Thursday, June 30, 2011

A Wildlife Pond

Get a wildlife pond, they said.
I did


It will be easy to make, they said.
It was.


A wildlife pond will look ever so pretty, they said.

It does.
It will attract loads of wildlife to your garden, they said, such as frogs, newts, toads, hedgehogs, birds, dragonflies and much, much more.

Yeah, riiiiight!


If you'd like a wildlife pond too, and who knows maybe you will be lucky enough to attract other wildlife than just the local moggies, here's how I did it:
- dig a biggish hole
- bung in a black round mortar tub (you can get it at a builder's merchant, it's cheap as chips, mine has a diameter of 56 cm)
- make sure it's level
- backfill round the sides & keep checking the tub is level
- fill the tub with water
-  hide the ugly black rim with plants and rocks
- bung in at least 1 oxygenator plant and some other aquatic plants of your choice such as a teenytiny waterlily for a small pond such as this
- make an escape route from the pond for frogs, toads & hedgehogs, so the little darlings won't drown, by putting some rocks on top of each other until the last one reaches the surface of the water. BTW that rock that's just above waterlevel is also a handy place for bees and other insects to land on and get a drink from the pond

- sit back and enjoy!

My wildlife pond has been in for 2 months and apart from handsome and thirsty Jeeves quite a few other animals enjoy it too.


copyright 2011 Y.E.W. Heuzen

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

No garden should be without a pond however small! Flighty xxx

Lona said...

I have every cat in the neighborhood coming to drink from mine. LOL! That answers the question of lack of fish, toads and frogs from my pond scape.

HolleyGarden said...

Cute! I certainly wasn't expecting to see a cat! He's adorable and I bet he loves seeing what the pond attracts, too!

Christine @ the Gardening Blog said...

Its a lovely pond! I think I need to make one of these too.

Arabella Sock said...

Every garden should have a wildlife pond. Mine is a sunken tub about 80cm. Up until the last year we would get three or four frogs in it at any one time (sadly these have now disappeared). It attracts dragonflies, birds, foxes and cats to drink at it. My own cats prefer it to their water bowl.

Alex aus dem Gwundergarten said...

Yes, dear Yolanda, Ponds are a great thing. I love our too, even though he's not very deep and sometimes is full of seaweed. We have little water snails and salamanders in it. Frogs sometimes show up and of course there are many dragon flies. I just love it. Our cat Noah finds this place very interesting too.
Take care
Alex

Gail said...

Simply to build and wonderful to have! gail

em said...

beautiful! what about mosquitoes? do the dragonflies keep them in check?

maureen walsh said...

What an absolute delight!Thank you. X

healingmagichands said...

My pond was considerably more complex to put in, as it is 13x26feet and lined with a rubber pond liner. But essentially the same instructions apply.

Just don't make the mistake I made and put fish in it. Now I need to drain the pond and get all those darned fishies out of it as they produce too much nitrogen and my pond is choked with algae because of it. It should be an interesting couple of days work -- after we get the other stuff done that needs to be done.

We have a new kitten at the Havens... she is a real mover and shaker, that one. I forgot how much fun kittens are.

easygardener said...

My pond is a magnet to my cats. I gave up on keeping fish very quickly! It is well worth having a pond in the garden whatever the size.

Judy said...

I have a half barrel pond this year and some lovely toad laid her eggs in it. Finding tadpoles was unlike anything I've ever experienced. I had to buy lilies and sprinkle daily with water and fret. The cats don't care. And now the pollywogs are turning into air breathers. I tell you - it's a miracle.

Matron said...

Really good advice Yolanda. My sister made one from a half barrel sunk into the ground. The secret really is to have some oxygenating plants which provide a bit of shade. Makes an excellent TV programme for the cats to watch!

Cindy Garber Iverson said...

I have to laugh because our garden pond is the local watering hole for the cats in our neighborhood. Luckily they don't scare away the other critters that I intended on attracting. :-)

Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage

Kitchen Benchtops said...

Cats just love gardens. There is so much to explore...sights, smells, insects, birds....and so much to feel - the sun, gentle breezes, soft soil and grass.