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Hello everyone! I am in need of success stories and encouragement!
My Mum has a large back garden. Unfortunately there is an area of land which has become quite barren and I think it could be put to good use as a wildlife area with a pond, frog houses, etc,
Mum does not seem convinced that this is a good idea. She is worried about the mosquitoes standing water will bring and seems to think it will need a lot of maintenance.
The garden already has lots of wildlife: bats, hedgehogs, foxes, etc, and I think it would be readily used and she would get lots of enjoyment from watching the animals. A lot of the birds in the garden already seem quite tame and I think this will only attract more and more unusual ones for her to enjoy.
If anyone could share some words of encouragement or stories of the things they have seen in their ponds and wildlife areas (it was going to be a general area with a small pond as a feature), that would be great. I think she would really enjoy it and I personally would LOVE to have one in my garden....except I live in a small terraced house in the middle of Cardiff with no garden at all! So I really want to indulge myself and make something pretty for the wildlife at the same time.
Thank you in advance and I really hope we can all convince her :)
Laura
Hi Laura, we have a pond only a small one that OH put in for me. I started off with a bowl of water and found a frog in it so persuaded OH to put us a pond in. We now yhave goldfish, countless frogs and it has given us a lot of enjoyment. Unfortunately a heron visited a few times and took the fish. The birds love it and there was a pigeon bathing in it the other day!
Hi all, here's my pond story. I'm 35 married with 2 kids and sold my dj decks to get funds for my pond equipment, seems now i'm getting older I enjoy peace and quiet rather than loud music LOL!. Dug the hole but studied all the pro's and cons of a fish pond or a wildlife pond and decided on wildlife. It's well worth the effort! When I first started filling it with water I could not believe my eyes, I couldn't tell you what kind it was but a small mayfly type fly which crawled backward down the side of the liner and dipped it's bum in the water, I pressume it was laying eggs, since then I have had a myriad of water insect life and some are amazing to watch, for example a nymph of a diving beetle had caught something and was wrestling with it, it was like lions in africa but in miniature...AMAZING! What amazes me is where these all come from, I live in an ex-council terraced home with a garden 14 ft x 30ft. I have had numerous birds drinking and bathing from my wee plastic waterfall feature including sparrows, starlings, pigeons, robins, blackbirds, goldfinch, greenfinch and more. The birds don't care what it looks like it's all about survival to them, last winter I left the waterfall on and I think all the birds in the neighbourhood were visiting. All this and my pond isn't even a year old yet, i'm in the process of planting up with native plants and hopefully a frog or dragonfly or two may appear right in the middle of a suburbian terraced council house...not bad for my efforts I think and have soothing water sounds to cool my ears from the previous years of ear bashing!
Normal 0
Hello Laura
A garden is not a proper garden without a pond or water feature. They add colour, reflections, movement, tranquillity, dimension and life.
There is a book “Ponds and Water Gardens” by Bill Heritage – Blandford Press
I have built several ponds now and thoroughly enjoy them.
A small feature (large bowl size) does not need too much work and can still be interesting and pleasing provided you keep the water clear.
Larger ponds can be a lot of work to keep pristine but if you have the time well worth it.
Like any gardening – you get out what you put in.
Dig it.
after 6 months - 2008
Don't flap, don't panic. Jump.
There is a small book “Ponds and Water Gardens” by Bill Heritage – Blandford Press
after 6 months 2008
Sorry about the "Normal 0"
Cannot get rid of it.