apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

They're cute but that first one looks really dirty. They're also a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Any non-treated, non-circulated water in a big bowl like those, a bird bath etc... is the perfect spot for mosquitoes to lay their eggs and for the larvae to grow. Here in VA you would get eaten alive and possibly contract West Nile Virus with this sort of thing around. But the good news is that there are little chemical donuts you can drop into them to kill any eggs or larvae.

I've seen this in european suburban gardens, generally made of concrete and with broken-plate mosaics all over them ...
yikes.

I think they'd look much nicer as planters. And, living in Savannah, GA, I agree with Monica: mosquito nightmare!

Tastefully done, they can be very pretty, with varying levels and textures of plants like the vertical height of rushes and cattails, softer emergent growth of parrot's feather and water mint, as well as small floating plants like duckweed and salvia and fairy moss (that turns a lovely fiery red in the fall)
You can also add fish to take care of the mosquitos and other insects - guppies, goldfish, and rosy minnows from your local petstore are a cheap and hardy choice, or you can add other tropical fish like bettas, swordtails, white cloud minnows, or even a school of neon tetras. As an added benefit, the fish usually get nice and fat on the mosquito larvae and algae, and will spawn or reproduce as well - their colors are amazing compared to their counterparts kept inside.

Eww...

FYI that while Oregon isn't immune to mosquitoes, we have decidedly fewer out in this part of the country. Problem, yes...but maybe not as much as elsewhere.

There is a special kind of black dye called Bio-Black for water gardens and reflecting ponds like these, which I am sure they are using, hence the darkness of the water. It prevents specific light rays from entering the water, so bacteria/ algae can't grow, but the waterlilies still can. They also probably use "mosuito dunk" which safely kills mosquito larvae in water, and is otherwise nontoxic to birds and animals. Learned all about this at Longwood Gardens Water Lily Garden recently.