Hi all,
I'm new here, have been into gardening for sometime and am now turning my attention towards the wildlife value my entire garden gives. Things are progressing well on most fronts but I'm sadly lacking water. I change the water in the bird bath daily but would absolutely love a small pond as an all-round benefit to wildlife.
The problem is twofold - firstly I don't have much space at all and secondly I've absolutely no knowledge of water plants and desperately want anything I buy to be native and beneficial. The absolute maximum space I have is 2m long by 1m wide which adjoins a small area of shady woodland planting with log and stone piles and a carpet of bark with various native and non-native (but still beneficial) plants. I've been thinking of starting out with a half whisky barrel which my Father-in-Law can get me for very little or free. I understand from reading on here that I'd need to shelve one side/edge to enable animals to climb out and bathe, etc. What to plant is a complete mystery and with the dangers of non-native invasive species, I'm a bit worried.
Ideally, I'd like something with leaves that floated on the surface and because the proposed site is on a slope, something tallish to mask the tub edge. Naturally, I would use a pond liner in the barrel.
Does this sound reasonable or has anyone got better advice? I'm looking for as much advice/direction as I can so look forward to your replies.
Thank you very much,
Graeme
