Thanks for Responding!
If you have a pond or you’re thinking of putting a pond in your plot and would like to tell me about it, use the comments section below this post.
A garden pond can bring a variety of benefits to your outdoor space, both aesthetically and ecologically. Here are some of the common advantages:
1. Enhances Visual Appeal and Tranquillity
-Aesthetic Value: A pond can transform the look of a garden, adding a focal point that brings elegance and a natural beauty to the space.
-Calming Effect: The presence of water has a naturally calming effect. As a result the sounds of a water feature (like a waterfall or fountain) can enhance relaxation.
2. Supports Biodiversity
– Wildlife Habitat: Garden ponds attract a range of wildlife, including frogs, birds, dragonflies, and beneficial insects. These creatures can add liveliness and help create a balanced ecosystem.
-Pollinator Attraction: Ponds can attract pollinators like bees and butterflies, which help pollinate plants in your garden, improving the growth of flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
3. Promotes a Balanced Ecosystem
– Natural Pest Control: Predatory species attracted to ponds, such as frogs, birds, and dragonflies, can help control pest populations, reducing the need for chemical pesticides.
–Self-sustaining Ecosystem: With the right balance of plants, fish, and beneficial microorganisms, ponds can often maintain their water quality naturally with minimal intervention.
4. Improves Air Quality and Humidity
– Oxygen Production: Aquatic plants in ponds produce oxygen, which can improve the surrounding air quality, especially during warmer months.
– Increases Humidity: The presence of water in a garden can slightly increase humidity, which may benefit nearby plants in drier climates or during hot spells.
5. Adds Educational Value and Interest
– Learning Opportunity: For families with children, a pond can be a hands-on educational tool. Kids can learn about ecosystems, wildlife, and the importance of water conservation.
– Gardening Skill Development: Installing and maintaining a pond requires learning new skills, which can be enjoyable for gardening enthusiasts interested in expanding their knowledge.
6. Increases Property Value
– A well-designed pond can add value to your property by making your garden more appealing, especially if it’s well-maintained and aesthetically pleasing.
7. Encourages Relaxation and Mental Well-being
– Stress Reduction: The calming presence of water and observing nature have been shown to reduce stress and improve mental well-being. That makes a pond an excellent addition for a peaceful retreat.
8. Water Conservation
– When designed thoughtfully, ponds can help conserve water by collecting rainwater or runoff. In turn this can be used to water surrounding plants.
9. Encourages Sustainability
–Aquaponics Potential: Some people integrate small aquaponic systems with garden ponds to grow edible plants sustainably, using nutrient-rich water from fish waste to fertilize the plants.
– Recycling Nutrients: Ponds promote nutrient recycling within your garden by providing organic matter that can break down and nourish plants.
A garden pond can be far more than just an attractive feature. It contributes to ecological health, provides a sense of tranquillity, and can offer sustainable gardening opportunities.
I’ve recently built a wildlife pond on my allotment, about 2 metres square. I’ve put in a few plants to attract wildlife and hopefully will see some of that next year.
My small pond is a haven for frogs and newts and now it is maturing dragonflies and newts.
We are planning to put in a pond on our allotment this winter – so we’re researching the how’s and what’s at the moment.
The warmer winters down here on the Sussex coast means the snail/slug population is increasing – we need all the help we can get .
We have a wildlife pond both in the garden, and at the allotment.
The garden pond is home to frogs, damsel and dragonflies and gives the birds and mammals a drink.
I’m hoping the one at the allotment, which is next to the dead hedge, that we put in a couple of years ago, will attract frogs to eat the slugs!
an old upcycled wheelbarrow that was sunk into the ground and now hosts an entire ecosystem
I have a pond in my garden, it used to be ornamental with goldfish and a pump, but the plants have taken over, so it’s more of a wildlife pond now with lots of newts.
We, too, have a pond which was for goldfish, but as they slowly died off, we left it as a wildlife pond for newts and frogs’ and toads’ spawn. But of course the newts eat the spawn! Hopefully a few tadpoles are spared and can go off and then return to our pond for mating each Feb-March.
