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Hello All,
I hope that you all had a good Christmas and New Year? I'm back to work tomorrow following two weeks off so a bit depressed tonight!
Whilst we have been having this terrible weather I simply haven't been unable to get out in the garden as it is completely water logged! This has however given me the opportunity to think about what I need to add to the garden in 2014 for my beloved wildlife.
Following a lot of head scratching (partly due to Nits that my daughter brought home from infant school YUKK!) I decided that although we have several small bodies of water and water features and of course the (fish only) large Koi pond, I need to include a larger body of water dedicated to wildlife and native planting.
Having just viewed Hazy's impressive pond build I'm not sure how interesting mine will be as it will be on a small budget and completed by me on my Todd with dodgy hips and back!! LOL
Any way my decision to dig up the family lawn was met with a resounding "NO!" from Mrs H so I had to think of another plan to include a bigger pond without losing anything else from the garden. This actually proved quite difficult as the garden is now well developed and planted but fit this in I must!!
So donning wellies and with Choco at my side we squelched out to see how we could fit this impossible plan into my already crowded garden. After much deliberation and more head scratching (damn Nit shampoo doesn't work good job I haven't got much hair!!!) it was decided that I would have to lose about half of my wildflower area! Now this isn't an ideal solution but I've estimated that I can regain the same area if not more by planting wild flower strips in other parts of the garden (Don't tell Mrs H!!)
To try and explain the complete and utter jumble that is in now spinning around inside my head here's a few pictures and sketches of what I'm planning and what I hope will give you a better idea of what I'm trying to achieve!....
1. So firstly this picture shows you where in the garden the pond will be. As you look at it the right hand side of the wild flower area will be similar to the size and shape of the proposed pond. This is however a very old picture and the dry gravel river bed extends right across the garden now. The wild flower area oh the left will remain but here it is only partly de-turfed and is a little bigger now. (This area is in the bottom third of the whole plot)
2. Now you can see where it sits within the garden this picture gives a little better representation of the shape and size of the pond (right) and remaining wild flower area (left)
3. So what does the inside of my head look like?
Well I tend to get an idea and be able to see how it will look almost straight away, I then play around with it in my mind until it looks about right before going outside, getting stuck in and just letting it evolve! However for this purpose I have attempted to draw what is inside my head and what I envisage this to look like!
It's not very often that I put my thoughts down on paper so please do forgive my terrible drawing and obviously it's not all to scale but a fairly accurate representation of the idea I think....
(click on picture to enlarge)
I hope that this scribbled plan makes sense? Basically you can see the edition of the new pond is quite substantial but I feel fits quite nicely into this area with the wild flowers and then the wildlife area behind. You can see that the loss of wild flower planting is made up by further planting of wild flowers around the swing, the fronts and one side of the raised veg beds, along the raised bank in the wildlife area and the addition of more flowers along the bank of the dry gravel river bed. The two areas alongside the pond and next to the seating pod will be planted with extra tall pollinating perennials such as Purple Loosestrife and other native perennials that are good pollinating plants. The secret seating pod will actually be cut off from the rest of the garden and will become only accessible by a small bridge adding to it's secrecy and privacy.
One of the biggest problems with siting the pond here will be getting it to sit naturally into the rest of the garden. A big problem with this spot is that the lowest point of the garden is actually the dry gravel river bed feature and would normally be where the water sits in a natural landscape. This ditch is in fact an old drainage ditch (Known locally as a gripe) When this land was a field the water would naturally sit in the gripes so that the cattle could stand on higher and drier land! This ditch still floods if we get a lot of rain and there is a drainage pipe buried underneath meaning that I can't excavate it or include it in the pond!
To overcome this problem and to make sure that there is a logical relationship between the pond and the ditch I have decided to build an old stone 'damning' wall complete with old rusty iron sluice gate! This will give a natural partnership between the two features and a logical explanation to the pond being on slightly higher ground.
So again attempting to demonstrate what is in my head here's another scribble of what this feature should look like.....
As you can see the wall will be given an 'old' look with planting pockets built in for some native plants that you may find in old stone walls. This will be a feature not a working damn or sluice ( I ain't that good!! LOL) but I'm hoping that it will look OK once overgrown and weathered in.
Again to give you a visual representation of my plans, I hope that this feature will in time look how the 'old stone bridge' feature that I built at the other end of the dry gravel river bed a couple of years ago looks now (over grown and natural)...
Well that's my plans for 2014 and what is currently floating around in my mess of a head! I have posted this up as it will be a long process for me due to my current disabilities and I think quite a challenge. I'm hoping that by having it here it will give me the motivation to get it done and I do hope a few of you will find this an interesting project to follow as it evolves?
