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Making a pond

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  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    edited September 2022
    Whatever you decide to do @B3 you will get a lot of enjoyment from your pond and its visitors.

    @Fire  I grow watercress in mine.  If you want to eat it (which I do adding it to a salad - or just in with bread and butter) it's a good idea to make sure the water is topped up regularly.  I can harvest it nearly all year round.  If it gets away from me - I just eat it or give some away.  Full of goodness.

    Beautiful ponds everyone!!
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    B3 said:

    @Plantminded I've really go to do it now haven't I? No wimping out and bunging in a couple of roses instead.😏
    realised that there's no point starting until the spring - the only plant providing winter interest was barred Horsetail which I think is best avoided! 
    That Aquatic horsetail is no  problem,  my daughter has one in her butler sink pond. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    I initially dug my pond out with a mini-digger when I was planning to use it for fish but ended up filling a lot of it back in around a rigid pre-formed liner when I decided it was just going to be for wildlife. I wish I'd stuck to the idea of a flexible liner though as it's a pain trying to create shallow areas with the rigid ponds. I've had to add loads of big rocks in there to support a beach which has really cut down on the water volume and space for plants. I'm now tempted to dig a second pond that's mostly shallow and pump water between the two with a waterfall or something.
    I also agree on the yellow flag iris being a problem. It looks great but there's just no room for it in my small garden and it needs to be ripped out now.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited September 2022
    I’ve been using tiles and flower pots to create bridges in and out of the ponds as they don’t displace much water so I don’t have to top the ponds do much. In very small ponds/ pot ponds, rocks / logs etc can displace half the water volume available. 
  • Lyn said:
    That Aquatic horsetail is no  problem,  my daughter has one in her butler sink pond. 

    Thank you Lyn, that’s good to know.  I think I was mistaking it for the invasive weed commonly known as mare’s tail, but that’s a different species according to some information I found on the RHS website.  I like the aquatic species, I’m sure it looks good in a butler’s sink pond!
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    "Play, create, experiment. " that makes it less scary. A hole full of water. I can do that!

    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Mr. Vine EyeMr. Vine Eye Posts: 2,394
    edited September 2022
    Creating a wildlife pond has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done!
    East Yorkshire
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    Fire said:
    I’ve been using tiles and flower pots to create bridges in and out of the ponds as they don’t displace much water so I don’t have to top the ponds do much. In very small ponds/ pot ponds, rocks / logs etc can displace half the water volume available. 
    I considered this but you have to be careful not to create pockets of stagnant water inside the pots.

    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited September 2022
    I have fountains/pumps so I hope that helps mix things in the small pots. Interesting point, though.

    As an aside, I mentioned elsewhere that pumps are the only thing I found that worked for me against blanket weed. [Yes, I tried everything else].
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