Fountain as a Plant Stand

I bought a fountain awhile back on craigslist, and am using it as a planter.  I think I paid $90 for it.  And it was HEAVY.  HEAVY HEAVY HEAVY.  Luckily there were some guys in the alley, when we unloaded it, and they helped carry it in (took 4 guys total). The entire fountain fit in the trunk of the Camry, once we separated it all apart.  We got it into the Camry using a dolly that the lady had who was selling it.  Hubs was able to roll it close to the car, and then he and I were able to lift it straight into the car.  Getting it out of the car, from the alley, and into the backyard was a little too far for me to lift....  We were lucky those guys were around.

I got this idea from a local eatery:  To The Point Cafe  They had a fountain (a 2 tier one) out on their patio that they would grow herbs in.  It was cute.  This one I have is much bigger.

Fountain off of craigslist

To The Point Cafe -- 2 tier fountain right in the center (from Yelp)

My fountain has three tiers.  I'm using the second tier right now to grow strawberries.  Every couple of weeks I have a strawberry to eat!

Strawberries on the 2nd tier

I've tried doing a couple things with the top tier.  There's not much soil in the top, and it dries out quickly.  I tried starting some succulents in it, but they aren't spreading.  And right now a little green onion is coming up volunteer.  So, I don't really know what to do.....

Top tier, succulents and a volunteer green onion

The bottom tier has lots of soil in it, and stays moist.  Right now I'm growing lettuce in it, and as you can see I have bird netting over it.  I put bird netting over everything, better safe than sorry.  However, I'm worried the birds are going to find the strawberries, so I really need to be diligent about plucking them.  I've got rocks holding the bird netting onto the fountain.  So very non-permanent.

Lettuce in the bottom tier