Garden Water Feature Dreaming: Patio Fountain Wall

What's better than one garden water feature and 'garden dreaming' post on the blog?  Certainly...You could say that: Two of those posts would be better.  But, even better than two?  That's right....three of said posts.  Especially when they run in close proximity to each other...as it serves as a document of the evolution of my thinking on projects like this and allows me the ability to work in draft format in my garden diary.

First...I started this series with a look at some available stock tanks that could be used as ponds. Then, a few days ago, I posted about how I learned all about rills and what they are in the garden.  Today, I'm posting about some further inspiration that I've come across that has appeal to me as a gardener.  In terms of location, I'm talking about the patio-adjacent area to the north of our current patio.  I posted some drawings and thoughts about doing a second Belgian Fence in this area.  You can see the location here.   I still think doing a Belgian Fence here is interesting, but I'm (now) revisiting what *else* belongs in this location.  

When I was poking around the Web about Rills, I came across this photo from Cool Gardens that shows off a wall fountain that empties into a rill.  

One of the things that I've been thinking about - in terms of a water feature - is that it needs to be located in a spot where we can 'take it in' from a place where we sit - like a patio.  The photo above shows something interesting to me:  a fountain - that empties into a rill.  But, it also makes a retaining wall that allows for planting ON TOP of the fountain.  

Could something like this fountain wall work CLOSER to our patio?  And by 'closer', I mean...directly adjacent to our patio?  See that spot I referenced in the 2nd Belgian Fence post?   By putting a fountain wall like this in place, I *could* plant that Belgian Fence ON TOP of the wall - which would provide us with the screening/privacy that we want, right?  

The example in the photo above seems to be about a 30" tall wall, right?  Add a eight-foot-tall espalier to the top and we're talking an 11-foot tall screen.   I should also pressure-test the idea of something like this being NOT right on the patio, but further away as something that draws you in further.  

No matter where it goes....There does *seem* to be an order of operations problem that I need to unpack.  This kind of project seems to tie together with a few other ones:

1.  The 'entrance' to our backyard - including two retaining walls, slab stairs, more gravel.  We solved the 'easy part' last year, but I think I need to tackle the retaining wall portion this season.

2.  The 'beds' around our current patio - including a dividing of the patio into a 'garden room'.  And using the notion of 'hide and reveal' to separate the garden from the patio.  

3.  My desire of a waterfall and bridges.   

4.  The home for vegetable gardening.  Do we move it off of our patio and make it more permanent?