We have a lovely pond but it gets the weed floating on top in summer which is very difficult to control.
Any suggestions to help please.
Do you know about barley straw as an algae suppressant? I also just keep clearing weed, the pond should eventually find its balance
I have a 2500 gallon pond with koi and goldfish , which i have had for many years. During that time I have suffered from blanket weed similar to yourself, I tried various chemicals, UV lights, magnets, none was really successful. About 18 months ago I bought and installed an Evolution Eazypod UV Automatic filtration system, brilliant, it is fully automatic self cleaning, no algae, no blanket weed, my pump runs at a rate of 2500 gallons per hour. I hope this helps you.
We have had ducks for the past 3 years, most of them went in the freezer and we gave 3 away. Now we just have one very tame Muscovy from the flock who loves our pond and keeps it weed-free.
I built a small wildlife pond on my allotment, hoping to see some frogs but none so far. A few snails but that’s it. There are a couple of plants and surrounded by old logs / twigs etc. I hope it’s helping some bugs / insects somehow
I grow dragonflies
I have two ponds (one is a figure 8 type pond, the there ond is a below ground one (dug a hole and put in a plastic one
All this year I was plagued by green water, like green pea soup
I tried all kinds of remedies, but in the end I bought swan mussels within 3 weeks I could see the bottom of my pond and the fish (just gold fish)
I dont know how long swan mussels live, but I puled 3 dead ‘uns out this morning
My first pond is about 40 years old, never seen any wildlife in it though, the 1000 liter pond just has fish in there and a pump and a filter waterfall
I have nets over both of myy ponds I keep getting a visit from a heron
I have had a wildlife pond in my garden for 23 years; small but we have common newts back every year with a host of other small wildlife
also we have a small pond in the middle of our allotment, 3 years established with frogs make a home there this year
We have a small pong with gufh at home and a small wildlife pond at the allotment with newts lily and damselflies have emerged from there.
Yes I got a very large pond in the garden
And I’ll be putting one on my plot very soon and a few fruit trees
Iam not sure with other allotments
But I guess I’ll get some hassle
Because I’ll not be cultivating an area !
Our Council encourage wildlife areas and ponds on allotments
I feel your pain !our site asks that we cover ponds but no one does it.
The pond was on the plot when I took it over. It was completely overgrown but there were frogs and newts in it. Unfortunately there was a leak so I had to replace the lining but it seems to have recovered.
I have had a pond on my allotment plot for about 20 years. We get frogs and tadpoles and it has always attracted foxs, and now badgers. Several other allotment gardeners on the site also have ponds.
I’m hoping to make a small pond with the bottom of an old water barrel on my plot.
A friend who has a plot has just make a 4’ x 3’ pond and it looks great!
After finding a dehydrating toad stuck between two bricks on the allotment, I sunk a large washing up bowl into the earth and planted round it, with a rock in the middle for perching. I never thought about it, until I saw birds drinking. Next year I’m planning to make a very large container pond for the patio, with aquatic plants, and hopefully a couple of goldfish, which might need bringing home for the winter.
We have had our pond for about 5 years, we’ve always had newts
This summer we had tadpoles and then watched the feast and famine of the newts as their population expanded whilst they ate all of the tadpoles and then shrunk again when they were all gone!
We have dragonflies which are wonderful to watch. It’s so restful to sit with a cup of tea or glass of wine and watch the bird life come and go.
We have water lillies and bull rushes.
We go to a garden centre that sells aquatic powder that you put into the pond to help keep it clear which works really well and doesn’t harm the wildlife.
I have wildlife ponds in both my garden and my allotment. The allotment pond is an old bath sunk in the ground with a lining of old pond liner. The garden one has been in place for over thirty years and every year frogs have spawned in it. The allotment pond has only been in place for a couple of years but in spring this year it was found by frogs and became almost clogged with spawn. Unfortunately the frog population on the plot was not sufficient to combat the mollusc population which decimated my beans and various other crops .
