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Hi,
Bought a lovely home with a garden pond but it's not very wildlife friendly at all. Currently it is walled off in a raised area so no wildlife can access it!! To combat this I plan to put logs and other bits around the wall to help wildlife climb up.
The other major issue I have is it's very STEEP. No slopes at all... the pond must be about 1 - 2 foot deep. I'm not 100% sure to be honest, but I would like to be able to create slopes.
That brings me onto yet another problem, this pond is really small, maybe 100cm long and 60cm wide? Basically it is just SO small and this wouldn't be a huge problem if it wasn't for the fact that the sides are so steep.
OK, my third and final problem is that the area surrounding the pond is a rockery!! Nowhere to put irises or other emerging plants the ground seems to have some kind of weird plastic layer underneath but then it is covered by bark chippings and large rocks. There doesn't appear to be much soil....the rocks are just there to cover the sides of the pond.
I need some ideas. How am I meant to create slopes on a pond like this? If I use planks of wood, will it be a shallow enough gradient? Can I create a beach by piling up some pebbles etc or is this really not the right shape for it?
Ps. Starting again is not an option right now, maybe in ten years time, who knows.Any advice appreciated, thanks.
I love Columbidae.
My friend was in a similar boat when he moved into his house in Kent. He contacted a local pond company and got their advice. 2 years down the line he has a lovely pond.
Hi Fieldfare, I can't help, asI have no pond or knowledge regarding one. We have a few posters here who have ponds, hopefully someone will be able to offer advice from their own experiences.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Regarding slopes, which I agree seems important given the steep sides, this RHS piece on small container ponds suggests you could use 'a stack of large stones, but bricks, logs or a plank of untreated wood covered in chicken wire work well too'. I see what you mean about gradient and shape, but anything should at least help wildlife get in and out more safely! As the piece also says, rocks near the pond provide cover for wildlife, but if you want to plant irises, this guide to pond plants suggests some can be planted in the water perhaps?
A 5 year old post. I think badgerboy, to his credit, was doing some polite marketing and is 'thatpondguy' he's linked to. I can't think why a 'friend' would have a link to a pond company from years ago!
I now personally use the company myself aswell so just trying to provide recommendations to anyone in the South East who may need advice. Is that not allowed?
Never noticed the date on the original post?
This is a friendly forum
Sorry Catlady. Easy mistake to make, esp when someone dredges up an old post so it returns to the top of the homepage.
I gave Matt credit for polite marketing. I don't believe anyone, and certainly not me, flagged his marketing as spam. However, he has clearly taken offence at simply being caught out making stuff up. The credit has now been lost.
We were expected to believe Matt took the trouble of setting up an account on here to type one post, to be helpful to someone who is located in Yorkshire about a 'company' in the South East (of one person....Matt) who helped his friend a couple of years ago. We now seem expected to apologise for being unfriendly (even though I wasn't), and to believe that Matt prioritised telling about his friend's success with 'Thatpondguy' over telling his own more recent experience with that 'company'. Or infact, Matt could simply have used the open box to type in helpful advice he, or his friend, obtained from thatpondguy already.....rather than suggest the original poster go and pay for the advice. thatpondguy is a one person company set up, coincidentally, two or three years ago.
As I typed only a week or so ago....:-
"I am negative on here because, for whatever reason, people want to take offence when facts get in the way of their stories"
I fear in 21st Century, winging it is far, far more important than trust and integrity, and I for one take no notice of internet reviews as people who are willing to make stuff up can write their own.
A couple of years ago, a friend of mine sought advice from a local pond expert and ended up with a beautiful pond. When I moved house last year and found myself with a pond of my own, I decided to do the same and reach out to a local company. Their advice has been incredibly helpful, and that’s why I made the recommendation.
In my experience, seeking advice from a local pond expert—wherever you may live—can make a huge difference. They can offer tailored guidance for your specific situation, and it’s been a great help for both my friend and me.
Yes, the thread is older, but I didn’t think that should stop me from contributing if it might help someone who stumbles across it, now or in the future. If commenting on older threads isn’t encouraged here, I’d genuinely like to know where the line is. Otherwise, it feels a bit unfair to discourage someone from sharing their experiences just because of when a post was made.
I hope this clears things up. My goal was simply to share advice that I’ve found valuable.
Thanks for the response. I don't want to keep the thread going specifically regarding pond advice as the original poster hasn't been active for 5 years, wasn't from the SE, and wanted advice, not a business recommendation.
To quickly pick up on a couple of your community points. Responding to old threads is very much down to individuals. There are no lines or discouragement. People, not just me, do highlight sometimes, as people can spend quite a bit of time crafting posts only to find they get no response.....because the people they had typed to no longer log in to the site. Very occasionally, they chase up a response if dates aren't highlighted to them, as they're not happy no one has replied.
Re "their advice", it is a one person company, and the advice can be typed into the reply box so anyone stumbling on old threads like this can gain from that. That advice lasts as long as the thread lasts. Links to individuals and their website last only as long as that website/company lasts and isn't freely accessible, esp to people who live hundreds of miles away, like the original poster did.
I will leave this thread there.....