It will take quite some time to do and in the first instance a while before the garden is in a dry enough condition for me to start! I will try and post up what I'm doing even if just trying to 'blag' materials (remember I have very little budget for this!!!) to try and keep the interest going.
Let me know if you have any thoughts or ideas that might help me or enhance this project or just anything that I may have missed?...
Best
Higgy
Thank you so much for posting your plans, Higgie, they are fascinating. Your enthusiasm shines through, and it will be lovely to follow the project, especially as we can do that without feeling the backache!! At this time of year, when even the days are often quite dark, it's great to have something to look forward to; and helping our wildlife doubles the pleasure.
btw, top marks for giving an extra special Home for Wildlife.....I'm referring to the Nits!! I suppose they are a good example of survival of the fittest.... thinking back to when my lads were little, the shampoos had to be changed quite often, as they became immune to them! Happy days!
Higgy, sounds like a great project! Maisie also made a pond from scratch in her garden - I'm giving you a link to it as I thought it might be useful:
A Pond At Last
Our daughter used to relentlessly come home from school with nits......I do wish they'd sort out those parents who don't treat their kids' heads, it's a nightmare. Now she's at high school, though, it's history.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Ohhhhh I'm going to sound like a snow storm but... I've been thinking about ponds and boggs for a year now for our future community wildlife garden in East London. The London Amphibian and Reptile Group have kindly helped me in my pond-ering. We'll have the added worry of a possible drowning. If you're going to cover your entire pond(s) with a metal mesh with supports, so your lovely child won't get hurt, then that's going to be very expensive. Why not wait until your child is older to create large ponds? And now instead have either a bogg (which can be made from an old wading pool dug in a bit and filled in with soil and topped with rainwater, and planted beautifully--also a bit more ecological than buying lining) or something like an old tub or sink, sunk and filled? As the LARG have suggested to me, what matters is having any source of water which can be used by wildlife--even small areas. They even suggested small ponds on top of mounds for birds. I began my sketchy plans with a large no-go area of pond and bogg but I'm now rethinking the entire plan. It's not up to me alone,thankfully, but my ideas will help as I'm the only one researching this. This will also save on your back and your bank account!
Unknown said: Ohhhhh I'm going to sound like a snow storm but... I've been thinking about ponds and boggs for a year now for our future community wildlife garden in East London. The London Amphibian and Reptile Group have kindly helped me in my pond-ering. We'll have the added worry of a possible drowning. If you're going to cover your entire pond(s) with a metal mesh with supports, so your lovely child won't get hurt, then that's going to be very expensive. Why not wait until your child is older to create large ponds? And now instead have either a bogg (which can be made from an old wading pool dug in a bit and filled in with soil and topped with rainwater, and planted beautifully--also a bit more ecological than buying lining) or something like an old tub or sink, sunk and filled? As the LARG have suggested to me, what matters is having any source of water which can be used by wildlife--even small areas. They even suggested small ponds on top of mounds for birds. I began my sketchy plans with a large no-go area of pond and bogg but I'm now rethinking the entire plan. It's not up to me alone,thankfully, but my ideas will help as I'm the only one researching this. This will also save on your back and your bank account!
Thanks Clare and Rose for your support it is appreciated and I'm glad that you understand the 'Nit' problem and yes I agree I wish some parents would be more responsible with the 'de-Niting' routine then the rest of us wouldn't be fighting them all the time!
Hi Karin,
Thank you so much for your reply it is very much appreciated and you raise some really valid if scary points that are worth looking at in more detail.
I can assure you that I have already very seriously considered much of this and the safety angle but it is now that my daughter is of an age and more importantly understanding that I even consider this despite wanting to do it for the past four years. I will try to explain my thoughts on this in a moment...
Firstly let me show you the water features that are already in the garden to answer your comments about smaller water features in containers etc. Although posted very recently on another thread I make no apology for sharing them on here again...
Old Bath Pond...
Old sink pond...
Old toilet bog garden....
Finally the reclaimed fibreglass rock pool..
As you can see from the above pictures the correct approach of several smaller pools being better than one large pond has already been implemented in the garden and has been very successful so far. However a larger body of water will also benefit the garden and fits into the overall plan.
Right to the safety aspect which is extremely important....
My daughter has been brought up around ponds and has been taught from a very early age of their dangers and why a pond should never even be approached without an adult present let alone considered as a play ground. She has also been taught of the wonderful wildlife that this planet has to offer and given opportunities to explore but respect the different habitats where they live. When she was born she was immediately enrolled in a swimming class which from memory started when she was three months old. From the age of three she could swim unaided and was also taught how to float on her back if ever in trouble. I don't even for a moment think of this as complete protection against ponds and they always have to be considered as a high risk but they can also be a great edition for educational purposes both for wildlife and to learn about health & safety.
