Where did you find the information that a pond should be no more than 30cm deep to benefit wildlife?
There are many ponds with deeper areas that are still very beneficial to wildlife.
An old piece of a tree or a log left half floating in the water and half out of it can help animals that get into the water get out again.
Can't see from your photo exactly how big your pond is but I have read that if a pond is too small it can have a temperature variation too extreme for a lot of aquatic life. In winter your pond may turn to a solid block of ice and in summer it wont be much cooler than everywhere else on a hot sunny day and if you are not adding more water after a dry spell could evaporate completely like a puddle. Here is a clip of my own attempt at a wildlife pond a couple of months back.
Your pond looks good .. nice work
Can you recommend any suitable native Irish plants to use in/around my pond.
(I'm assuming you're Irish from your YouTube video, apologies if I'm mistaken) 🙃
Thanks for the comment on the pond. It still needs for the planting around it to get more established for it to be good for attracting frogs which was the main aim in making it but at least it's on its way in the right direction.
Not specifically an Irish plant but the main marginal plant I have put around the edges was golden creeping jenny which the girlfriends da donated to the garden as it is easy to propagate. It was only moved to the pond in small pieces last year so I'm hoping it develops a bit more around the pond this summer as it has not really grown at all over winter. It has nice yellow flowers and the golden version of the creeping jenny is said to be less invasive than the green type. The original plant I have can be seen flowering just after 6 and a half minutes in to this video clip. It can live in the water as well as growing on the edge.
(Am Irish so no need for apologies.)
Another thing to remember when getting your pond established is to get a bucket of water from an existing mature pond and add this to your pond when you have it constructed and filled. It should contain lots of small types of pond life that will help get the ecosystem established there faster.
In retrospect I should have got some specific pond plants organised for my pond sooner but going to just see how it pans out now with just what's there already. The butter cups and a honeysuckle plant I added are not specifically pond plants but I think its nice the way they stretch into the pond edges without being able to grow in the water. There are also some ajuga and forget me not flowers that are doing fine at the edge without being specific aquatic plants.
Thanks for all the helpful information!
Sure I suppose all I can do is give it a go and see how it turns out haha
I don't think mosquitoes will be troubling you too much @Ger1993 Yes - make a little shelf about 4 to 6 inches from the highest level, and just make it roomy enough fro a container. You will generally need proper baskets, but due to the current problems, you can make a standard one more suitable by making some extra holes in it. It's just to allow enough water in and out. It also depends on the plants - but most marginals are just that - marginal, so they cope with almost no water over them , to about 6 inches or so. A layer of gravel helps to keep soil in place, and although it's advised to use aquatic compost, it's not vital. Use some of the soil you've removed to dig the pond. If you take a look at some of the online pond supply specialists, you'll also get advice about the different plants. Puddleplants and Waterside nursery will have plenty. 30 cm will be fine for your deeper oxygenators. Again, look at those suppliers to get detailed info. It's not necessary to have your pond deeper, but you will need to keep an eye on it in freezing weather. I use a little plastic covered block of polystyrene which has a hollow bottom. It's attached by a wire to the side of the pond to stop it blowing away, and it just keeps an air pocket there. You probably don't need to worry too much about that until next winter though. While best advice is to add a bucket of water from an established pond, it's not vital. If you have to fill it with tapwater, just leave it for a week or so and that will help any chemicals dissipate. I use a water hawthorn in the bottom of my pond [also tiny] and it gives shelter for any wildlife, and provides surface cover. If you're pond is in full sun [mine is semi shaded] that's something you need to have, as that helps prevent too much blanket weed etc. Those specialists will provide loads of detail as to what will suit your pond.
Most of all - enjoy creating it, and adding things as you go along
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Definitely second Puddleplants- really helpful phone advice and beautiful plants. I stocked my pond with them last year and it’s not much bigger than yours, though I have a 60cm section in the centre. I have a beach area in my pond (also wildlife/plant pond, but no fish) so I have marginals in very shallow areas, like iris, oxygenaters, then lilies in deeper areas. Also have a purple loosestrife which is glorious, if you have space for one. Water forget me nots and water buttercups are fairly marginal too. All except the iris attract so many insects, especially the loosestrife, whips is my favourite. I had some chives in a pot from my old flat and stuck those in the damper ground around the edge of the pond, they love it there. Lastly, star grass around the edges, very pretty flowers. Here is how it looked last year, newly planted.
