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New pond

Hi. I have just made a pond in a medium sized garden. The pond is on a slope and amazingly I managed to get it level . It has a small bog area behind and I would like advice on further improvements I could make to attract more wildlife to the pond.
  • Not at the moment but I can describe it. The pond is at the top of the garden (the garden is on a slope) it is about 2m by 1m and is slightly shaded by a mature hawthorn hedge. Directly below is a small bog garden but its possibly bigger than the pond. To the side of the pond and bog garden I was considering creating a small reedbed but want advice,I would also like to make a small water meadow. I would like advice about the reedbed and meadow ideas and any other ideas on how to make it more atractive to wildlife in other ways.

  • Hi Jack

    Is this a pond with a fitted liner or a moulded pond? Either way you would need to dig it in to make it level. How deep is it? Many pond creatures like shallow sloping edges, having a deep part in the middle around two feet should provide safe underwater hibernation for frogs. If you can, post some pictures and we might be able to chip in with some further tips.

  • Is it a problem if my pond is on a slope? I don't think the water is as deep as it could be.
  • I've merged the two threads now so we are all on the same page. Seems to have jumbled the dates up a bit!

    So improvement ideas, well, a small pond doesn't really lend itself to a reedbed as reed species can be quite dominant and will take over pretty quickly. In a small pond you ideally want a range of micro habitats that include shallow edges, an area of deep water, submerged, marginal and emergent vegetation as well as some open water on the surface. The pond should also have easy routes in and out for wildlife and refuges outside of the pond area such as log piles or hibernacula.

    Have a look at our recommended pond plants list on the link here to see what you could add.

    Hope this helps a bit!

  • Really tried to post a photo but I'm not sure how to.

    The pond is lined with a heavy duty PVC. It should be 30 cm deep but because its on a slope I don't think its as deep as that. Should I dig out the sides to make it flatter and deeper?

    And I have now planted an ivy-leaved crowfoot, mare's tail, hair grass, hard rush, flowering rush, great reedmace and yellow flag.

    I have also decided to make the area next to it an area of sedges, Rushes and moisture loving wildflowers and grasses. There is also now a 'beach' and a log pile with a hibernacula. There is now about 6 square in different places I would like to make use of. So any advice on more micro habitats to make around the pond would be much appreciated?

    Last night I found four frogs in the garden :)

  • Sounds like it's taking shape, keep an eye on the reedmace and yellow flag, they can quickly take over, but do look great!

    Posting a picture should be possible, when you reply, select the use rich formatting option, this should open in a new window which gives you a bar of icons, one of which enables you to attach images.

  • The picture I want is in the photos app of my ipad. I don't know how to get it from there to here.