Making a water feature from an old planter insert

Cast off planter insert transforms into patio pond

For three years, I didn’t know what to do with this old planter insert. It was water-tight, so I finally figured out to set it into the hill at the edge of the patio and stack up river rock as a background. All the materials, the insert, frog (see ‘im?), cat, galvanized flower cans and the hidden urn, set on the hill above the rocks, were all found at Flea markets or garage sales.

Serene stone cat and Columbine

The short retaining wall holds one lip of the insert and the river rocks are set at an angle to hold back the earth behind. The frog at the edge has a small pump tube coming out to land in the water. The sound of it is soothing when sitting on the patio here and it looks so cool and fresh in summer. I drain it in the off season so no nasty mosquitoes live in it.