Building a semi-subterranean (like shown above) or above ground outdoor terra cotta water fountain is fun, easy, and moderate in cost! With a little advance planning a terra cotta water fountain like the one show above can be operational within an afternoon.
First and foremost, select a site. Aside from the aesthetic nature of the site there are some practical details to consider namely, the sites location with relation to electric and water sources. Once that is decided the rest of the project is only implementation!
- Select a beautiful terra cotta pot for your fountain from our vast selection of terra cotta pottery. You may choose to angle your pot or pots for your fountain or just select one and position it upright as shown. Click here to view a selection and have fun!
- Next is the pump. We recommend and carry the FT-450 submersible pump by Fountain Tech. It is ultra quiet; has adjustable flow up to 450 gallons per hour; adapts to 1/2",3/4", and 1" tubing; is 4" tall x 3" wide x 4" long. The FT-450 also comes with a one year warranty. $59.99.
- Choose a galvanized tub for the water reservoir. We currently have three sizes to choose from; 4' diameter, $159.99 ; 6' diameter, $189.99; 8' diameter, $219.99
Other materials needed are; a filler such as rock used to fill 2/3 of the pot, pvc pipe and flex hose to attach a nozzle to the pump. (Different types of nozzles are for sale at hardware stores and average about $69.00) You may also need a material such as concrete blocks to elevate the pot and support a wire meshing that will cover the reservoir (3.14 times the radius squared. Example; 6' diameter galvanized tub would require 3.14 x (3x3)= 28.26 ft of mesh), and polished stones to cover the top of the reservoir. This effect will make the water flowing from the pot seem like it disappears into the ground. For a reservoir above ground, mesh and concrete blocks are not necessary. You may however, consider surrounding the tub with shrubs to hide the galvanized look.
Depending on the cost of the terra cotta pot selected and the galvanized tub used plus a few minor variables we feel that a professional looking beautiful fountain can be created for less than $700. It's a fun and a relatively easy project. We hope you will enjoy!
It's one of the favorite times of the year to visit the Carneros region of Sonoma County and Sonoma Garden Living. Beyond its reputation as a renowned wine and travel destination, Sonoma Valley is simply unforgettable. Why not take a ride this weekend or even a week day getaway and visit us.Looking for that special accent piece in travertine or marble for your garden setting? We have Sonoma Counties largest selection of terra cotta pottery, marble and stone statuary, marble and stone fountains, custom iron driveway and garden gates. It's no wonder the we are the destination for many discerning landscape architects.
Need to rest after a long day touring the Carneros region of Sonoma? Stay at the Vineyard Inn. The Inn is adjacent to Sonoma Garden Living and is surrounded by eight world class wineries! Mention us and get a 15% discount off the weekday or weekend rate!
So come vist us where serene vistas of rolling vineyards and lush farmlands stretch as far as the eye can see and our town glows with as much character as the local wines. For more information on what to do in the Sonoma Valley click here.
It is with great pride that Sonoma Garden Living introduces 
The Deyo Gallery by renowned artist Kate Deyo. Originally from New York and a graduate of Syracuse University's School of Fine Arts, Kate, over the years, has attracted a very broad audience. Her artwork adorns many private residences such as Opera star Jessye Norman and Miramax films Miriom Weinsten, to name a few. She also has murals displayed in Rockefeller Center and on Madison Avenue. She has also been featured in Women's Day and House Beautiful. Now Kate has brought her artistic talents to the Sonoma Valley and is turning her skills to heirloom wedding paintings and expanding her artistic talents to other projects.
June 16 is the anticipated debut opening of one of Kate’s latest projects at Sonoma Garden Livng, 'Autographed Water Color Prints of Famous Chefs' which will be featured at Sonoma Garden Living. The gallery opening promises to be a wonderful event with wine and hors d’oeuvres not to mention lots of excitement! The show will run through the summer.
Her inspiration for the project took place when," I noticed that my friends were all renovating their kitchens and all of them were interested in kitchen art, so why not feature water color paintings of famous chefs of the Sonoma and Napa Valley wine regions?"
