You can read about the plants I first introduced to the pond in my Wildlife Pond post which I wrote on my old blog. Unfortunately, the marsh marigold - Caltha Palustris took over and swamped everything else so that, and an iris which is also striving for domination, are the only two plants which now reside in the pond. I don't mind though, when you create something like a wildlife pond it's a case of seeing what works best and just going with it. I never wanted it to be too contrived, it's nice to let nature take it's course sometimes.
We've had a very warm spring this year and the little pond has attracted all manner of birds who like to take a little dip to cool down. I have three bird baths in the garden but they still flock to the pond. All sizes of bird from sparrows to pigeons use the pond. We have frogs in there too, though there's only a couple of years that they've spawned, I think it's just too small for the tadpoles to survive. Take a look at my Cute As A Newt post which I wrote on my old blog to see the newt we found by the side of the pond too.
The pond is situated in a small border which is full of plants, this affords the wildlife which visit plenty of ground cover where they can hide or rest away from the glare of prying eyes. There's bits of old wood, stones and pebbles, and shells around the edge of the pond, there's also an old frog house which is now rotting but still in use. I like to make sure there's plenty of different habitats and cover for all sorts of different wildlife in close proximity to the pond.
I must be doing something right as for such a small pond it certainly attracts its fair share of wildlife.
I've always said our garden is too small for a pond, but yours is beautiful. I do have a big water bath and 2 other water collection spots around our plot. Sadly with 2 cats, it's not something we can consider to add.
ReplyDeleteThat's really lovely and I've just read your cute as a newt post, how wonderful. We had a raised bed made last year and why didn't we think of doing something like that. It's so nice to see birds enjoying the garden but to attract wildlife like you have is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely little pond. We haven't got one, but it might be something worth doing :)
ReplyDeleteLovely post and pictures. I agree that all gardens, and plots, should have a pond as they're great for wildlife. xx
ReplyDeleteI love your little pond :) I've not followed you long enough to know you had another blog so I popped over to your old blog. Why did you start a new one? Our garden is a bit barren at the moment, though there are lots of birds visiting who will soon be bringing their young. Take care. Best, Jane x
ReplyDeleteMy other blog was started before this one. I started it when I took on an allotment but soon realised that I wanted to blog about more than just the allotment and gardening but I wanted to keep things separate so I started this blog the following year. I stopped writing my other blog when we gave the allotment up.
DeleteLove your pond. I agree, all gardens should have water, it certainly draws the wildlife in.xxx
ReplyDeleteA touch of wildlife amongst the border, that a great idea. Mr Frog looks comfy in his home. We've got a couple of birdbaths and a water feature but no pond. There is one a the community garden, an old plasterers bath was donated, cleaned and used, it's perfect for children who come along and see all the wildlife and the 1 waterliy that resides in there.
ReplyDeleteA little pond is on my list! It's always nice to see that you don't need a big footprint for one to have a big impact.
ReplyDeleteLovely Jo. I think some sort of water in the garden is important too. Ours attracts all sorts & the blackbirds love bathing in it & we've had a heron once, but I was afraid he might be after the frogs, which we hear, but rarely see. Our little skinks use the eddge to sunbathe too. Only plant in it at the moment is a lemon waterlily. Take care, stay safe and huggles.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely pond, you'd hardly know it was there from the last photo with all that lush growth but it's doing a great job with all those visitors.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely brilliant Jo, you have proved that ponds do not have to be big or dominate the garden. Well done 😊👏🏻
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing and incredibly healthy, its great to discover the wildlife that's visiting.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for linking to your older posts ...
ReplyDeleteThis looks a lovely pond, and you are getting some great visitors :)
All the best Jan
I've never thought of adding a little pond, but yours is perfect. Next door have a large pond and we used to get loads of frogs when we first moved in here but we don't get so many now, probably because I clear the borders out of dead leaves more than the previous owner did, perhaps I shouldn't, I quite liked the frogs visiting.
ReplyDeleteI think that most gardeners wish for a pond in their garden. I know I have. Yours is Beautiful. Lucky creatures. I will check out the linked posts as plants are towards the top of my list on things that I love.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet little pond! All the different bits and pieces around the edge give it a lot of character. The lily of the valley looks superb.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of frogs and newts but as they keep themselves to themselves I don't mind if they frequent our pond. For a day we had 17 ducklings on the pond before they moved on, that was a real treat.
xx
Your pond is adorable, Jo.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
I have an old tin bath which is destined to become a wildlife pond. Need to get to a garden centre to get some plants, that'll be an adventure! CN x
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I am sure I have read that it doesn't matter how small your pond is it is worth having one in your garden as it will be a magnet for wildlife. We are a tiny one too, a little bigger than yours but not much.
ReplyDeleteI'm dying for a fish pond in our yard. We had one at the house where I grew up and even through the awful, moody teen years, I enjoyed watching the fish and other wildlife that visited.
ReplyDelete