I'm glad someone mentioned evaporation. We have had very little rain this year and the pond level has gone down by a foot. Ours is an inherited pond and is quite deep but in drought conditions that works in favour of the wildlife.
If you are after a wildlife pond, as opposed to a fish pond, then what you have done sounds good to me. It sounds like you might have read some of the same advice that I did before digging our pond last winter - e.g. https://freshwaterhabitats.org.uk/pond-clinic/create-pond/make-garden-pond/. The guy that wrote that article, Dr Jeremy Biggs, seems very knowledgable on the topic and also has his own blog. He is very against wildlife ponds that are too deep! Our pond is actually shallower than yours, at about 30cm in the deepest part, which is only over a very small area of the pond. The rest is very shallow (0-10 cm) and, although we've only had one season, the wildlife it has attracted has been amazing. Lots of frogs, dragonflies of at least three sorts, damselflies etc and the birds absolutely love the shallow edges. Although we didn't have the coldest winter last year, the pond did freeze but never more than a centimetre or so.
Before and after pics of ours, from Dec last year until last week. The transformation has been amazing although I must admit I did wonder what I had done initially as it looked so awful!
Amazing! And yes that’s the article I read too. You have given me something to aim for!
I’ve got a water feature like this. It’s a sentimental thing as my grandparents had one like this too. Being a novice, i’m a bit bamboozled by all the pumps that are out there. Can anyone give me any advice on what to go for? I plan to plant oxygenating plants and put the pump on every now and then just for the look of it really. And do I just use rubber hose to connect it? Thanks
@joe.shimmin You will need to measure the diameter of the pipe that connects what comes out the frog's mouth to what goes to the pump, then get a piece of hose to suit. Most pumps come with graduated outlet nozzles that you cut to suit the diameter of the hose. You can buy hose at the garden centre.
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
I dug a pond in January this year and it is the best thing in my garden! 3 frogs are living there, I have a sloping stone shelf/beach to help critters get out, and I bought plants for cover, and ramshorn snails to help with the algae. Mine is nearly a metre deep at the deepest point.
I dug a pond in January this year and it is the best thing in my garden! 3 frogs are living there, I have a sloping stone shelf/beach to help critters get out, and I bought plants for cover, and ramshorn snails to help with the algae. Mine is nearly a metre deep at the deepest point.
Here it is in June...
Great work! I hope mine is as successful. I’m planting up the rockery with trailing plants at the moment and will probably add some native plants as well rather than waiting for them to colonise.
Creeping Jenny is a wonderful trailing plant that I've now put at the back of the pond. Its going great guns. Most of my plants are native - but bought them.
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I’ve got a water feature like this. It’s a sentimental thing as my grandparents had one like this too. Being a novice, i’m a bit bamboozled by all the pumps that are out there. Can anyone give me any advice on what to go for? I plan to plant oxygenating plants and put the pump on every now and then just for the look of it really. And do I just use rubber hose to connect it? Thanks
Once you get some planting and a few bits and bobs around it, it'll make a big difference.
You're gonna have some size of tadpoles though....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...