Pond advice

[Andy Hamilton]

I am in the process of putting in a pond, I dug it last week and have just ordered a liner. Does anyone have any plants to suggest that will help attract wildlife that will eat slugs and such?

I have had a pond before but this is huge in comparison as 3m sq, so I don't really know much about dealing with a bigger pond.

[Tay]

I can't advise you about plants for your pond, but will mention that it is a good idea to put a ladder or stout twig/branch into the pond in case a hedgehog accidentally falls in. They are great slug-eaters and many unfortunately die in ponds with liners as they have difficulty climbing out of them.

[flower]

The British museum run a wonderful website into which you put your postcode.
They then tell exactly which plants were prevelant in your specific location before people came and ruined it by building there
(they clearly label which are water plants)

This ensures that the local wildlife (which may have evolved adaptions) will be particularly drawn to your pond.

I'll see if I can find the link, but if not, try googling the museum and see if you can get to it that way

[Annpan]

found it

[ohareward]

Hi from down under. We have a small ornamental pond that was here when we came, so we have not done anything with it yet, but the other day, she who is to be obeyed, found a dead hedgehog in it. I agree with Tay, hedgehogs are great things to have in the garden. The same with small ducklings, they can jump into the water, but they need to be able to get out again.
Robin

[Andy Hamilton]

The pond slopes gradually at 15-30 degrees, which is suposed to help things get out. I don't think we have any hedgehogs near us though as we have loads of slow worms (hedgehogs eat slow worms).

I have come across that database before good to be reminded of it though. It reminded me of the plants for a future site and on that link is a bunch of edible pond plants. That could be interesting harvesting my lunch from a pond.

[Wombat]

I have a pond (made out of an old bath) that has plenty of water chestnuts and arrow growing in it, they have gone berserk! And one lone goldfish!

Nev

[Smooth Hound]

There should be a shelf about 9 inches to a ft under the water level and a ft or so wide, for marginal plants, afraid i dont know pond plants, but expect if you measure it, you could go to a water plant place and get advice on that whilst you buy them, one thing i have learnt though is dont over stock it with too many plants, and a shelf is very important if you want plants in it. Also it would help the hedge hogs to escape.

[mattachinelee]

Our school council did some research and worked with our maintenance team to build a pond in our conservation area a couple of years ago. The aim was to get more wildlife into the edge of the school grounds and was really effective. We had a shelf all the way around the edge about 10 inches deep and I've been able to get some photos of amazing vibrant blue damsel flies (i think they're damsel flies!). The kids made sure to put a few stout logs lying around the edges - they liked the idea of rescuing hedgehogs!

This year we've had some interesting times as we have a horticultural Vs ecological political divide and it feels like we dropped the ball on it, as the school council membership changes every year, the current group haven't had the same involvement in it. What happened when we were busy doing other things was a "ground management plan" which has seen the pond have paving slabs neatly cemented in, edging it. Seating logs the children had securely dug in, were pulled up and thrown to one side; and most gutting of all the conservation area landscaped and seeded with grass. All the nettles which pulled in fabulous butterflies are gone (although I spotted some sneaking back in at the base of a hazel this week ).

After this experience all I can say is be very clear what you want and then, when getting advice from others, find out where they are coming from. Lots of people turn out to be 'experts' but not all of them will have the same ideas of what makes a good pond.

[Annpan]

mattachinelee wrote

What happened when we were busy doing other things was a "ground management plan" which has seen the pond have paving slabs neatly cemented in, edging it. Seating logs the children had securely dug in, were pulled up and thrown to one side;

Thats poo!

I was going to ask if it is a good idea to put a cage type thing around a pond - I'd like to put one in in my new huuuuggee garden but I have a bambina and It is a big no-no in all the parenting books (parenting books, shmarenting books thats what I say) Anyhows, for saftey's sake can I build a cage around it to stop her or her toys taking a head-dive into the pond, but so that the frogs / toads/ hedgehogs/ etc can still have access. I thought a cage would be better than a cumbersome fence... I forget why.

[mattachinelee]

As far as I understand, making a garden pond safe for children to play around shouldn't affect wildlife's ability to access it. A fence or cage designed to keep toddlers at bay can have gaps big enough for most wildlife. And depending on location and height, wouldn't need a roof so birds could access it and the insects it could draw in.

[ohareward]

As regards a safety fence around the pond, the vertical parts should be no more than 9cm apart and the horizontal parts holding the structure together should only be top and bottom, around about 90cm high all together so that a toddler can not climb over. The spacing of the uprights is so a small child can't get their head through. I have seen a case where a child had its head stuck through behind the ears and the bars had to be cut to get the child out. Most of the fences around our ponds and swimming pools are wrought iron, for long lasting and decoration.

[ohareward]

As an after thought, make sure there are no trees or sheds etc that can be climbed near the pond.