Amphibians can sense water from a good distance and will head towards it and yes, they will climb if the access is suitable If your bath pond is in a suitable site and you make access points and cover planting as @Fairygirl suggests, you will hopefully enjoy spotting some new "friends". Planting in the pond is also worth some thought , surface cover in summer, tallish plants to attract any passing Dragon/Damsel flies, etc. Ponds aren't "instant" tho - they do take a while to establish and reach a sustainable balance so don't be too impatient. Good luck with it
Thanks @philippasmith2! I think we were typing at the same time.
Obviously I won't have pond margins in the same way as a normal pond, any recommendations for plants though? Are aquatic ones from the garden centre ok?
The muck in our pond appears as if by magic but is all down to rotting leaves and pond plant detritus plus the occasional gobbet of soil that falls in but I realise that would not be very nice to look at in a new bathtub pond. You will doubtless be adding a lot of plants in containers and the soil in those will help, plus you could add a layer of pebbles to the bottom of the tub. As the pond plants cover the water surface, any rotting matter in the bottom of the pond will be hidden from view.
My dad had an old enameled bath in his field for years and it was just in the way so I buried it. I left it a bit proud of the ground and built up around it with stone I'd dug out of his veg beds.
Two years later...
The main problem I had was that the bung I made for the overflow kept leaking. It had a direct discharge feed from the greenhouse gutter but the level would drop back down in dry weather. I eventually got it sealed with aquarium grade silicone.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Just avoid things like flag Iris - it'll fill the whole tub very quickly! That's good if you have some aquatic plants in your GC, not all of them do nowadays, however, you may want to look at some of the online sites like Puddleplants, Waterside Nursery or Devon Pond Plants etc, and you can see what else will suit your conditions. Many plants which can be a bit thuggish can be kept contained though - mint is one of them - it's like it's 'above ground' cousin in that respect.
You'll be surprised at how quickly your pond will take shape and be colonised by all sorts of visitors, and by next year it'll also have some murk at the bottom for all sorts of creatures, eggs and larvae
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
We have an old bathtub down the allotment. It is sunk into the ground but they are a reasonable size to make a little pond. With ours I just chucked an old dead apple branch in it to help things get in and out. It is quite a thick branch but goes the full length and over the deep end so when the water level drops, there is always an easy way for wildlife to reach the water (it makes a great bird bathing platform). I then stuffed some iris behind it (agree they are a thug but easy to divide each year, plus they will live outside the pond if you get to many).
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If your bath pond is in a suitable site and you make access points and cover planting as @Fairygirl suggests, you will hopefully enjoy spotting some new "friends". Planting in the pond is also worth some thought , surface cover in summer, tallish plants to attract any passing Dragon/Damsel flies, etc. Ponds aren't "instant" tho - they do take a while to establish and reach a sustainable balance so don't be too impatient.
Good luck with it
@Fairygirl yes that is the sort I meant! Going outside to have a look at the space I have.
I don't mean a bit of untidiness at all but I also want it to look nice.
Obviously I won't have pond margins in the same way as a normal pond, any recommendations for plants though? Are aquatic ones from the garden centre ok?
That's good if you have some aquatic plants in your GC, not all of them do nowadays, however, you may want to look at some of the online sites like Puddleplants, Waterside Nursery or Devon Pond Plants etc, and you can see what else will suit your conditions.
Many plants which can be a bit thuggish can be kept contained though - mint is one of them - it's like it's 'above ground' cousin in that respect.
You'll be surprised at how quickly your pond will take shape and be colonised by all sorts of visitors, and by next year it'll also have some murk at the bottom for all sorts of creatures, eggs and larvae
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I am looking to giving this a go!
@bcpathome haha, I don't mind swimming outdoors but probably not static in a bath! Although family have also suggested it!