GARDENING:
Garden ponds provide a rich resource for the glories of nature
THE pond in our previous garden was a gorgeous little nature reserve. At less than 8 sq m, with a variable depth of up to 60cm, it held a diversity of wildlife and looked pretty all the way through from March to November.
dragonflies and caddisflies bred in the water. Birds and mammals drank at the shallows. Newts and frogs spawned every spring. Water lilies shaded the surface, pondweed supplied oxygen and marginal plants provided refuge and prettied the edges.
large fish are bad for small wildlife ponds, so we introduced tiny sticklebacks. They multiplied rapidly and, at breeding time, the colourful males waged wars. That pond took about five summers to mature and balance itself. That’s a long time, but watching the transition — from smelly green soup to clear water — was fascinating.
Each summer, the water became sweeter and cleaner. New species kept arriving and the plants matured, making the pond prettier.
We had decided never to use chemical algaecides. A wildlife expert assured us that, in the right conditions, the pond would balance naturally and the water would then stay clear. It did, and when a kingfisher came to catch sticklebacks one winter, we knew we had got it right.
Now, after dithering at our current home for 14 years, we’ve finally made a new pond.
SPOT FOR REFLECTION
THIS is a pretty good moment to plan a new pond. If completed before october, there would be time to introduce your first plants and begin the natural balancing process. Ponds are easy to get wrong. So, if you’re not adept at DIY, a professional landscaper could save time and trouble — but at a price.
The optimum site is an open, sunny spot, but really a pond can thrive anywhere other than in deep shade. Trees or buildings can look beautiful reflected in the water, so bear those in mind when picking your site.
Wildlife-friendly ponds need variable depths. A gently sloping margin at one end will give creatures access for drinking and enable them to move in and out of the water.
Marginal plants prefer varying depths of up to about 15cm. Provide shallow zones for those along some of the edges.
Water-lilies and pondweeds need depths of 45cm to 60cm. Plus, deep water keeps the pond cooler in hot weather and allows for more diverse aquatic life.
When you’ve decided on dimensions and shape, choose how to line it. A pre-formed, rigid mould is fine for small to medium ponds. For large ones, or those with irregular shapes, a flexible liner would be better.
DON’T FORGET WEEDS!
PAVED surrounds are fine, but wildlife ponds look good with lawn or bog plants around their edges. Allowing the grass to grow taller along some of the margins will look natural and can help wildlife.
You could plant wetland species such as lady’s smock or kingcups in that marginal turf.
Native aquatic plants are lovely, but avoid invasive ones such as yellow water- lilies, reedmace or greater spearwort. Instead, choose pale lemon Nymphaea ‘ Marliacea Chromatella’, water forget-me-not and Bowles’s golden sedge.
Pond water will turn foul unless you plant oxygenating waterweeds. Natives such as Potamogeton and water starworts Callitriche are best.