Just add water for wildlife

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?

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