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Adrian Thomas

Back in April, I had the huge pleasure of visiting Alessandra and Steven Towell and their plant-stuffed (and wildlife-filled) garden in Hemel Hempstead.

I hope you enjoyed the photos (and maybe even the text!) in the recent issue of Nature's Home.

While I was there, enjoying traditional Italian Easter cake, Alessandra and Steven asked me about whether I felt they should make another pond. Well, it's a huge weight of responsibility to go advising any such change - they are the ones who would have to build it and then live with it.

But I did say that I had never regretted any pond I had made, and that the pleasure and the wildlife that resulted was always huge.

I did have an inkling that Steven was champing at the bit to do it, but even so I was flabbergasted when, just one week later, I received this photo in my inbox, with the following message:

"We have followed your advice and created a new wildlife pond at the bottom of the garden! It is quite big (about 2.6m x 2.3m) and it will hopefully give a home to more frogs, newts and dragonflies.

"We started making it the weekend after your visit and it is now almost completed, apart from the water having to clear and 'settle', and some more planting needed around the edges (an opportunity for even more plants...:-))

"We have attached a few photos, hope you like it!"

Well, I loved it! What an astonishing creation in just a week.

I'm delighted to say that I have now received some follow-up photos:

Isn't it glorious (even shy, old Baro, the cat, thinks so).

"We feel it is amazing that a pond just three months old is already so full of wildlife!" Alessandra wrote. "Large Red Damselflies have been flying over since the first days it was created, and yesterday I spotted an Emperor Dragonfly patrolling just above it :-)  

"We have planted Water Mint, Water Plantain, Water Forget-me-not, a Caltha, a couple of irises and a water-lily and I am now in search of a Flowering Rush."

In my life, I'm a firm believer that if you want to do something, then start it now. Here is the living proof. What can I say? Alessandra, please excuse my paltry Italian, but magnifico, splendido, perfetto!