To each and every one of you who left a comment about this new fountain from Branch, my sincere thanks. It was a sculpture that was months in the making. So much conversation. So much thought. So many members of the Branch group stepping up. All of us fell for this fountain. We are pleased that you like it too. This morning my colleague, friend, and director of landscape services for English Gardens, John Collins, brought an operator in on a Saturday, who drove his Volvo 6000 pound capacity front end loader several miles down Orchard Lake Road to Detroit Garden Works. Our front end loader could not unload and place this fountain. We needed help, and our good friends at English Gardens responded.
Branch spends some of the winter building containers, pergolas and fountains outside of our usual product line. The best part of a fierce winter at Branch is the opportunity to go beyond what we have already done. Imagination is like an ocean, water charged with energy washing up on the shores of what has been before. Branch manufactures a stock group of garden boxes, fountains and pergolas. But in the winter, we go off course, we dream, and we make what we have never made before. This winter work gets all of our blood moving, in spite of the cold. But my lame attempt at a poetic description of the creation of this fountain lags far behind the story and reality of moving an object that weighs close to 2 tons. 
John, and his Volvo, handled it with ease. I truly value the relationships I have with other companies in my field. English Gardens has many garden centers in our area. They speak to a broad spectrum of clients via their retail locations. They also offer and deliver thoughtful landscape design and installation. They are friends and treasured colleagues. I so appreciate that they would lend me a hand. On a Saturday, of course. All of us are busy working during the week this time of year. And especially busy, given how shy spring has been to make an appearance.
Once the fountain was in the general vicinity of its home, we set it down with the loader forks. We picked it up again with straps slung over the forks, to place it true and square to the wall.
Once in place, Buck and Sal saw to attaching the jet. The jet pipe was threaded by hand, and screws into the base plate welded to the fountain floor. The jet needed a secure installation, as it weighs close to fifty pounds.
Any fountain demands a perfectly level placement. Water levels itself with the horizon. A fountain out of level -not good. The water will talk about any mistake. We spent a good bit of time with a pallet jack and a level. Any fountain asks for as close to a perfectly level placement as possible. Leveling is the most time consuming part of a permanent installation. When filled over the top, the water should flow over every inch of the rim equally, and at the same time.
The Branch fountain has a rectangular housing for the pump. It has a jet in the same style, shape, and proportion as the fountain itself.
The rectangular pump cover encloses all of the workings of the pump. No one needs to see this. The fountain could be hard wired with a remote location for the pump, if an installation warranted that. But for now, it can be fired up by plugging it in.
This steel nest jet breaks the water falling from a very powerful pump. The music that a fountain produces is important. I could not be more pleased with the sound. It is musical, not at all metallic.
The fountain filling and the pump running – a moment I will not soon forget. There is such pleasure in bringing the construction to a close, and attending opening day. We have 3 other fountains just about finished at Branch. More on that when they are actually here and running. Buck says we will have them within two weeks. It has only been within the last 10 years that I have seriously considered water as a feature in the landscape. Now I would not want to do without it. No matter the size or scale, water in the garden is a pleasure. Bring on the ponds, birdbaths and fountains.
The Branch fountain is now on display at Detroit Garden Works. Thanks again for all the comments and calls-we all appreciate every one of them. Should you live nearby, we invite you to stop in and see for yourself.
Stunning.
Some Art Museum should buy this.
Outstanding! Can’t wait to see it in person.
It’s a beautiful piece..a true work of art.
What a baptism!
DGW is reborn yet again.
Happy Easter to all.
Magnificent! I can’t wait to stop by and see this masterpiece. Bravo!!!
Sincerest congrats to you and all your team (official and otherwise) on this impressive work of art and its successful installation. Certainly to me, it is a total original and would be a worthy adornment for any prestigious location..
It’s taken my breath away again! The finish is even more stunning than in the last post. I have been wanting to come up and visit since Christmas. You’d think a four hour trip would be no problem! Hoping to make it up soon. Just gorgeous! Bravo to you and your talented team.
The Branch fountain: It is Nature by the human hand. It looks organic and alive like the boxwood topiaries it lives with. Beauty!
i think it is sheer brilliance. perhaps you could include a video so we may hear it speak.
love to hear about collaborations with others in the field, an important connection often lost in th maze of competition
happy easter
debra
Well said…and totally agree!
WOW! That is amazing. You and your associates are so talented.
Incredible!! Wish my pockets were deeper….
Next, a round one…..
New York needs a Detroit Garden Works!
Yea Buck Yea Deborah Yea All
I am sure that this wonderful creation is a delight to behold….. but more importantly it is an interactive piece …. for the urge to touch must be immense!! Well done to everyone involved…..a masterpiece of truly epic proportions.
Absolutely stunning! It will fit into so many different landscapes as if it belongs there. I can picture it in a natural woodland setting as you follow a secret path to locate the sound of moving water…..maybe just around the corner from a very old live oak….WOW! What a great bit of creative teamwork! When I was younger I would have loved to be part of a group like yours…so much talent feeding off each other.
Ok. Seriously. I can’t even take it. It’s a stunner! Literally slapping the table top with excitement.
The intrigue. The density. The calm within the chaos born from the repetition of material. I can’t wait to hear the voice of the water.
Does it have a name?
Thanks, Elare! The Branch Fountain is the name. Do you have another thought? Deborah
Thoughts……
Branch the company is like the mothership to me. The fountain is a descendant of Branch. It is constructed of thousands of “twigs” that are grafted to grow into something more. This is the very definition of a scion.
If you “run the thread” threw the big picture and use the twig theme on another grand construction perhaps of a different form you have in essence created the “Scion” line. Therefore it would seem appropriate to call the flagship creation the SCION.
I’ll stop now out of fear of being presumptuous.
Thank you for the dialogue. I have tremendous respect for you and your team.
I have plans to visit once this rain breaks.