wildlife pond

[insider]

Hi I starting a small pond for frogs,etc. what plants ,should I plant round the pond?
thanks:

[Wild-Woman]

Nightshade is the expert on these matters. I'm sure he's got some ideas. Welcome to WAB too insider-spy aye? ww

[nightshade]

I wish I were.Hi insider welcome to WAB,firstly have you read the previous threads
on ponds (just search,then pond)
The main considerations are location ,it must have sunshine or only be partially in
shade for part of the day or the plants wont grow and oxygenate.
Then do you intend to keep fish, a no no in a "real"wildlife pond, is there to be a pump
or a more modest still water pool
Have a think and a read and we will go when you have a better idea of what you want

[aeshna5]

If a wildlife pond best to have natives- many water plants are rampant growers so don't plant too many. A few attractive plants called include: Yellow Flag, Arrowhead, Water Plantain, Flowering Rush, Purple Loosestrife + maybe some Juncus. Pondweeds could include Hornwort + Water Milfoil- avoid the alien invasive- Parrot's Feather.

[chkm8]

I made my wildlife pond this year and have so far stocked it with Bunches of hornwort for oxygenating. Some water lillies, water hyacinth and water lettuce to cover some of the surface area and a mix of iris, water mint,marsh marigold and ladies smock around the margins. So far apart from some blanket weed the water has remained crystal clear and no sign of algae.

John.

[Tobyh]

John,

Any chance of a picture? something that shows scale etc would be good. I'm on the verge of doing mine but am interested in how others have gone about theirs

Thanks


TobyH

[Joe]

I found two frogs in my garden last week (I'm right next to a stream) so I decided to build a pond to see if I can attract them in. I've seen one lurking in the bushes next to it which is great, do you think they're likely to move in? I purchased some floating plants which were labeled 'floating soldiers' though I've never heard of them before, they came with lots of tiny black snails on them which I've released in there too being a bit of a snail fan.

I've got these two beetles living in there already, I don't know what they are and my camera isn't sharp enough to pick them out. They move around at a steady speed but don't exactly zip around, they're oval shaped and dark. They're about fingernail size, does anyone know what they might be?

[Imaginos]

Try here: Gallery: Creating a wildlife-friendy semi-formal pond for a very good walkthrough on pond-making.

[Joe]

Thanks for the guide, there's some good tips there. If anyone else is thinking of making a pond I'd highly recommend it, its very interesting to see how quickly it attracts all kinds of animals.

The magpies were there this morning taking turns to drink out of it and theres now at least six of those swimming beetles, from looking at pictures on the net I think they are probably water boatmen. There seem to be even more bats around at night and lots of tiny insects like spiders running around on the sides.

All in all it was well worth the days backbreaking labour it took to build it!

[aeshna5]

Joe, your plant is probably Water Soldier, which is a British native + some dragonflies like to use it for egg-laying, notably the Norfolk Hawker, which is mainly found in the Broads in UK.