My small pond 15 years old has developed a leak, maybe from a plant I put in two year’s ago. I have 4 large fish, 30+ cm in length along with my daughters three goldfish which have increase to about 50.
To address this problem I have decided to make a new bigger pond in a new position. We also have newt’s,frogs and toads which share this habitat. Breeding time sees 20 plus amphibians hanging about the garden. We have plenty of slugs and snails for them, as we try not to harm any creatures. Watching the tadpoles develope, swimming amongst the fish, grazing on the large golden fish.
Sitting next to the pond on a warm summers day is just heaven.
I have a lovely quote large pond which got decimated when the river taff flooded all 83 plots. We dug it all out and started again now its home yo all sorts of wild life and I don’t get any slug problem as frogs and the wild ducks soon make a delicious meal of them.
One of the first things we did on our plot was put in a pond, 6ftx4ft and planted margin plants and a lily. We have newts, frogs and dragonflies and went organic so we didn’t poison the frogs. Highly recommend
Yes, I have a decent size garden pond and a small allotment pond. Very keen, for all the reasons you state. Looking forward to hearing more from you, as ever.
I have a pond at home that we built 20 or so years ago. We have fish, frogs, newts etc, dragonflies, damsels, boatmen, snails, etc etc. The birds love it and the hedgehogs use it to drink as well as other critters I probably don’t see. I also have an allotment with a 18yr old pond which is just as successful and there are about 20 ponds on our Site which has 58 plots so nearly half have been encouraged to make a pond as it is so beneficial to the wildlife. Some plots have slow worms as well so we have plenty of creatures to help us keep slugs, snails and other pests away from our crops.Some are just half barrels and some are quite large but all are well used and worthwhile.
I have a small wildlife pond on my allotment plot and another one in my garden. The one on the allotment suffers quite badly from blanket weed but still provides a home for newts. The one in the garden is a breeding ground for frogs.
We have a small pond in our garden, with 7 goldfish.
Birds are attracted to it and we have resident vole nearby who likes to eat alpine strawberries.
My husband clears the weeds away so he can see the fish.
Ponds are part of the garden,however ,safty first,lets not put a pond near garden electic lamposts,or have anyway straight access to children ,who always want to be ever closer,a light wall of some sort surrounding the pond would maybe be of help,and try not to put your pond under a tree ,(leaf fall).
But I would recommend all gardens to have a pond with access for all the frogs newts etc ,start digging !
We installed 2 ponds, one in the veg area and the other just in a bit of garden where it would look good. The slug problem more than halved!! Best thing we ever did.
I have a mature pond in the back garden here in suburban Bristol. When I moved into this house seven years ago, it was a rather uninspiring space, packed with about a hundred goldfish, which were predated daily by a local heron. I removed the fish and distributed them among other pond owners who do actually like such things, drained and cleaned the pond of what looked like decades of silt and leaf debris, installed a pump and filter system, and planted it up with several varieties of native aquatic plants foraged from local waterways. When it had settled down, I began restocking the fish population with small native species that I caught on rod & line; at one point there were thirteen separate species in the pond, including roach, rudd, bream, tench, minnows and sticklebacks. The heron still visits, but finds it almost impossible to catch the much more ‘streetwise’ occupants. The pond is now a perfectly balanced environment, with amphibians, insects and birds all doing their particular things at various times of the year. Quite simply, it’s the best thing I’ve achieved in my long adult life.
In our old house we had added an upcycled wheelbarrow pond at the back in the wilder area and a small tank pond next to a raised bed on the patio. The former was used by mosquitos(!) and lots of creatures drinking. The latter was home to frogs, damsel flies and newts.
Now we have moved we are wanting to make a bigger one in the large back garden, probably where a cherry that is on its last legs is currently standing.
A small pond is on my wish list for our garden. I am hoping it will be my
birthday/Christmas gift even if it doesn’t get made until next year. We will try anything to help wildlife in our garden, and also have another area to grow flowers around the perimeter.
