Newbie, needs some pond advice! Please?

[Dannygraham]

Hi all,
I'm new to the forum, only just found it last week and can't stop reading it so many interesting topics!!!

Ok getting back on track, I started my garden last year but that was a far as I got due to work and what not. Anyhow I built a pond which was just going to be a water feature. But a year later I have changed my mind, and love the idea of a wildlife pond!
My pond only 1.3m SQ, 20cm at the shallowest part and about 14" at the deepest.
I'm unsure as to which plants I can have and how to plant them?

I'm using iPad, so will post up a pic when I get to the pc.

Thanks for now
Danny

[tom00_uk]

it will be easier to answer when the pictures appear,

how close to the ground level does the water line come? the closer it is the easier it will be for things to enter/exit, a ramp or trailing vegetation can be used

any thing in it at present other than water?

whats the surroundings like?

20-35.5 cm means most marginals that are commonly sold in garden centres will be happy in it

[Dannygraham]

hi tom,
thanks for the reply, ive just uploaded a couple of pics, though they are not that great but youll hopefully get the idea!

Thanks

[Dannygraham]

ok heres the pics



all i have in there are some rocks from down the bottom of the field! lol

[tom00_uk]

it would be worth building up the level outside to close to the top of the wall and providing some cover, via planting and or logs etc,

you wont need the light in there, and is that a three tier water feature? currently its just taking up valuable water space and not contributing much if you turn the water body over to wildlife

pile the stones that are in there to provide a exit route,

try and get slow growing native aquatics as your not playing with a massive area and you want to be able to sit back and enjoy the water body and not have to keep fighting fire to stay on top of the planting to enable there to be a sufficient cover/open water mixture

it it was me id be tempted to keep some of the wall exposed at the far left side near the fence line as the hight difference will provide a handy seating point on the edging stone

im sure tomorrow when a lot more people have come across your thread, you will be provided with a lot more hints and tips

[King Edward]

You could consider building up one side (at least) with earth so that it's about level with the pond. At the moment, it all looks quite bare around the pond with little cover for wildlife. You could then plant it up with e.g. regular herbaceous perennials which would provide cover, plus flowers which would attract insects plus be ornamental. Some trailing plants going over the top stones into the water would also be good.

For the pond itself, ideally you want good amounts of submerged and emergent vegetation, rather than lots of open water. Hornwort is good as a submerged plant. Flowering Rush would be worth trying as well - it should grow up from the bottom OK if it had e.g. some sand to root into.

It would also be a good idea to build a kind of underwater ramp/slope up to the edge on one side, so than animals could more easily leave the water. I'd also remove the centrepiece to make more room for planting, unless of course you'd prefer to keep it.

Edit: Just a brief reply to the previous post. Most pond wildlife will benefit from quite dense underwater plant growth, rather than from lots of open water. So while obviously you don't want very vigorous plants that are going to need lots of restraining, ideally it should look quite overgrown.

[Dannygraham]

Ok thanks for the feedback.
As I said it started of as water feature (bit in the middle is a fountain) it was all over grown with weeds as it sat for year untouched, so it does look very bare as everything has been dug away.

I'm at the stage were I have just laid a small patio, so I can pretty much do anything with it. Where the rocks are at present that is just bark chippings so should e easy enough to raise that level up.

We would like to use the garden right into the late evening, would it be wise to remove lighting from the pond, as it would be nice to have it lite at night when we are sitting out?

What kind of wildlife could I expect to find take up home?

[GCN lova]

id also agree that you should put a mound of mud beside the walls. or you could put a flowering plants that drape over the water in a biggish pot and cover it with stones so animals can climb up the pot a drink etc. there is no need for the fountain or lights as it may scare off animals. also you should have shallow areas in your pond so froglets dont drown. there should be at least two areas where animals can get out.

once animals can get in the pond larger animals should arrive. insects arrive first so dont be surprised when mosquitoe larvae swarm in the pond. these should be eaten by newts which sometimes visit ponds. frogs also occur in ponds and you will probably see them next year if they're around.

Since its not huge i dont think you should use water lilies if you were thinking about them. id say just use oxygenators and irises/rushes.

Good luck

edit: torch light is better especially when looking for newts.

[Dannygraham]

That's great, thanks.

What would be the best kind of substrate to use for planting? Some say sand, some say pea gravel and some say aquatic compost, I suppose it depends on the plant?

Yeah I was thinking about water lilly, but only the one as I know they can really take over when they get going! But with regular grooming would it not be possible to keep one?
Thanks

[Gill Catton]

Avoid compost at all costs!! Even the aquatic stuff its often too nutriant rich and will turn your water green. I too would recommend hortwort, maybe water cress neither of which need pots at all you can just wedge them under a rock. Flowering rush is a beautiful plant but the suggestion of a pot beside the pond with foliage that drapes down into the water is good (gives dragonly/ damselfly larvae something to emerge up without having to plant in the pond).