Susie’s Garden
Even in the tiniest of gardens you can have a wildlife pond
Making a garden pond, even the tiniest, is one of the best ways of helping wildlife. Sitting and watching birds drinking or dragonflies zipping low over the water is relaxing and peaceful. It can be to a formal design or natural looking, but, with 70 per cent of ponds disappearing from the UK countryside, our network of back garden ponds is more important than ever for wildlife.
You need to think about where to site it and what shape it should be. Somewhere open and sunny is best, and try to avoid overhanging trees that will drop their leaves into the water. There are pre-formed rigid liners or flexible ones. A good quality butyl liner lasts longer than a cheaper type. If you are going for a natural look, a bog garden or border softening the edges will make it flow into the rest of the garden. A formal pool sits well in a terrace and can be raised up for wheelchair users to enjoy.
Having a sloping “beach” at one end with pebbles makes it easier for birds to drink and bathe. It also allows hedgehogs, frogs and toads to get to the water’s edge. Even frogs can drown if they don’t have a way out. You don’t need to introduce them into your garden; it’s amazing how, once you provide it, wildlife will find its way in.
Marginal plants provide stems for
dragonflies to crawl up after they have spent their larval stage deep in the water’s depths. Floating plants such as water lilies provide safe places for fish to hide underneath, and oxygenating plants also give cover as well as keeping the water clean.
If you haven’t got room for a pond, you can still have a water feature in a courtyard or on a patio. Anything that holds water can be used, so there are lots of possibilities for recycling: old sinks, troughs, baths, glazed bowls without holes, watertight wooden barrels or washday coppers are all ideas. The RSPB website has instructions for a mini pond so get creative and enjoy the results.