A cold but bright morning here so it was ideal for starting work on my new wildlife pond. You will recall that last year I had tadpoles in my tiny water feature but they failed to mature into frogs. Some people suggested they they might hibernate and mature this year but I have my doubts. But I moved it to another spot in the border just in case then started digging the hole for the new poly resin container I bought last weekend. It's 44cm in diameter and 10cm deep. Not big, of course, but large enough to support the wildlife I think.
Thankfully the ground wasn't frozen so it didn't take long to make a hole that was big enough. Once I had back-filled the soil I covered the surrounding area with some ornamental stones to the sides and slightly rearranged the log pile behind. Then I added the pebbles you can see at the back pond to make a 'ramp', filled it up with rain water and some of the water from the old water feature and popped in some pond weed.
I'm pleased with the effect so far. The next job is to research some marginal/floating plants. I like the look of Marsh Marigolds and I'd also like something reed-like, perhaps a dwarf Bullrush. There are a couple of specialist water gardening nurseries near me so I'll have to go and have look around. In the meantime I've put a potted fern to the right of the pond to provide some protection and shade.
Georgie
5 comments:
I really like you little wildlife pond Georgie, I was thinking of doing something similar. I wanted to put a small pond in, but space is limited, this would be perfect.
That's looks really good!
It'll be good to see what wildlife is attracted to it later on. xx
Thanks Eileen and Flighty. It's so cold here I won't be doing anything in the garden today. I can't even be bothered to go and look at water plants - I'd rather stay in the warm!
G x
I hope the frogs appreciate you efforts!
Hopefully your tadpoles will mature this year.
My other half has always wanted a pond. Something like this might be a good compromise. Did you buy the container from a specialised pond shop?
Jo.
xx
Hi Jo. I got the container from a garden centre called Phoenix Rose (formally The Chelsea Gardener). I think it's a chain. It looks like stone but in fact it's made of a poly resin material so it's quite light. I've looked before in specialised water gardening shops but I've never been able to find anything small enough. Good luck with your search.
G x
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