My allotment pond is small but houses newts and attracts damselflies. It is also home to a small water lily that I was given by another plot holder so it is attractive ( though a bit messy at the moment!)and a site for wildlife. We have two ponds at home, one for fish and one for frogs ( though the latter sometimes visit the fish) and the birds and cat use them for drinking and the birds bathe in the fish pond so they are a wonderful resource.
I would like a small pond on my allotment, however, its in a very open and sunny position, so not really sure where one would be most suited, I have access to old baths, or would a pond liner type thing be better. Either would have to be semi raised, dont fancy digging out the bath space!
We put a 12ft by 6ft pond in our garden 17yrs ago- best thing ever. Loads of wildlife moved in including newts 1 wk after filling it with water.Dragonflies hatching every year, water beetles etc. We have a seating area next to it so can sit quietly watching who is visiting. We did have loads of frogs but these, year on year, have been disappearing. We have witnessed the newts eating the frog spawn!
We have a large pond in our garden with lilies which get very big and have to be thinned out regularly and lots of oxygen plants which again get out of control. We get dragonflies frogs and newts tips would be very useful.
Hi happy to answer. I’ve two wildlife ponds in my small garden. One is a big one about 25 feet by 15 but after 30 years it has a leak so fills with water from underneath as well as any top ups. It’s now under a quince tree so also fills with leaves and the huge fruits which my collie loves to eat, the more rotten and smelly the better. The other is smaller though deeper and a banana shape. We created across two years a small wildlife pond at the allotment finished this year. Not easy as the ground has the capacity to make concrete. Around it are insect attracting plants, logs, stones and it has banks for warming insects and maybe snakes. I used both a flexible and hard liner plus cardboard and sheep fleece to protect it in the hope it doesn’t spring a leak. The collie appreciates it. I hope my friend will share her frogspawn in the early spring.
We have a large wildlife pond. It has newts frogs dragonflies pond skaters etc. We used to have a few large koi carp but the local otter family came fishing one day and that was that! We did catch them on camera, on another occasion, so that was quite exciting. We get regular visits from herons who are hoping that we will re-stock one day!
Having discovered several frogs on my plot (along with millions of slugs!!!) I’m planning to put a pond on my plot, to provideca home for the frogs and encourage them to stick around and eat the slugs!
We created a small pond about 6 years ago, one of those pre-formed plastic ones. We already had frogs in the garden and they visited the new pond frequently and multiplied. We added some aquatic plants and a few goldfish one of which was eaten by a crow! It gave us so much pleasure that we built a second, much larger one by digging a huge hole with a deep section and creating a fish cave. We populated it with planting and native fish along with gold fish and the newts, frogs, toads, dragon flies, damsel flies all joined the party. We tried to have the best of both worlds… a wildlife pond and a fish pond. The heron took advantage when we went away for a long weekend so we got more fish and threaded fishing wire across the pond to allow small flying creatures access but exclude the larger undesirable ones without spoiling the aesthetic. The crows also defend the pond from passing herons with amazing flying displays. The quantity and quality of wildlife that we have attracted is astounding, we see more in our suburban Kent garden than on a walk in the country.
We installed a small wildlife pond in our garden in Cornwall at the end of last year. Dragon flies appeared in the spring and laid eggs!We have surrounded the pond with geraniums and verbena and this has attracted a large number of bees and other pollinators but sadly few butterflies. Luckily the pond has excellent water quality. We wish we had installed the pond years ago it has revitalised that corner of the garden.
Hi, I have a wildlife pond on my allotment but before I could finish it , to my amazement , once the pond was in the ground the frogs dragonfly’s, newts and hedgehogs appeared.
I have placed logs and stones to make a way for the hedgehogs so they can climb out as otherwise they would drown, especially the babies.
I turned an old concrete water trough into a wildlife pond last summer. With an old bathtub turned into a bog garden beside it.
This year we have had two hatchings of tadpoles (some are still in pond but evidently they can over winter even if there is ice on the pond). Loads more frogs and froglets spotted in garden, newts, water beetles and pond skaters in pond. Also damsel fly’s. The only things we have introduced have been Ramshorn snails and native plants.
