CREATING A WILDLIFE FRIENDLY MINI POND
Ponds are the best way to introduce beneficial wildlife into your garden. Here's our guide to creating your own miniature pond.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED
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A Container
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A Selection of Pond Plants
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Rain Water
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Watering Can
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Some Bricks and Rocks
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Some Branches
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Water Treatment (if using)
First pick a nice container, We've picked half a large oak barrel but yours can be any size or style to compliment your garden. It is best to position your container somewhere that is partially shady. After finding the perfect position next you need to make sure your container is watertight and fill it up. It is best to fill your container with rainwater, If you don't have a supply of rain water fill your container with tap water and then leave it to stand for at least 24 hours.
If you're using a water treatment add it in now. We have a range of water treatments that will keep algae at bay! Next place in your bricks to create shelves for your plants to sit on, remember to check what depths your plants prefer (this should be on their label). We've used concrete block as our pond is for wildlife not fish.
Now you can start adding your plants! It's important to get the selection of pond plants right. You'll want at least one oxygenating plant. Oxygenating plants produce oxygen and absorb impurities which help keep the water clear. Then a mix of upright and floating plants. Ideally your pond should have 70% cover from foliage but remember plants grow so you don't want to pack it too full to begin with!
We've used these plants in our pond; Nymphaea Paul Hariot, Geum rivale, Mazus reptans, Equisetum hyemale, Iris pseudacorus bastardii,
Myosotis scorioides, Marsilea Quadrifolia (Oxygenating) but remember this is your mini pond and you can customise it with whatever pond plants you like. We have a load of plants for you to choose from so come and have a look!
Last but not least we're adding some rocks and logs. This is essential in a wildlife friendly pond so all the little critters that visit can climb back out again. We have surrounded our pond with marginal plants, plants that like to get there feet wet, as a bit of an extra but you don't need to do this.
All that is left to do now is wait for all the lovely wildlife to arrive. We had a visit from a pair of ducks while we were making ours! I think they decided it was a bit to small in the end though!