Definitely second Puddleplants- really helpful phone advice and beautiful plants. I stocked my pond with them last year and it’s not much bigger than yours, though I have a 60cm section in the centre. I have a beach area in my pond (also wildlife/plant pond, but no fish) so I have marginals in very shallow areas, like iris, oxygenaters, then lilies in deeper areas. Also have a purple loosestrife which is glorious, if you have space for one. Water forget me nots and water buttercups are fairly marginal too. All except the iris attract so many insects, especially the loosestrife, whips is my favourite. I had some chives in a pot from my old flat and stuck those in the damper ground around the edge of the pond, they love it there. Lastly, star grass around the edges, very pretty flowers. Here is how it looked last year, newly planted.
Looks good!
What depth would those water lillies need? I would like to have them but my pond will probably not be large enough!
I don't think mosquitoes will be troubling you too much @Ger1993 Yes - make a little shelf about 4 to 6 inches from the highest level, and just make it roomy enough fro a container. You will generally need proper baskets, but due to the current problems, you can make a standard one more suitable by making some extra holes in it. It's just to allow enough water in and out. It also depends on the plants - but most marginals are just that - marginal, so they cope with almost no water over them , to about 6 inches or so. A layer of gravel helps to keep soil in place, and although it's advised to use aquatic compost, it's not vital. Use some of the soil you've removed to dig the pond. If you take a look at some of the online pond supply specialists, you'll also get advice about the different plants. Puddleplants and Waterside nursery will have plenty. 30 cm will be fine for your deeper oxygenators. Again, look at those suppliers to get detailed info. It's not necessary to have your pond deeper, but you will need to keep an eye on it in freezing weather. I use a little plastic covered block of polystyrene which has a hollow bottom. It's attached by a wire to the side of the pond to stop it blowing away, and it just keeps an air pocket there. You probably don't need to worry too much about that until next winter though. While best advice is to add a bucket of water from an established pond, it's not vital. If you have to fill it with tapwater, just leave it for a week or so and that will help any chemicals dissipate. I use a water hawthorn in the bottom of my pond [also tiny] and it gives shelter for any wildlife, and provides surface cover. If you're pond is in full sun [mine is semi shaded] that's something you need to have, as that helps prevent too much blanket weed etc. Those specialists will provide loads of detail as to what will suit your pond.
Most of all - enjoy creating it, and adding things as you go along
Thanks again for all the helpful information.
One final question, then I will stop annoying you 🙃
I plan on digging a trench around the pond to bury the liner in. So, just wondering, in terms of planting around the edge of the pond. How many cm of soil do most plants need to grow?
Say, if I dig a 10cm deep trench and put the liner in, then I cover the liner with 10cm of soil, will it be possible for plants to grow on this?
P.s.
I also found on Bradshaw's some Pondkraft polyex liner with free underlay.
This seems extremely cheap when compared to the butyl or EPDM liner. But it says it has a lifetime guarantee so I assume it should be ok to use.
Has anyone any knowledge on this particular brand of liner ?
You can certainly put some of the liner over the edges and make a bog garden type of area, but it would be better to have that a bit deeper, so you would need to allow enough sq metres for that. IT'll give you a lot more scope for planting. It's often better to just do a separate area altogether if you don't have suitable moist soil next to the pond. You can simply link the two areas with gravel/pebbles/logs or plants. Your bog area will also need drainage holes, or the soil will become dank
I used Bradshaws for my liners too, and found them very good. I know @Lyn, here on the forum, also does. I think the ones we bought have a 25 yr guarantee, so I'm not sure if it's different from the one you mention. They've always been excellent to deal with in my experience.
Can I make a small suggestion too? When you want to reply to people, if you just do this: @Ger1993 [obviously with the person's name that you're responding to after the @] and then do your post, it takes up less space on the pages, and less scrolling for us -And don't worry - you're not annoying anyone. We all had to start out knowing nothing. This forum has a huge wealth of experience and knowledge on it, and has saved many people from making mistakes - often costly ones.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
@Ger1993 thanks, it’s an ongoing project (like everything in my garden). I’ll upload some photos of how it looks now. Re lilies: the large one in the centre is sitting about at about 90cm down (just one spot, on the centre is that deep). The smaller lilies around the edges are happy at about 20cm. They don’t like moving water, so the pond can’t have any sprinklers or water features for that type, in it.
