If someone told
you that there was a wonderfully easy way to increase the
amount of wildlife in your garden by a very large percentage,
both in terms of quantity and the number of different species
you would see, you would probably be very keen to find out all
about it. Not only would this one simple change bring birds
and mammals you hadn’t seen before to your garden, but many
new creatures could be tempted to set up home and breed there
also. Sounds interesting? Well there certainly is an easy
way to make your garden an absolute wildlife paradise, and
that is to create a wildlife pond.
Water
is important to wildlife from every group – mammals, birds,
amphibians, reptiles and invertebrates. The knock-on
effect of having all these extra creatures in your garden,
especially the invertebrates, is tremendous. If swallows
and martins for instance are seen only infrequently over your
garden, water will soon provide insect food for them, as tiny
creatures hatching from the water create a vital link in the
food chain that makes your garden a special habitat.
Creating a large
wildlife pond can be a major undertaking and not all of us
have sufficient space for a substantial pool, but here’s the
good news. Water of any sort will bring wildlife to your
garden. I recently had two grey wagtails bobbing about in a
tiny barrel pond outside my back door, searching for insects
amongst the floating plants which practically fill it up (and
plants are a crucial part of any watery habitat you may be
considering). They were so delighted with this tiny wetland
that they visited every day at the same time for about a week, sitting on the roof of the
house and paddling in the mini-pond on their way to and fro
from who knows where. Other birds use this water for drinking
and bathing, from tiny blue tits and wrens to larger species
such as blackbirds and thrushes. So clearly water is vital,
and there doesn’t have to be masses of it for it to be
effective at attracting wildlife.
If you do have
the space for a larger pond you may have to first think about
the safety aspects of open water in your garden. Ponds with
mesh covers, designed to make them safe when there are small
children around, are not good for wildlife, as these covers
restrict access to birds, mammals and amphibians. If you are
concerned about safety, you could create your pond in an area
that can be securely fenced. Make use of the added shelter by
covering your fence with native climbers such as hops,
honeysuckle and ivy, or wildlife-friendly non-native wall
shrubs. Cotoneaster will provide berries for bird, Ceonothus
and open centred climbing roses are good insect attractants
and in milder districts an ornamental grape could provide food
and nest sites for birds. Supervise your young visitors
well
when they are near the water but don’t deny them the pleasure
of pond dipping.
Choosing the
correct spot for your pond is important. Full sun is
recommended by many books, but my preference is always to
choose a spot with a little shade, either from a building or
shrubs that do not have a heavy leaf fall. A few leaves in a
wildlife pond will do no harm, in fact they help to create a
layer of humus in the bottom into which oxygenators and other
plants can root, and this muddy layer houses aquatic creatures
of all kinds. A pond in full sun is always likely to have
problems with blanket weed as strong sunlight and warm water
encourage the growth of algae of all kinds. If a very sunny
spot is your only option, make sure that you include plenty of
aquatic plants for the deep water, especially lilies. These
help to shade the water and reduce the amount of heat and
light reaching it. A sunny spot will attract plenty of
dragonflies and damselflies but the key to a well balanced
pond is to find a place that is light, but not in direct
sunshine all day.
Once you have
chosen your pond location you can get digging! If you have
turf to remove, set it aside as it will be useful later.
Define your preferred shape with coloured string, or even a
hosepipe to get a feel for how it will look in relation to
other features round about. Go for a simple outline – an oval
or kidney form is easier to line than a more complicated shape
plus it will look more natural. A maximum depth of about a
metre is good, but not essential, and the majority of the pond
can be less than this. I always include ledges around most of
the edge as these are good places to plant marginal species to
give a natural appearance. Bear in mind that the popular
‘saucer’ shape will lose water quickly if you have turf around
the margin, as water will be drawn out of the pond into the
surrounding soil. This is great if you want a boggy area all
around, but you will forever be topping the pond up. Ledges
help to prevent this effect.
One gently
sloping edge is essential to allow wildlife to reach the water
in safety. Hedgehogs and foxes will visit to drink and birds
will bathe here if the water is shallow and accessible. Once
you are happy with the shape, measure up for the liner. I
find it easiest to use a flexible tape and run it from one
edge across to the opposite side, making sure it lays on the
bottom and sides of the hole. Do the same in the other
direction, add a bit extra for the edges and you have your
liner size. Go for the best liner you can afford, but even a
cheaper woven polythene one will make a wonderful pond.
Several companies do good mail order pond liners but bear in
mind that the larger the pond the heavier the liner – you may
need friends to help you move it!
Lining the pond
is common sense. Use an underlay to protect the liner from
sharp stones, place it into the hole without dragging if you
can, and then use the turf you have saved, or stone free
garden soil to cover as much of it as possible. This will
provide a substrate into which your plants can be pushed
especially on the ledges, once the water is in. Lilies and
oxygenators should be in the deeper water – you could use
baskets for these if you wish. You may prefer to choose
native plants, but non-natives are fine. The key to a good
wildlife pond is to have plenty of plants of all types;
marginals, oxygenators, plants with floating leaves and spiky
emergent plants will all add to your watery habitat. Variety
is more important than sticking rigidly to natives. Do
though, at all costs, avoid the invasive species that are
causing so many problems, especially New Zealand Stonecrop (Crassula
helmsii). Water is the next priority. Tap water is likely to
be the only resource you have, but making a pond in February
or March when rainwater may fill it naturally, is a real
advantage.
Once
you have your basic pond, there is much to find out about
maintaining and improving it. A book on the subject, or
information from the internet will give you the confidence to
forge ahead. Your local wildlife will benefit by you
providing just about the best wildlife habitat you can for
them. Frogs, toads, newts, birds, bats, hedgehogs, grass
snakes, dragonflies and a host of other creatures, may all be
appearing in your garden in the near future.
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