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New pond - your tips and plant advice please 🙏🏻

dappledshadedappledshade Posts: 1,017
edited June 2019 in Problem solving
It'll be a dug out one, lined with pond liner.
I'll incorporate a planting shelf all around.
No idea how deep it should be...
There will be one (very old) solitary pet goldfish in it too, at first, but once she had gone to a better place then it'll be exclusively a wildlife pond with no fish.
I'm hoping to attract frogs and anything else that wants to use it really.
THe site will be sunny, but with some shade in the hotter part of the afternoon.
I've done loads of reading around the subject, but I'm totally new to this and would love some of your tips.

Plants...I'd love to have some water lilies and some oxeganators too. Is it best to plant into some kind of medium? What are your most recommended plants? 
Also, where do you get your pond plants from?!
Thanks in advance.

Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited June 2019
    There are some great threads tracking pond development, including @Jellyfire 's
  • dappledshadedappledshade Posts: 1,017
    Thanks Fire 😊
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    This is how mine started out, about 2’6” in the middle, then I bought oxygenators from eBay, just threw them in, then added some water forget me not and plants that someone sent me from the seed swap thread on here, I grew some iris from seeds and @hostafan gave me some water lilies. But the first thing is to get plenty of oxygenators in there or your water will go green and you’ll get blanket weed, aim to get plants to cover two thirds of the surface. By next year you will have frog spawn and newts in there


    .

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    If you want water lilies, plant them in a basket, and then put them on bricks in the base of the pond so that the leaves are just floating on top. As they mature and lengthen, remove the bricks to keep the leaves at the same level. I lined my baskets with landscape fabric which helps prevent too much soil escaping. Gravel on top also helps with that, especially when you first put the plants into the water.

    You need it to be around 2 feet at least, in the deepest part, to help prevent freezing in winter, but it also depends how much room you have to work with. Shallower ponds heat up more quickly, and freeze more readily. A nice shallow, gravelled area at one end or side [beach] gives easy access for birds and mammals, and provides an escape for anything falling in. The gravel and stones on the beach also provide a perch for insects having a drink. I love watching the wasps drink at mine.  :)
    Try and get plenty of planting surrounding the pond edges too, including some evergreens,  as it provides the necessary shelter for all sorts of wildlife. Plants which will 'hang over' the edges into the water are also useful as they help hide the lining at the edges. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    This is mine when it established after 2 or 3 years.  It’s wild now! 



    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    I see you are in North London, Wildwoods in Enfield have a great selection of pond plants, not the cheapest though.  Our favourite pond plant is Phalaris arundinacea
  • dappledshadedappledshade Posts: 1,017
    Lyn said:
    This is how mine started out, about 2’6” in the middle, then I bought oxygenators from eBay, just threw them in, then added some water forget me not and plants that someone sent me from the seed swap thread on here, I grew some iris from seeds and @hostafan gave me some water lilies. But the first thing is to get plenty of oxygenators in there or your water will go green and you’ll get blanket weed, aim to get plants to cover two thirds of the surface. By next year you will have frog spawn and newts in there


    .

    The before and after shots are amazing!! Your pond is lovely. How on earth do frogs and newts find their way there though I've always wondered! 
  • bullfinchbullfinch Posts: 692
    @Lyn your pond is so lovely! Is pond envy a thing? If so, I have it!
  • dappledshadedappledshade Posts: 1,017
    Fairygirl said:
    If you want water lilies, plant them in a basket, and then put them on bricks in the base of the pond so that the leaves are just floating on top. As they mature and lengthen, remove the bricks to keep the leaves at the same level. I lined my baskets with landscape fabric which helps prevent too much soil escaping. Gravel on top also helps with that, especially when you first put the plants into the water.

    You need it to be around 2 feet at least, in the deepest part, to help prevent freezing in winter, but it also depends how much room you have to work with. Shallower ponds heat up more quickly, and freeze more readily. A nice shallow, gravelled area at one end or side [beach] gives easy access for birds and mammals, and provides an escape for anything falling in. The gravel and stones on the beach also provide a perch for insects having a drink. I love watching the wasps drink at mine.  :)
    Try and get plenty of planting surrounding the pond edges too, including some evergreens,  as it provides the necessary shelter for all sorts of wildlife. Plants which will 'hang over' the edges into the water are also useful as they help hide the lining at the edges. 
    Thanks Fairygirl, really useful to know. The pond is done and I hope I've made it ok (with loads of help from OH who did all the heavy shovelling!). Pictures to follow, once I've gotten past the manic end of term...
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