Filling a water fountain with marble chips

[Wadeski]

Hello PH gardeners.

I recently had all the poison ivy and overgrowth pulled off of the water feature in the middle of our driveway.

I dont want to reconnect it to water, its just a hassle to take care of, but i think i can clean it up a bit with some marble chips or similar to fill the water feature.

I have a few questions:

- i assume i should fill it mostly with sand then chips / pebbles on top? What ratio?

- is there anything i can do to discourage nature from reclaiming it i.e. plant life or moss?

- anything else i should do? Disconnect the hoses etc?

[jimmyjimjim]

A metric crap ton of weed control fabric between the sand and the marble chips. And maybe some diesel in the sand.

[dickymint]

Sounds nice but I suspect it'll get grubby as heck in short time?

[peterperkins]

Assuming you haven't got kids etc and are thinking safety etc.
Seems a shame to fill that in, it's quite nicely done.

I would repaint/seal the bottom/sides and get it going again.
A few minutes on it each week would keep the vine out.

Make a hedgehog ramp so anything that falls in can climb out.

[Bill]

I'd be tempted to use slate rather than marble. It'll take longer to look grubby and will look more pond like. Fill mostly with sand, then weed mat and a few inches of stone.

That said, I'd actually make it a wildlife pond. With the right planting it shouldn't take much to maintain it, and the statue in the middle adds a comedy element.

[Wadeski]

Unfortunately its at a property we aren't at often, so anything that needs upkeep isnt ideal.

We also get more extreme weather than the Uk - long periods of low, low temperatures mean ice destroys things and any stagnant water in the summer breeds mosquitos.

[Bill]

Stone it is then!

[Wadeski]

And thanks for the matting suggestion! I didn’t know that existed…