Woman Uses Concrete Blocks To Create A Serene Garden Wishing Well On A Budget
A water feature is a common way to make an outdoor space more relaxing, visually appealing, and elegant. However, many store-bought options can be expensive, and may not be exactly what you're looking for. So why not make your own? Creator @whimsy_gothica on TikTok demonstrated how you can DIY a garden water feature using just a few affordable materials, customizing it how you want. This project involves creating a faux wishing well by surrounding a sunken tub with concrete blocks.
If you're interested in following whimsy_gothica's lead, first figure out where your wishing well will go. Once you do, dig a hole, one big enough to fit a round tub of whatever size you want the wishing well to be. After the tub is in place, all that remains is adding some concrete blocks (think retaining wall blocks), fresh water, a water pump, and decorations, such as flowers, lily pads, or even a little bucket to put on the side (as if the well has just been used).
Putting together a DIY wishing well fountain
As for where to place this DIY wishing well, you could put it in the backyard where you can see and hear it from your patio. Or, you could put it in your front yard as whimsy_gothica does, as a creative way to increase your home's curb appeal.
For the actual wishing well, a plastic tub or barrel is ideal for this. Being plastic, such a tub won't break down over time like wood or other organic materials would. For example, you might already have something like this 19-inch resin barrel-style planter from Amazon that you can repurpose for this project.
Once the tub is in the hole, you can then gain inspiration from whimsy_gothica's video, surrounding the edges with concrete blocks, which will help obscure the fact that the well is really a plastic tub. For the blocks, consider using ones that aren't uniform in size, such as these Pavestone retaining wall blocks ($2.37); this will give the wishing well a more natural look. Also, the blocks will serve another purpose, too, as they'll provide perches for visiting wildlife, not only to rest on but to climb out of the water with if they fall in.
Adding water to your DIY wishing well fountain
Once your wishing-well setting is complete, you then simply need to fill the tub with fresh, clean water and place a water pump inside. (For a pump, you can get a mini one from retailers like Home Depot, Walmart, or Amazon; e.g., a PULACO Mini Submersible Water Pump for $9.99). For the water pump, arrange the end of the tubing back over the tub so that the water can flow in a continuous circle.
@whimsy_gothica 🦇 Whimsigoth garden part 3 💜 A few of you guessed right, I made a DIY wishing well as the centerpiece of my new front yard garden 🌿 I'm obsessed with the gargoyle rain spout that I repurposed! My rare white magpie friend ghost has spent a lot of time in here since we finished it, I think he thinks it's all for him 🥰 #witchy #whimsigothgarden #gargoyle #garden
To hide the pump's tubing, whimsy_gothica uses a faux sculpted gargoyle in keeping with the other goth garden ideas she uses in her outdoor space. However, you can use something you already have, like a garden gnome or statue, to stand over the tubing and keep it hidden from view on a budget.
Finally, for decorations, it's all up to you in how you turn this DIY water feature even more magical. For example, for something whimsical, you could add handmade fairy garden elements, such as rocks painted to look like mushrooms or little miniature houses made of twigs. On top of that, you could wedge in some faux moss between the concrete blocks to give the wishing well an overgrown, aged feel.