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If someone told you that there
was a wonderfully easy way to increase the amount of wildlife in your
garden, 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 encourage birds
and mammals you hadn’t seen before to visit 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. There are many measures we can take to encourage
invertebrates which are the backbone of any wildlife garden. But we
shouldn't ignore the importance of water to wildlife of all kinds –
mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and those vital invertebrates.
The knock-on effect of having all these extra creatures that are
attracted specifically to water, especially the invertebrates, is
tremendous. For example, if swallows and martins are seen only
infrequently over your garden, a wildlife pond will soon provide the
insect food they need in the form of thousands of tiny winged
creatures. These will create the vital link in the food
chain that makes your garden a special habitat, plus you will have the
joy of watching these wonderful birds feeding over your garden.
Creating a 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 have even 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 for a couple of weeks, sitting on the house roof and
then paddling in my mini-pond on their way to and fro from who knows
where. Other birds use this barrel for drinking and bathing
daily, from
tiny blue tits and wrens to larger species such as blackbirds and even
woodpeckers. So clearly water is vital, but there doesn’t have to be
masses of it for it to be an effective resource. 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 birds, 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 when they are near the water but don’t deny them the pleasure
of pond dipping. Choosing the right 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 water lilies. The large leaves of these
plants 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 long. 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 and the majority of the pond can be less than this. I
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 a pond with a ‘natural' saucer shape will lose water if you have
turf up to the edge. Water will be constantly drawn out of the pond
into the surrounding soil and you will forever be topping it up.
Ledges help to prevent this wicking effect. One gently sloping edge
is essential to allow wildlife to reach the water safely. Hedgehogs
and foxes will visit to drink and birds will bathe if the water is
shallow and accessible. Once you are happy with the shape, measure up
for the liner. I 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 less expensive woven polythene one will make a wonderful pond.
Several companies do good mail order liners but bear in mind that the
larger the pond the heavier the liner – you may need friends to help
you!
Lining the pond is common
sense. Use an underlay to protect the liner from any sharp stones in
your soil, place the liner into the hole without dragging if you can,
and then use the turf you have saved - upside-down, or stone free garden soil, to
cover as much of the liner 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. Choose as many native
plants as you can, but non-natives are fine if these are all that are
available to you. The key to a really good wildlife pond is to have
plenty of plants of all types - marginals, oxygenators, plants with
floating leaves like lilies plus spiky emergent plants, will all add to
your watery habitat. Variety is more important than sticking rigidly
to natives if these are not readily available. Do though, at all
costs, avoid the invasive species that are causing so many problems in
our countryside, especially New Zealand Stonecrop (Crassula helmsii).
Water is the next priority. Tap water is likely to be your only
resource but making a pond in early spring 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
immensely from your provision of 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.
You can buy
Making Wildlife Ponds by Jenny Steel
here
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