Currently Kate is tracking down famous local chefs in an effort to get their autographs for her signed collection and with great success.(The Chefs love the idea!) Following that show, Sonoma Garden Living will host her second Northern California show, ‘Naughty Drawings’ on August 28. They are suggestive drawings rather than pornographic and sure to arouse desire in the beholder. These artistic drawings are wonderful and sure to be well recieved. Since they are prints, they will be very affordable and collectable.
Remember, Sonoma Garden Living also has a vast selection of terracotta pottery, stone and marble fountains, marble sclupture, iron driveway gates, and indoor decor that features indoor planters, metal art, and artwork.
Iron Doors and Gates on Pinterest!
We are amazed as to the warm response received with our first Sonoma Garden Living Pinterest board titled ‘Things in the Garden through an Artistic Eye’. Very favorable comments on our photos from all over the country have been flooding in as well as repins and postings of photos by our clients and friends!
So, we started another board called ‘Made of Iron’ which is populated by some of our past wrought iron projects as well as photos repined from other Pinterest members. In the very near future more photos will be posted of other wrought iron gates and iron handrails from our archives. We invite you to post your favorite photos as well.
As mentioned earlier, the excitement of Pinterest for us is to watch our board populate with a lot of creative ideas in landscape architecture from others who share the same interest in landscape design and landscape architecture. Happy pinning!
We recently joined Pinterest and started a pinboard of planters,garden statues (like the photo on the left), and other ideas for backyard landscaping. Click on the Pinterest button below any of our webpages to go to our pinboard and enjoy. For those who are not familiar with Pinterest, a brief explaination is in order:
Pinterest is a pinboard-style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies and more. Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, 're-pin' images to their own collections and or 'like' photos. Pinterest's mission is to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting" via a global platform of inspiration and idea sharing. Pinterest is affiliated with both Twitter and Facebook, which allows users to share and interact with a broad community.
We're excited about this new way of showcasing our terracotta pots, fountains,and statues. We urge you to join Pinerest and share your artistic garden photos with us!
Enjoy,
The Sonoma Garden Living Family
The name is thought to come from the medieval Italian word for Majorca an island on the route for ships bringing Hispano-Moresque wares from Valencia to Italy. Moorish potters from Majorca are reputed to have worked in Sicily and it has been suggested that their wares reached the Italian mainland from CaltagironeAn alternative explanation of the name is that it comes from the Spanish term obra de Malags, denoting “[imported] wares from Malaga”. or obra de mélequa, the Spanish name for luster.
In the 15th century, the term maiolica referred solely to lusterware, including both Italian-made and Spanish imports, and tin-glaze wares were known as bianchi (white ware). Eventually the term came to be used when describing ceramics made in Italy, lustered or not, of tin-glazed earthenware. With the Spanish conquest of Mexico, tin-glazed maiolica wares came to be produced in the Valley of Mexico as early as 1540, at first in imitation of tin-glazed pottery imported from Seville, Mexican maiolica is known famously as 'Talavera'.
At Sonoma Garden Living we have a large selection of Talavera platters, servers, and accessories that would compliment your interior decor. We also have a handsome selection of Talavera jars and plates. Serving plate to the left is 24"l x 17"w, $325. Serving plate to the right measures 25"l x 17"w, $465.
Terra cotta (clay) pottery and items made from have been in existence since almost the beginning of civilizations. Such items range from garden & table ware to figurines, roof shingles and the famous Terra Cotta Warriors of Xian. 2000 years old terra cotta amphoras are still being discovered at the bottom of the sea, whole.
Planters made from terra cotta can last for centuries or can crack and delaminate in a very short time due to weather and use conditions. What makes terra cotta planters durable is primarily the iron content in the clay as well as the temperature and duriation of baking in the kiln. Surface polishing decreases its porosity and a layer of glaze can make it water tight. Glazed terra cotta pots can withstand freezing temperatures.
A simple test by consumers for checking the quality of a garden pot is to tap the terracotta pot with the knuckles. If it the emited sound is a thud, the pot is poorly baked or the clay is of a lesser quality. A ring indicates a well made pot.
Sonoma Garden Living stocks planters and terra cotta garden items that have a high iron content, the color is usually tan to dark brown. It is baked at 2000+ degrees for an extended period rendering it very frost proof. This clay is usually tan to dark brown and its quality rivals Italian & French pottery, but at a fraction of the price. At Sonoma Garden Living we offer planters not only as soil containers, but as architectural works of art. The
The terracotta pot show above measures 36'h x 39"w and is for sale at $3,000.
In modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date on which Julius Caesar was killed in 44 B.C. Caesar was stabbed (23 times) to death in the Roman Senate by a group of conspirators led by Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. The group included 60 other co-conspirators according to Plutarch.
According to Plutarch, a seer had foreseen that Caesar would be harmed not later than the Ides of March and on his way to the Theatre of Pompey (where he would be assassinated), Caesar met that seer and joked, "The ides of March have come", meaning to say that the prophecy had not been fulfilled, to which the seer replied "Ay, Caesar; but not gone." This meeting is famously dramatized in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, when Caesar is warned by the soothsayer to "beware the Ides of March."
With the death of Julius Caesar, civil war insued with Gaius Octavius and the Second Trimvirate eventually restoring peace and ruling Rome. In 27 BC the Roman Senate officially named Gaius Julius Caesar and awarded him the honorific Augustus ('the revered one') thus he became Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus.
The reign of Augustus initiated an era of relative peace known as the Pax Romana which lasted for two centuries.
In honor of the Ides of March, Sonoma Garden Living is offering a magnificent hand carved marble statue of Augustus at half price, from $3,999 to $1,999! The beautiful hand carved marble bust measures 24"h x 18"h x 8'd. The face is carved from veinless white marble with carved Rose-Tur marble as his breast plate.
We will ship anywhere, price is good until the end of March.
Repotting is an important part of keeping healthy plants. The best time of year to repot is in spring, before the new flush of summer growth. Here are signs you need to repot:
Roots protruding from the bottom of the pot
The plant stops growing or becomes limp
The plant is root bound
If you decide that a plant does indeed need to repotted, follow these steps:
Remove the plant from the terra cotta pot. Lightly water the plant, let it dry for an hour or so, and then gently remove the plant from the pot. You can do this by turning the
terra cotta pot over and gently pulling the pot up and away from the root ball. It's not a good idea to yank a plant out of its pot by the stem.
Prep the root ball. It's OK to gently loosen the root ball with a finger or a fork, but be careful not to cause any root damage. Cut away dead or rotted roots.
In general, you should only repot a plant up one size of terra cotta . In other words, you can move from a four-inch to a six-inch pot, but not a four-inch to an eight-inch pot. This will slow growth. Add fresh potting soil directly to the terra cotta pot. Many of us were taught to first add pebbles or some other drainage media to the bottom of the pot first. In reality, however, this reduces the growing area for the roots and actually hastens decline of the potting soil by paradoxically reducing aeration.
Planting. Gently set the new plant in its new pot and backfill with soil or compost. One of the main causes of plant collapse is planting too deep. Make sure the newly potted plant isn't planted deeper than it was in the original pot. As you're filling in, press the soil down firmly and tap the pot gently to settle all the dirt.
Water thoroughly, and if necessary, add a little more soil to top it off. You should water until liquid seeps from the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot.
If a plant is too large to repot, you can top dress the soil by carefully removing the top few inches of soil and replacing it with new compost
Finally, a word about fertilizing newly repotted plants. Most store-bought compost mixes have fertilizer included. In general, you shouldn't fertilize newly repotted plants for six weeks. This will reduce the chances of burning the new root growth.
Painting and staining pots
Garden pots need not be only terra-cotta in colour.
For cheerful containers, stain pots in colours that complement their location in relation to the architecture and what is planted inside. Terra-cotta is very porous, so it's important to use materials that won't harm the plants.You can either use water based acrylic paints that are easy to clean with soap and water or powered pigments that are natural.
If using a natural pigment mix with matte medium (a paint extender available at crafts and art-supply stores) to desired shade and add a little water to thin the paint as necessary, making it easier to apply. It's a good idea to mix a small amount first to find your perfect color, then increase your formula for a bigger batch. Use a foam brush to coat the outside of the pots then let them dry overnight.Apply a second coat if necessary.Remember pigments and water based acrylics are strong and will stain your clothes, so mix and apply them carefully.
Don't be afraid when painting your terracotta pot. Experiment with sponges and rags as an applicator of point to your terracotta. You'll be suprised at your creativity!