Despite the above, the plan has always been to have a physical barrier around the pond, which I probably should have included in my scribbled plans. For the wildlife to be able to gain access then wire mesh as you suggest isn't realistic so the plan is to use some rustic fencing, which will match in with barriers and features I have built elsewhere in the garden. This fence will run around the whole pond and will blend into the feature once the tall marginals, rough grass and wildflower grow up to partially cover it. Purely as an example I have posted a picture below of a barrier built some time ago. Although not anywhere near to scale this demonstrates the style of fence that will surround the pond for at least a couple more years and inside this barrier will be a no go zone without adult supervision. This 'no go' zone also allows wildlife to be left undisturbed...
I think that you are absolutely 100% correct to be extremely cautious of a pond in a public place as not all children are educated about the dangers and many are of the character to explore everything regardless of that danger! Unless you can have it as a site only accessible with a responsible adult then it's a very tough decision.
If you wanted to argue the other way some people would say how do you educate your children on this habitat and the creatures that live within it and more importantly how will they learn about pond safety?? You can't watch over them for ever and when they get older and start exploring the local duck pond or river with their friends with no concept of the dangers is it better that they have been prepared for them??... It's an emotive subject and not one that should be taken lightly so I thank you for raising it. I won't go on any more about this other than to say good luck with making the correct decision whatever that may be for your community project!....
So back on to my project...
Well not a lot to report today other than putting an advert on the 'wanted' board at work for stones and rocks and other materials that can be reclaimed for the project. The rain has continued here in North Somerset today so the garden is still too saturated to do anything so I shall continue searching the 'free ads' for reclaimed building and landscaping materials.
I'm interested to know where in East London Karin's project is - I think it's a great idea.
Hi Clare, she didn't mention did she? You could always send her a personal message or friends invite on here and ask the question? If it turns out that you live close to each other this is a secure way to exchange email addresses etc?
Talking of this a few years ago I got a personal message on here from a lady as she recognised some of the locations that my pictures were taken. We had a chat via the messaging and it turned out that we lived in the same village!!! Now I didn't expect that and since then we have become good friends and have even been out photographing wildlife together (she's a professional photographer!). It's a 'small world' as they say!! LOL
Well today I had a reply to one of the adverts that I've posted locally for rockery stones and I have secured about a dozen or so good sized stones to collect on Saturday! What's even better is that they are free!!
This at least gets us moving in the right direction and maintains the 'reclaimed' materials theme, although I think that I shall need more than a dozen!!...
My Goodness Higgy, that is quite an undertaking but the plans look absolutely fantastic, can't wait for you to start so you can update us all on its progress. You have certainly thought this all out very well and I love the various areas for seating, wildflowers and the addition of a bridge eventually. It will be the most attractive area not only for humans but for all the wildlife that will be thrilled to move in ! Best of luck and well done on the plans, I think your drawing skills are brilliant so don't aplogise ! Let us all know when the official opening is at the end of all that work and I'll bring the champers lol
_____________________________________
Regards, Hazel
Champers! Now you're talking!!
Thanks Hazy, I think that it will be quite a slow build as I'm definitely a lot slower than I used to be but I'm hoping it will prove some useful exercise also!
I think you will still hold the title for the 'grandest' pond and whilst we are waiting for the weather to turn and for me to get started then it would be good to see how your pond looks now if you have a recent picture? I'm sure it's starting to mature nicely and that the wildlife is already enjoying it?...
The pond area is looking a bit bare at the moment Higgy as most of the planting is Japanese Acers (my favourite mini trees) and they don't leaf until April onwards time so I may have to delay that photo for you LOL I do plan to put in more early plants besides the grasses that we already have and maybe more insect friendly flowers/plants. We do have various Iris in the bog garden and they look a treat each April/May, also Astilbes which have been wonderful. The grasses now need pruning back but will wait until beginning March before I do that in case of hard frosts or icy conditions. We have also had to wrap fleece around the Cordylines and the Dicksonia Antarctica Tree Ferns to protect them so it's all looking quite scruffy just now Higgy so can you take a rain check on the photo ? lol
No worries Hazy, just interested to see how the pond matures. One of the things that I enjoy about online forums is watching someone else's garden develop and of course we all look at things differently or have varying preferences which makes for a really good learning platform!
You're right with the ornamental grasses not to prune now other wise you risk stressing them, letting in the frost and they will almost certainly die. Spring is the time to prune them and they will soon shoot up again.
I will also be very interested to see how your tree fern survives the winter as I have tried to overwinter tropicals a few times but always lost them! last time I tried it I used chicken wire then backfilled with straw then put a layer of fleece around a banana tree and it still rotted away bt the next Spring!! I've given up now and just plant 2 or 3 non hardy plants which cost about £5-£7 each and then throw them after the first frosts, however I did this with one and the next Spring it was growing out of my bonfire pile in the field!! LOL