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Small garden wildlife pond

Hi,

I'm looking for any tips and advice for creating a wildlife pond in my garden. It's a small urban garden, and the property is only rented, so I'm limited to some sort of container pond. I was looking at something like these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Easy-Pond-Trough-Round-Trough-Feed-Trough-Water-Trough-Feed-Bucket-/400307015886?pt=UK_SportingGoods_StableAccessories_SM&hash=item5d342850ce#ht_506wt_905

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QPS-Plastic-Bath-Duck-Pond-Water-Trough-Tank-/251098058998?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PondsWaterFeatures_UK&var=&hash=item3a769c50f6#ht_1312wt_1396

My plan is to dig one of these into the ground a bit, and then pile earth up to form a slope leading to the pond. I can't dig down very far so anything deeper isn't really an option. I had been looking at a half-barrel pond, but I wouldn't be able to sing these far enough down.

I was thinking of placing it parallel to the log roll in front of the trees, and I'm viewing it as a replacement for the slightly tacky bird table.

Any thoughts on this much appreciated. What kind of wildlife could I reasonably expect with a pond that size, and what tips do you have for planting and furnishing the actual pond?

Thanks.

  • Hi Richie, thanks for posting, hope we can chip in with some ideas!

    Have a look at our small water features page here, it might give you a bit of basic information, otherwise have a look here for the exellent container ponds at Waterside Nurseries who I met at Gardeners World live recently, some great ideas for plants and planting schemes!

    As for the wildlife, a small raised pond should attract in an assortment of aquatic invertebrates, many disperse through flying so beetles, boatmen and possibly even dragons and damsels! If you build up the surrounding ground to allow access for newts and frogs, make sure they can get in and out again.

    Hope this helps and good luck with your project!

    Warden Intern at Otmoor.