making one for you. My husband said that if someone didn’t want to drill the hole themselves, a granite supplier might be able to do it.

  5. Very pretty….love your water feature. My hubby and I built our pond several years ago and it is awesome. I can’t imagine summer without hearing the water flowing. Beautiful phlox as well, I just planted some today. Thanks for sharing.

    1. You’re welcome, Shanee! We used to have a larger pond and I really miss the sound it made. So glad you like our water feature and thanks for stopping by.

    1. Thanks, Krista! I just wish didn’t have a black thumb. It’s a good thing my husband knows what he’s doing. Lol! I can’t wait to see what you do! You always have such great projects!

  6. I just planted my first phlox plants this year. I’ve always loved them, but just never got any in the ground. I hope mine looks as good as yours in the next couple of years!

    And that fountain is divine! Good job, Mr. Simplicity! 🙂

    1. Thank you, Carla! I can’t wait to tell Mr. Simplicity! He deserves to be in the limelight every now and then. 🙂

  7. OK Tricia,
    I’ll be the first to ask……”Can we please have a tutorial or instructions on your husband’s sweet little water feature?” Or should I say, “Please Tricia’s husband!” 🙂

    1. Lol! I’ll get him working on that as soon as he gets home from work. It will be our topic of conversation at dinner. He could talk landscaping all day just like I jabber on and on about home stuff.

    2. Hey Kim,
      After discussion over pizza, these are the details that Mr. Simplicity gave me on how he made the water feature. The rock was purchase for 1/2 price for $100. The pump was on sale for $10 at Northern Tool. It’s the smallest pump that circulates 20 gallons/hr. The rock has a 4 inch deep hole drilled in the top and another hole that is drilled in the back of the rock, so the holes meet in a “L” shape. (Ha! Until he told me that, I thought the hole went all the way through.) For the pond, he dug the hole about 2 feet deep, removed all the rocks then laid down carpet padding to protect the liner from small rocks that might puncture the liner. The rubber liner is then laid down to overlap the hole 8″ on the front sides. The part of the liner that goes behind the rock needs to extend 2 feet behind the rock to catch any leaks from the tubing that runs into the back of the rock. The pump sits in the pond inside of a filter box. The tubing that fits into the hole in back of the rock can be siliconed, but he says it’s better that you don’t. Algae can build up in the tubing and the hole in the rock so leaving it unsealed makes it easier to clean. Gosh, I don’t know what all he’s talking about but I know he knows his stuff so I hope this helps! Just let me know if you have any other questions.

      1. I’m needing to get busy and get my in ground bubbler going. I’ve got the pump, tubing, rubber sheeting and carpet but I still need to get a metal grill that covers the reservoir, pump and water. What is a pump filter box? I never heard of that before. Sounds smart and reasonable to have. Where did you get your filter box and do they come in some universal size or are there all different sizes to fit the various filters? HELP

        1. Hi Melinda, I’m excited that you’re making a bubbling water feature too! You’ll love it! The pump fits right inside of the pump filter box. It’ll help keep the water clear and prevents the debris from clogging the pump which helps it last longer. The universal pump filter box we used came from Amazon and fits the pump we purchased from Harbor Freight: pump filter box Amazon also sells the replacement filters if you ever need them. It didn’t need to be cleaned that often since we didn’t have fish in the pond. The dimensions are 6.2″ x 12.4″ x 5.8″ inches so hopefully, it’ll work for the pump you already have. Good luck and have fun with your project!

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