Plants to attract damselflies,dragonflys, aquatic insects etc

[boogieman84]

Hi all,

A couple of questions really, firstly what native floating plants(that don't need to root) can I put in a pond with koi(that they wont eat) that will attract wildlife of any kind, manly aquatic insects if there are any that exist. I have crated a small wildlife pond however it is only big enough for a few small plants.

Secondly how would I go about creating a marsh area to grow plants such as ragged robin, hairy willow herb, meadow sweet etc, there are some fantastic looking marsh plants and i would love to be able to grow some in my garden. How wet does this need to be and would it be feasable to keep the area topped up myself(I may not be able to find an area where water will run into it naturally). I'm only thinking of a very small area, could I bury a shallow plastic container?


Thanks in advance for any help.

Matt

[mickmassie]

I would be very surprised if you get any aquatic wildlife with koi. If they are like other carp, they vacuum up any larvae or small inverts. Even a few sticklebacks will dramatically reduce the invert/plant/amphibian population. Fish are a very bad idea for a wildlife pond, unless your can create a fenced-off area.
M.