Oasis in the veggies: part II

Last week I told the story of how on a morning this January, my friend Jenny (with just a little help from me) dug a pond on her allotment.

We went from this...

...to this, in 4 hours.

And I promised this week I'd share the reveal, four months on.

Well, here it is, and I think it has really settled wonderfully into its position snuggled next to the little dead hedge of prunings that helps keep it sheltered and part shaded.

Looking from the other direction over the dead hedge, you can see how the Yellow Flag Iris have really grown up - in January they were just a couple of seedlings no bigger than a blade of grass. That's the rate at which water plants can grow. (Ultimately, the Flag may grow too large for this pond, but that doesn't matter - some judicious editing can be done when needed.)

The pond slots in beautifully, here with that excellent (and very easy to grow) pollinator plant, Phacelia tanacetifolia in the foreground.

Other plants doing well include the ever-lovely Water Forget-me-not, and Jenny has added Frogbit (like a miniature free-floating water-lily), plus the aquatic pondweed Rigid Hornwort.

But, is it working for wildlife? Well, Jenny has already seen birds drinking at the beach, a female dragonfly laying eggs (probably a Broad-bodied Chaser), and when I visited there were hoverflies very much in attendance, species that have aquatic larvae (not all hoverfly larvae eat aphids).

We also found this. It was sadly expired but that's to be expected, because this mayfly will have come to the pond either to find a mate or to lay eggs

If you fancy creating a pond, we've got plenty of advice on our Nature on your Doorstep pages including how to create a large pond and a mini pond.

And the RSPB sells starter pond kits in different sizes.

It is genuinely one of the most beneficial and rewarding things you can do for wildlife in your garden as I'm sure many of you will testify, and the effort involved is not nearly as much as many think.

If you don't believe me, I wish I could have recorded Jenny's excitement as she showed me how her pond had come on. There aren't emoticons smiley enough! The only thing I'm worried about is her veg patch, given how long she says she now spends staring into the water!