Gardenline Solar Fountain

Gardening and feeding the birds are two hobbies of mine that often go together. My backyard hosts a mix of native plant beds, berry bushes, and various flowers, with tomatoes and herbs growing in container gardens. I have multiple bird feeders and waterers that accent the space.

When I saw Aldi was selling solar fountains for bird baths or small ponds, I eagerly updated my grocery shopping list and made sure to pick up a fountain when they arrived in my local store. Aldi was advertising a bird bath the same week, so I bought one of those as well, intending to put the fountain in the bird bath.

The Gardenline Solar Fountain is an Aldi Find. That means it’s in stores for a short time only. Each store should receive one shipment, and after that sells out, it’s gone unless Aldi decides to bring it back next year. Aldi does not offer online ordering if this is out of stock at your local store.

This was scheduled to be in stores starting June 17th, 2026.

The solar fountain cost $9.99 in 2026, which is less than similar fountains on Amazon. As with everything we review, we purchased this fountain with our own funds.

Here’s more information, according to the box:

• Create a serene atmosphere with this hassle-free, easy-to-install device
• Ideal for enhancing the beauty of bird baths, planters, and small ponds
• Includes seven nozzles for different fountain patterns
• Available in hexagon or octagon shapes (I bought the hexagon; there didn’t seem to be much noticeable difference between the two designs.)

The solar fountain comes with a warranty. The box says it has a two-year warranty, but the user manual says it has a three-year warranty. I’m not sure which number is the right one.

The warranty is provided by Aspiria Non-Food GmBh, which has provided warranty service for other Aldi products such as the Crane Exercise Ball and the Ambiano 3.5″ Portable Fan.

If you need warranty service from Aspiria Non-Food, you can call 1-800-407-1458 or email support@aspiria-nonfood.com.

Unboxing and Assembling the Solar Fountain:

When you open the box, you’ll find the user manual and the fountain with solar panel, which is attached to the pump. You also get a short tube pump connection, a long tube nozzle connection, a small nozzle, and six different nozzle heads (for a total of seven different spraying options).

The housing cover for the pump was not attached, and one of the small suction cups on the bottom of the pump had fallen off because the housing cover is supposed to hold it on. It was easy to put those things back together.

To assemble the fountain, the manual says to remove a protective film from the solar surface. Both my husband and I looked and felt carefully on the solar panel, and there does not appear to be a protective film.

I proceeded on, following the manual, and attached the short and long tubes to the solar panel before attaching the nozzle head and one of the spray nozzle options.

Carefully place the assembled fountain in water to allow the floating solar panel pad to rest on the water’s surface.

There is no on or off switch on the fountain. Instead, the manual states the fountain’s pump only starts working when the sun is shining. (The manual’s troubleshooting section advises to make sure the switch on the pump is switched on, but there is no switch.)

Using the Fountain:

Day One — 

I set up the solar fountain in my backyard on a cloudy evening with some rain in the area, so I wasn’t expecting anything to happen right away.

The suction cups on the bottom of the pump are not very strong, and the fountain tends to float rather than stay attached to the bottom of the bird bath. That can be problematic if the fountain drifts to one side of the bird bath and starts emptying water out of the bird bath. It isn’t necessarily a deal breaker for me, though.

Day Two —

On the second day I had the fountain, the sun was shining brightly. I moved the bird bath and fountain to ensure it was getting full sun and made sure there was lots of water in the bird bath, and the fountain intermittently spurted for a few minutes.

The fountain doesn’t charge or hold a charge. It’s not like solar lights that charge during the day and then run all night. Instead, this fountain requires direct sun to even think about working. In fact, the fountain briefly worked really well if I tilted it so the sun hit it straight on. But it would go back to intermittent spurting when I laid it back down in the bird bath, even though it was still in full sun.

Then, after a few minutes, it stopped doing anything.

I left it in direct sun for several hours, and nothing happened for the rest of the day.

Day Three — 

I had posted on Aldi Reviewer’s Facebook page about how the fountain wasn’t working. I got plenty of advice about adding water and putting it in full sun, as if I wasn’t already doing those things.

Finally, on the third day I owned the fountain, someone on Facebook said you have to “shake the crap” out of the fountain before submerging it in water. I figured I had nothing to lose, so I gave a good shaking and smacked it a few times with my hand.

Lo and behold, it began working after I “shook the crap” out of it.

It’s still incredibly fickle. If someone walks past and blocks the sun for one second, it stops working and doesn’t want to restart unless you fiddle with it — nudge it, shake it, whatever it takes.

I’m not sure how long this fountain will last, or if it will continue working like it is now. I’ll update this post accordingly with any new developments.

The Verdict:

We had high hopes for the Gardenline Solar Fountain, but it’s actually a pretty finicky little gadget. We struggled to get it working, even though we placed it in full sun and made sure there was plenty of water in our bird bath. We were about to return it to Aldi, thinking it was a complete dud. Then, someone advised us to shake it thoroughly. We tried that, and it suddenly began working. It’s still fickle, and we still have to shake it sometimes, but at least it’s working … for now.