How about a lush, flowering vine along that back wall? Might be able to grow one in a large container. Maybe some low-growing flowers in the dirt patch also - I think color would be nice. Pretty fountain!

Is there a walk way to the door in this area? Show us more of the area. What is the gravel on the right?

There is a rock area with roses in the front of the house. This is a side door that enters into the formal dining room/walkway. Inside we walk past this door to get to the main living area but the door itself is rarely used.

One more to show house overall

I would put colorful pots in the corners behind the fountain, perhaps with a vine as suggested above. Pots or a small bench to hide the electrical cords. Put stepping stones in either gravel or ground cover in the open space in front of the fountain pad. That will give you a walk way in case anyone uses the door. Then plant some type of shrub to hide the utility boxes on the left.

Why not just take it out? You don't hang out near it, you only walk past it while indoors. It serves no real purpose.

Is it ever turned on? If I lived next door to that and had to listen to the splashing water day in and day out, I'd go batty. And it would really drive me right over the edge if I knew that the people who owned the fountain never paid any attention to it.

Not a fan of little fountains, in case you didn't sense that. Not a fan of endless splashing water either.

Rip it all out and plant a nice small ornamental tree and grass.

I would put some kind of wall up to give privacy and "use" the area. Personally would love an area like that to sit in and enjoy the sound of the fountain.

Not sure that comment is very helpful......most folks find the sound of splashing water very soothing. And it does do a great job of filtering out other noises....like cars/road noise or boisterous kids playing. And I'm also not sure that fountains are intended to have a purpose......other than to be ornamental and provide water sounds :-)

Since this is really seen and appreciated and accessed from inside the house, I'd screen it off completely with a larger growing shrub or a series of several taller, narrow shrubs, like Sky Pencil hollies. You would still have access to the door if needed but the fountain itself wouldn't be so blatant and more anchored to the house and rest of the landscape.

And would soften the impact on any picky neighbors, like the above :-)

Gardengal498(jkfoidsjrdfj): The issue is the same as with wind chimes--fine if they're yours, but not if the noise is imposed on you by a neighbor. My music's fine at my party, but my neighbors would not feel the same, and rightly so. Lighting is the same issue.

It's not about being picky, it's about the intrusion of your life into someone else's space.

Most reasonable people can differentiate between loud music and the gentle sounds of water moving or wind chimes.

I would close off this little area from the street and make it into a lush garden courtyard. And make it as big as you can. Add lots of pots with flowers and a climbing vine or espalier to cover the cement block wall. Make it a destination your guests want to visit instead of a passing glance from inside the house. Fit it up with landscape lighting including a spotlight on the fountain. Plants and the running water will draw birds to this space.

The OP's intent is to beautify the area and anchor it better to the home, not to remove it. So imposing one's very personal opinions re: likes or dislikes of fountains is not very helpful. Unless his/her neighbors object....which I would doubt......that is not an issue for consideration.

Sound and light don't have boundaries. If having to endure sounds or lights other than your own is that much of an issue, choose to live somewhere where neighbors won't impinge and your sensibilities won't be offended.

Most humans are attracted to the sound of gently splashing or trickling water or gentle wave action. Psychologists and biobehaviorists attribute this to stimulation of alpha waves in the brain, which induce a calm, relaxed state. For most, the noise soothes, not irritates. It is considered white noise. That may be why fountains, bubblers and other moving water features are so popular with homeowners. And why I am asked to include them in so many landscape designs.

btw, tiered concrete fountains like the OP's do not come cheap. I would hesitate to ask anyone to rip out somethig that cost several thousands of dollars on the whim of an overly picky neighbor.

i Love fountains, have two with subtle sound plus a waterfall into my pool, very quiet & soothing to me. Better that than the sounds of barking dogs, cars & gawd forbid a Harley Davidson!

Fill the space with hakone grass (shade) or some low growing sun lover, like miscanthus Hamelin maybe?

The problem I see is that there are utilities on either side of the fountain that may need to be accessed. It was probably put there as a focal point viewed from the dining room. I think I'd put in some evergreen bush in the bed with the roses to hide the utility from the street, then continue the grass. On the back wall some taller plants.

I agree with the comment above. I’d screen it off from the front especially because of that utility valve/whatever it is right in front.

I also agree that the placement of the fountain seems odd. You don’t walk past it, you don’t listen to it, you only see it from indoors. So why keep it there? Put it where you can enjoy it.

Plus - and I’m not going to be as heavy handed as some commenters above - be considerate of your neighbors. I beg to differ in that sound and light shouldn’t be an annoyance to others. No matter what the sound, be it melodious or otherwise, it very well can be.

It looks like a nice fountain, though, and it may not generate much of a splashing noise (or a heaven-forbid ‘go jiggle the toilet handle!’ noise).

We would like to keep the fountain. It is next to the neighbors garage, and she has never mentioned it in the 8 years we have been neighbors, so sound isn’t an issue. It is very subtle and can barely be heard when walking past it in my house, let alone at the neighbor’s house.

I do like the idea of walking it off. I was thinking a 2-3 foot wall? Short enough to step over, but would I still have an entryway to the area from the outside? What would I build it out of? I could use the rock facade that the rest of the house has to tie it in, but doubt I could match it perfectly. Maybe just stucco?

You could certainly do a low stucco wall although that is a lot of hard material in a pretty small space. Kinda institutional :-) Why not something that is alive and green and growing to wall it off?

Thank you for everyone who gave suggestions on this area! We will be adding in some planters to green up the space soon, but in the meantime we have a much loved usable space.