Didn’t expect so much diversity so quickly and have spent ages just staring and enjoying all the pond life.
Really thrilled, not much effort but such rewards!
I made a small pond last summer, which is actually just a big black plastic tub with 4 plants in it. I have seen frogs and toads in the damper parts of the garden, but none have ventured into my little haven yet. I noticed through that pigeons use it to drink from. I have had dragonflies in the garden, so hopefully I may have some wildlife in it by next spring.
I have what I call a wildlife pond next to my vegetable (raised) beds. I built it about 30 years ago. It has a small waterfall made from natural stone, no fish but plenty of frogs, newts, variety of aquatic insects, damsel flies and some years a dragon fly. It is visited by numerous birds, squirrels, hedgehog and the occasional fox. The pond certainly adds to my enjoyment of tending the vegetable beds and the sound of the waterfull adds to the peace and tranquility of my gardening world.
I probably have one of the smallest ‘ponds’ on my plot. I got it on Freecycle, a butlers sink, complete with plants. I only set it up last year. The plants are growing & I’ve let Nasturtiums grow round round it. It’s under a swing frame that has a couple of young grapevines growing up it. I haven’t noticed any frogs or other wildlife
We have built a wildlife Pond in our garden, approximately 20 ft x 10 ft. It now attracts lots of wildlife, including frogs and dragonflies. We even had a kingfisher sitting on a branch we placed over the pond. We followed Joel Ashton’s YouTube videos, which were very helpful.
We have a wildlife pond in our garden which has frogs in it. Plenty of frogspawn every year. It has a solar powered pump for the fountain.
I have a small pond on my allotment, used to have frogs but last two years I have found a snakeskin at the edge!
Maybe it munched a frog and burst itself!
I have never had a slug problem even though I don’t see frogs any more.
I use barley straw to deter weed.
I top it up when needed with water from the butt.
I smiled at your water butt comment as that’s what I do id hate to think anyone wasn’t rycling the water as we wouldn’t want the rates going up anymore
We had 4 good sized ponds at our old house plus a stream running through the garden so I was very sad to leave them but as soon as we could we built one at our new property and within 8 months we had frogspawn.Birds come to Bath on the pebble beach all sorts of insect life visit regularly.We have fish so we have had a visit from herons from time to time.Its an endless joy just watching the pond develop.This year we had masses of frogspawn again and loads of baby frogs sought shelter in the vegetation surrounding the pond.I have seen a newt but I’ve only spotted him once.Warning you can waste a lot of time looking into the pond.its only two and a half years old but we’re already having to cut things back.
Hi
I’m frustrated with the duckweed, I’ve netted, used a homemade boom which I’ve dragged across, water additives have mixed reviews.
Any ideas
Thanks
I made a small pond on my allotment when I got it 4 years ago. I planted some marginals and threw in some hornwort and frogbit. There are rocks and plants around the edge.I’ve seen frogs and frog spawn, newts, damsel and dragonflies. Apart from providing an excellent habitat for wildlife, it gives me great pleasure to just sit and watch the goings on in there. Everybody should make one.
I have an upgraded pond (from 2 washing-up bowls to a moulded one)in my side garden behind a hedge and it has brought in more birds and insects plus my neighbours’ cats who love the shade etc. I could do with having one at the allotment as there are frogs there.
I have a small pond at my Alottment put in 2 years ago. It is just a large plastic tub sink in the ground. I have frogs & newts already!
We’ve 3
1 wild for ducks and geese ours.
2 for koi purely ornamental
3 trout food sauce
I am going to be putting a pond in on my allotment next year.
I’ve already got a preformed pond from Freecycle, and liner.
I’m trying to make my plot easier to manage, so I’m converting 1 of my beds which is 15ftx9ft into a wildlife bed.
I’m going to put comfrey and pollinator perennial plants in it.
Thanks John for your great emails! They do help!
Alison.
I inherited a bath when I took on my allotment which was used to collect rain water.I put in water butts & sank the redundant bath into the ground & made a small pond with some water plants. I get plenty of frogs which feed on the slugs etc, also Dragon flies.
