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Katie Fuller

It's almost a year since we dug a pond in our garden - with the wholehearted blessing of our conservation-friendly landlord.

What a year it's been. I only wish I'd done it earlier.

There was hard work initially, when we dug a hole measuring 3.5 m x 2.5 m, and 0.75 m deep (about 11' 6" by 8' 3" by 2' 6") into the claggy, clay soil. And I can't say I want to repeat the accidental experience of touching a slug that was hiding under a clod of earth... yuck!

But there was a quick and gratifying pay-off after less than a day, when the first pondskater appeared. And again, two weeks later, when two beautiful dragonflies - a broad-bodied chaser and a four-spotted chaser - turned up and started fighting. What was once boring lawn is now prime insect real estate!

Through the summer and into the autumn, our modest pool was visited by a variety of dragonflies and damselflies, a small frog and some newts. I didn't know anything about newts before we got the pond done. Now I'm... slightly more knowledgeable.

Newt in my backyard

Some of ours turned out to be not just your normal, smooth newts, but extra-special, frilly great crested newts - the ones that bring building developments to a screeching halt. They're protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act because they're vulnerable to their habitat being destroyed.

Undoubtedly, it's great to have something special and a bit rare in the pond, but the best thing is watching their behaviour. The male newts look a bit like a mini-dragon or maybe a stegosaurus. With tiny white speckles, a bright orange belly with black spots, a go-faster striped tail and a jaggedy crest, they look pretty smart.

They spend their time lurking in the bottom, mostly, coming nearer to the surface in the evenings to perform mating displays. A swish of the tail and a waft of pheromones are what it takes to impress a female newt, apparently.

I've learned that it's likely they came from less than a mile away, but it still amazes me that they managed to find the pond on their short legs. A bit of reading around on the web suggests that it's possible they could smell the water. Amazing!

The most fun you can have in a garden

I would go as far as to say that the pond project has been one of the most gratifying things I've done. So many people put loads of time, effort and money into decorating the insides of their houses. Why not put the effort into making your garden wildlife-friendly instead?

There are so many more benefits...

  • Being outdoors is good for the soul (and vitamin D)
  • The pond means there's now a bit less lawn to mow
  • Because it's a fish-free wildlife pond, I don't have to worry about water filters. Oxygenating weed does the trick
  • In warmer weather, I can sit by the pond in the mornings, eat my breakfast and watch what's going on (or the ripples and reflections of the clouds). It's the perfect start to the day
  • The garden is my wildlife photography studio
  • No need to worry about slugs or dandelions - they're all good bird food
  • Seeing wildlife in the garden beats any fancy flower or expensive shrub hands-down

Instead of thinking about the garden as a place where the lawn needs mowing and the veg patch needs digging, I feel more like it's my personal nature reserve, and I'm responsible for managing it. It's wonderful!

If you fancy your own backyard nature reserve, we've got tons of free advice in our Homes for Wildlife project.

What do you think?

Register and log in to leave a comment - I'd love to hear your stories

Parents
  • We had our pond dug 4 years ago now (it looks about as big as yours, Katie), and, like you, marvelled at how quickly it became populated! We were amazed at the whirlygig beetles and pond skaters - how do they find us when they can't fly and there are no other ponds in the vicinity? Its evolution has been fascinating. That first spring, a pair of mallards arrived and stayed for a few days (I was glad thay didn't settle though, as we have a visiting fox and neighbouring cats). A pair came the following year, but not since as we populated the pond with British native species, from the local garden centre, but also bullrushes appeared - we assumed brought on the ducks' feet perhaps! Also, a dragonfly allowed us to spectate whilst she carefully probed for a good place, with her ovipositor, to lay her eggs. Now, it looks like it has always been there. This spring we spent several days sitting and being greatly entertained by a frog orgy & spawning fest, and now are enjoying watching fattening tadpoles, dragonfly nymphs and glimpses of smooth newts, along with the first flag irises and water mint coming into flower. Yesterday too, we saw the first dragonfly Chaser, and a couple of damselflies. I can't express how utterly wonderful it is to have such a glorious thing at the bottom of the garden - far more than we ever imagined - and I'd recommend it to everyone if you have a little space. Taffy2 - I wonder if the things you think might be leeches are in fact dragonfly nymphs? They're aggressive creatures and are quite happy to go for a finger!
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  • We had our pond dug 4 years ago now (it looks about as big as yours, Katie), and, like you, marvelled at how quickly it became populated! We were amazed at the whirlygig beetles and pond skaters - how do they find us when they can't fly and there are no other ponds in the vicinity? Its evolution has been fascinating. That first spring, a pair of mallards arrived and stayed for a few days (I was glad thay didn't settle though, as we have a visiting fox and neighbouring cats). A pair came the following year, but not since as we populated the pond with British native species, from the local garden centre, but also bullrushes appeared - we assumed brought on the ducks' feet perhaps! Also, a dragonfly allowed us to spectate whilst she carefully probed for a good place, with her ovipositor, to lay her eggs. Now, it looks like it has always been there. This spring we spent several days sitting and being greatly entertained by a frog orgy & spawning fest, and now are enjoying watching fattening tadpoles, dragonfly nymphs and glimpses of smooth newts, along with the first flag irises and water mint coming into flower. Yesterday too, we saw the first dragonfly Chaser, and a couple of damselflies. I can't express how utterly wonderful it is to have such a glorious thing at the bottom of the garden - far more than we ever imagined - and I'd recommend it to everyone if you have a little space. Taffy2 - I wonder if the things you think might be leeches are in fact dragonfly nymphs? They're aggressive creatures and are quite happy to go for a finger!
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