Ah - If you fill the pond first @Ger1993 , that will let you see how much liner you need to cut off. Remove enough turf round the pond edges first, where you want to plant. You just need to fold the liner over the edges, with a bit of turf on top of it [ grass side down] to hold it roughly in place, or even some small pegs. You can then just plant directly into the ground next to the edging. The liner edge will be hidden by the planting, and or turf.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
Sure I suppose all I can do is give it a go and see how it turns out haha
Yes - make a little shelf about 4 to 6 inches from the highest level, and just make it roomy enough fro a container. You will generally need proper baskets, but due to the current problems, you can make a standard one more suitable by making some extra holes in it. It's just to allow enough water in and out. It also depends on the plants - but most marginals are just that - marginal, so they cope with almost no water over them , to about 6 inches or so. A layer of gravel helps to keep soil in place, and although it's advised to use aquatic compost, it's not vital. Use some of the soil you've removed to dig the pond.
If you take a look at some of the online pond supply specialists, you'll also get advice about the different plants. Puddleplants and Waterside nursery will have plenty.
30 cm will be fine for your deeper oxygenators. Again, look at those suppliers to get detailed info.
It's not necessary to have your pond deeper, but you will need to keep an eye on it in freezing weather. I use a little plastic covered block of polystyrene which has a hollow bottom. It's attached by a wire to the side of the pond to stop it blowing away, and it just keeps an air pocket there. You probably don't need to worry too much about that until next winter though.
While best advice is to add a bucket of water from an established pond, it's not vital. If you have to fill it with tapwater, just leave it for a week or so and that will help any chemicals dissipate.
I use a water hawthorn in the bottom of my pond [also tiny] and it gives shelter for any wildlife, and provides surface cover. If you're pond is in full sun [mine is semi shaded] that's something you need to have, as that helps prevent too much blanket weed etc. Those specialists will provide loads of detail as to what will suit your pond.
Most of all - enjoy creating it, and adding things as you go along
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I stocked my pond with them last year and it’s not much bigger than yours, though I have a 60cm section in the centre.
I have a beach area in my pond (also wildlife/plant pond, but no fish) so I have marginals in very shallow areas, like iris, oxygenaters, then lilies in deeper areas. Also have a purple loosestrife which is glorious, if you have space for one. Water forget me nots and water buttercups are fairly marginal too. All except the iris attract so many insects, especially the loosestrife, whips is my favourite.
I had some chives in a pot from my old flat and stuck those in the damper ground around the edge of the pond, they love it there.
Lastly, star grass around the edges, very pretty flowers.
Here is how it looked last year, newly planted.
What depth would those water lillies need? I would like to have them but my pond will probably not be large enough!
One final question, then I will stop annoying you 🙃
I plan on digging a trench around the pond to bury the liner in. So, just wondering, in terms of planting around the edge of the pond. How many cm of soil do most plants need to grow?
Say, if I dig a 10cm deep trench and put the liner in, then I cover the liner with 10cm of soil, will it be possible for plants to grow on this?
P.s.
I also found on Bradshaw's some Pondkraft polyex liner with free underlay.
This seems extremely cheap when compared to the butyl or EPDM liner. But it says it has a lifetime guarantee so I assume it should be ok to use.
Has anyone any knowledge on this particular brand of liner ?
It's often better to just do a separate area altogether if you don't have suitable moist soil next to the pond. You can simply link the two areas with gravel/pebbles/logs or plants. Your bog area will also need drainage holes, or the soil will become dank
I used Bradshaws for my liners too, and found them very good. I know @Lyn, here on the forum, also does. I think the ones we bought have a 25 yr guarantee, so I'm not sure if it's different from the one you mention. They've always been excellent to deal with in my experience.
Can I make a small suggestion too? When you want to reply to people, if you just do this: @Ger1993 [obviously with the person's name that you're responding to after the @] and then do your post, it takes up less space on the pages, and less scrolling for us
-And don't worry - you're not annoying anyone. We all had to start out knowing nothing. This forum has a huge wealth of experience and knowledge on it, and has saved many people from making mistakes - often costly ones.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Re lilies: the large one in the centre is sitting about at about 90cm down (just one spot, on the centre is that deep). The smaller lilies around the edges are happy at about 20cm. They don’t like moving water, so the pond can’t have any sprinklers or water features for that type, in it.
Yeah, I have thought about doing a bog garden in a different area.
However, for around the edge, the trench will be just to hide the liner.
So, I'm not planning on having stones around the edge of the pond, I'm just going to have plants/grass.
I just want to make sure I bury the liner deep enough to ensure there is enough soil for plants and grass to grow.
I don't really know how deep soil needs to be for plant roots etc.
I should be able squeeze some in at 20cm!
I won't need to worry about any water features. Maybe for my second pond some time in the future 🙃
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...