Yes free standing pond with plants and fish.
Just about to start another one as customer has an old corner bath I’m about to take and use for another pond.
All comments welcome.
We have two ponds on the allotment one bigger than
the other week have frogs dragon flies and a lot of other flying insect. The birds love the ponds as well.lots of different plants are all around both ponds.
We have 3 ponds in our garden, 2 small wildlife ponds and 1 formal pond. Who would have thought we spend so much time watching wildlife at play – frogs, newts, damsel flies, dragon flies and loads of water snails. Such is the English weather we have a water lily which is still flowering!
The ponds do not really take a lot of maintenance, more by luck than judgement we seem too have the balance of plants just right to give us very clear water. I certainly think every garden needs a pond!
When we bought our house it came with a pond within the patio with goldfish, frogs and newts. A heron quickly ate all the fish and frogs. Blanket weed has been a problem and drying out during the summer but the newts seem to enjoy it.
We are planning a small pond in our garden, with a modest fountain / Waterfall. We are researching at present, so all advice welcome!
I used a preformed plastic pond on my allotment plot. Foxes can repeatedly dig holes in pond liners and we have a number of them on our site.
Animals, birds and insects use the pond as a water source. I have seen newts but no frogs yet. I spent far too much time watching damsel flies deposit eggs
I put in a wildlife pond in our garden nearly 40 years ago and have recently installed another small one to replace a second pond whose retaining wall had collapsed.
We have a thriving colony of palmate newts and regularly see dragonflies but, unfortunately, we no longer get frogs spawning as they used to.
We occasionally get ducks – mallard and mandarin – visiting the pond as well as a variety of other birds.
I don’t think that a garden is complete without at least one pond in it.
I inherited a small pond on my allotment when I took it on in a very overgrown state about 5 years ago. Frogs seem to thrive in it, but unfortunately due to a leak I have recently had to replace the lining (it was an old water tank with a tap on that had beeb taped up and was inevitably leaking). I haven’t checked every plot but I think it may be the only one at the allotments. So many people stopped to say how good it was that I was retaining the pond. It seems to be considered a good idea but due to competing space or perhaps the hard work in forming one it’s not commonplace certainly where we are.
I also have a pond – with a number of Koi carp and goldfish. It attacks the attention of our local heron!
Hi everyone I have an ornamental pond in my Japanese garden at home with horsetail plant in and gentle waterfall with a fake riverbed.
I’ve just put a small round one in my allotment garden using all rycled materials I’ve managed to create a Japanese garden there too I’m going to get some oxygenating plant at the weekend. I’d like some advice on how I could create some ladders or something to stop hedgehog ect from falling in . I did read that you can saw grooves in wood. Any feedback or help would be appreciated
I have a tiny container pond on my allotment.
Hoping to encourage slug eaters! We’ll see!
We are thinking of putting one in over the winter period, so we will be reading up and referring to all the comments on here for useful tips, problems, etc.
We put a pond in our garden 20 years ago and it flourished with wildlife and goldfish. The last of the fish died winter 2023 and since then the pond has been plagued with algae despite barley straw treatments. The frog population has disappeared too although we still have newts and dragonflies and damsel flies and lovely water lilies.
My tiny pond in a large plant pot sunk into the ground. It was already in place on my allotment when i took it over 5 years ago. It houses a small colony of frogs that seem quite happy with their humble home. I top up their water from my water butt and periodically clear some of the weeds that migrate in from the surrounding area i keep wild just for them.
There’s a rock face in my back garden that continually drips water and the water was collected in a lined stone tank to supply the cottage before it had mains water. The tank was removed but the water still needed a collection vessel so a metre diameter pond was installed. Unfortunately it silts up and is covered in pondweed. I intend to resolve the problem and have it to collect roof rain water. Ongoing project.
I have a large dunked plastic plant pot in my garden. It has a dwarf lily and oxygen weed. I did get a frog one year and a newt the next. I found a toad in it one evening. I suspect it might have eaten the newt! Not so much this year. It has a ledge for small birds to drink from. I get hover flies and occasionally dragonflies in the plants around it. It is my relation space. No pond at my allotment but sometimes frogs jump out of the grass at me!
