Pond Diary

[GCN lova]

hey guys,

ive finished my pond and want to start a diary about the wildlife that appears throughout the year. its 2.5m long and about 50-75 cm deep and 10cm deep at the shallows. i added a blue bog iris in a pot and surrounded it with rocks. i put a piece of bark in as a "ladder" and some moss to cover it. i added some damselfly nymphs and a juvenile newt from last year found in my garage and a bucketful of natural pond water in which had some daphnia and god knows what else. i will buy a water lily and some elodeo crispula next weekend hopefully.

[Kayleigh]

Can you post some pics to add to the diary..

Sounds good so far..

[GCN lova]

hmmm its a lil bare but i hope the wildflowers which have been sown around would cover the edges of the pond. oh and i added water mint as well.

[Gill Catton]

next time you are in the supermarket get some water cress from the bagged salads section you can put it straight into the pond if hornwort is hard to get hold of. The rest of it is down to patience

[GCN lova]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

next time you are in the supermarket get some water cress from the bagged salads section you can put it straight into the pond if hornwort is hard to get hold of. The rest of it is down to patience

thnx i never knew that.

[Kayleigh]

It all takes time and the more plants you add the more life you will see as some insects come in on the plants.
I saw newts at the pond centre today so I bet whoever buys a water lily from there might get newt eggs too.
If you can buy some plants on-line its sometimes cheaper this way or try to find a discount store garden centre type place..
I have lots of oxygenates and yellow flag as they self seed everywhere but I dont think you live near me..

[GCN lova]

i live in sittingbourne BTW. the plants in the garden centre in hempstead where i will by my plants from has lots of pond bugs in the containers but (unluckily) no amphibians . the newt has disappeared so im guessing its hiding under the stones or under the butyl pond liner. oh and should i introduce sticklebacks to my pond if i want amphibians and reptiles?

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by GCN lova

i live in sittingbourne BTW. the plants in the garden centre in hempstead where i will by my plants from has lots of pond bugs in the containers but (unluckily) no amphibians . the newt has disappeared so im guessing its hiding under the stones or under the butyl pond liner. oh and should i introduce sticklebacks to my pond if i want amphibians and reptiles?

Not if you dont want them to eat the dragon/damsel and newt eggs ect..
But some people add them its entirely up to you but I would wait a year to see what you get.

[Kayleigh]

You might want to either put some washed gravel in the bottom or some aquatic compost NOT garden centre compost.
This will give insects and things a place to live and burrow into in the winter and some plants will root into it.

[GCN lova]

thnx a lot. ill probably use gravel or sand. ive checked the pond now. it all seems fine. a bit of moss has submerged itself and i think the damselfly nymphs have hidden under there. there were also some flies on the water "skating" but not like a pond skater. i wasnt sure if it was just a fly that fell in or not.