I put a pond in at my allotment a few years ago it’s about 10ft square and about 3 ft deep. I bought some oxygenating plants and some reeds and left it. I often see our fox drinking there and the many cats that come into the site, I get lots of dragonflies in the summer so it seems to be doing well. I’ve not seen any frogs or toads but I’m hopeful they may arrive eventually as there’s plenty of slugs around for them.
I have converted a Belfast sink into a small pond and added three pond plants with a view of increasing biodiversity in our garden
I have a 2ft diameter, 18 ” deep plastic pot for my “pond”, it has a solar fountain, also have a 2ft tall, 1ft wide pot for pygmy water lilies. The birds, insects and squirrels love them. Lots of pond life in water, colour can change depending on what is “blooming”.
Have had a half-plot allotment for 3 years now and am thinking of putting in a small pond – probably not more than 1m square – in the dampest corner of the plot so hopefully it will be self filling!
Trouble is, every time I think I’ll make a start there are other more pressing jobs that need doing instead!
I have a raised, semicircular pond about 50cm deep, 200cm x 100cm approx with a few goldfish and aquatic plants. After a visit by a voracious heron we made a framed net for it.Lovely to sit on the edge and watch the fish. Unfortunately frogs and toads etc can’t get in to it, so am seriously contemplating a sunken pond for wildlife.
My little pond is just an old Belfast sink in the garden with a few pond plants and some gravel and rocks. Any source of water helps wildlife. The pollinators and the foxes like to drink from it.
A beautiful widlife pond has transformed my wildlife friendly, minimal dig, maximum ground cover, naturally rainwatering, bush and fruit tree populated herbfilled allotment into a real haven for everything natural who comes visiting.
I took on a virgin allotment in May this year as the parish council have developed the whole site from a grass field. A pond was a must and I was gifted a child’s shell sand pit which I used to create a natural pond. So far I haven’t see any activity, but as the site is only in its infancy its to be expected. I’m sure next year it will be full of wildlife.
I have a tiny dipping pond in my herb/butterfly garden which was incorporated into the design with the intention of increasing biodiversity (the larger garden is a part of a conservation trust). Despite only having a surface area of approx 1.5m sq, within a week of installation it became home to a now resident frog and is regularly used by a couple of dragonfly spp and a wide range of bees and other pollinators, plus many of the garden birds.
If you get the placement & surroundings right, even the smallest pond can be of huge benefit!
I recently installed a small (3 sqm) pond. We’ve added a small fountain and oxygenating plants to assist with airation, some other plants and a sloping gravel entrance to enable small animals to access and egress. Little sign of wildlife yet, but next summer should be interesting.
Hi, I made my pond in 2022 from an old corner bath. I planted water iris and bull rushes , water mint. I used grass seed around the exterior which I leave to grow long. I placed bricks as steps for hedgehogs to get out if they fall.
The birds feed on the seed from the bullrushes. Lots of insects. I don’t disturb it, I just let it do its own thing. It’s a haven. I have to top it up with rain water every now and again.
This is a timely post for us as so far we have an old washing up bowl which has been home to the odd frog but we would like to make better pond and are looking for inspiration… so thanks for all the comments.
I’ve had a pond on my allotment for ten years maybe longer, every year or all year I have to put down rat traps whether the snap shut that kills them or in humane traps and get rid off with your preferred method. My allotment neighbours recon rats stay by water my problem in colder weather is, they chew there way into my hut by chewing through the floor. I think now there are more than when I used dalek style compost bins where they nested, I built the compost bins up of the ground now with no sign of them there.
We have a 27 ft long fish pond in our garden. We built it ourselves in the year 2000. It contains Koi, sturgeon, common carp, rud, orf, tench and gold fish.
We also built a wildlife pond during lockdown, this is now well established with snails, water beetles, newts and frogs. We have toads also in the garden.
We are about to build a communal wildlife pond on our allotment.