I think your pond will be fab thirtybyseven looks about the same size and shape as mine (I put a long slab over the middle of mine as I needed a bridge)
I've used puddleplants before as well. Devon pond plants are very honest about what plants are suitable for the space and might be a useful guide. I say that as I spent some time this year ripping mint, clover and great willowherb out the pond as it became completely overgrown
It would be great to see updates as you plant up
Ps, if you have any liner left you could make a bog area for plants that don't sit directly in the water, opening up some more planting ideas
Evergreens and variegated foliage plants are very useful for this time of year. Shrubs with berries help too. I have a Gaultheria which has white berries - the birds rarely eat those so they last all winter. They work their way through the brighter coloured ones first. I used Merebrook Pond Plants for my pond plants last year.
Don't forget some vertical plants (in the pond edges) for damsel/dragonflies emerging. They also stop the whole area looking flat and 'samey'. I have a tiny pond here and used Equisetum for the main vertical.
I only have an area of about 1 sq metre at the far side for other planting. It has a twisted rush and some white Caltha in little damp pockets at the edge, some Chrysographes Irises, a dark Phormium and a Libertia further away, and a Clematis to climb the screen behind. There's also some Lady's Smock and a small fern.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
We used to have pond/fish/cat, she fanged the liner with her claws, so it was cover up job. Here we have seagulls etc. having a drink, I though they maybe had a gleam in their eye, so Hubby has covered it with chicken wire on a wood surround, for cleaning etc.
Thanks for the photos Thirtybyseven. Your pond looks great, and will look even better come spring summer with some planting. Just keep an eye on weeds growing in the meantime. Do a search on Google images for wildlife ponds to get ideas of how you want yours to look.
The following two pictures have more colour from flowers, so incorporating some of that would be nice if I can find plants which are also wildlife friendly...
I want to make sure that the pond plants will suit the conditions without getting out of control. The pond gets some direct sunlight but not loads. There's also not masses of space for planting around the pond, so if the plant cover gets too dense it might make it difficult for animals to reach the water.
Perhaps the pond plant websites will be able to make some suggestions too.
I won't be adding any fish, so no need to cater for them.
It's been raining this afternoon, so it's got slightly more water in it now
Dense planting won't deter animals from reaching the water - frogs, newts, snakes etc will love creeping/crawling/slithering through the planting - much better than open ground and sparse planting which leaves them vulnerable to predatory birds/cats etc. Frogs especially also spend a lot of time in the summer just lurking in the long damp grass/foliage/reeds around the edge of the pond, rather than actually in it.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
How long and wide is there two ponds there? (English "money" please rubbish with metric!) You dont have to buy specific marginal pond plants, any of the native wildflowers for boggy areas will do, you may have to expend your liner at bit, as they will have to be kept wet. Look at wildflowershop.co.uk, you can buy wildflower seeds specifically for boggy areas. We are NE facing, bottom very boggy after a lot of rain, under a couple of inches, BUT because its on clay, bone dry in dry spells. I would put logs round the edge, more "natural". Dont put so much planting you cannot apreciate the lovelliness of water. As I said before, having caught our last cat making holes in the liner, we were forced to cover the pound with mesh, it doesnt stop the wildlife.
Posts
I think your pond will be fab thirtybyseven
looks about the same size and shape as mine (I put a long slab over the middle of mine as I needed a bridge)
I've used puddleplants before as well. Devon pond plants are very honest about what plants are suitable for the space and might be a useful guide. I say that as I spent some time this year ripping mint, clover and great willowherb out the pond as it became completely overgrown
It would be great to see updates as you plant up
Ps, if you have any liner left you could make a bog area for plants that don't sit directly in the water, opening up some more planting ideas
Evergreens and variegated foliage plants are very useful for this time of year. Shrubs with berries help too. I have a Gaultheria which has white berries - the birds rarely eat those so they last all winter. They work their way through the brighter coloured ones first. I used Merebrook Pond Plants for my pond plants last year.
Don't forget some vertical plants (in the pond edges) for damsel/dragonflies emerging. They also stop the whole area looking flat and 'samey'. I have a tiny pond here and used Equisetum for the main vertical.
I only have an area of about 1 sq metre at the far side for other planting. It has a twisted rush and some white Caltha in little damp pockets at the edge, some Chrysographes Irises, a dark Phormium and a Libertia further away, and a Clematis to climb the screen behind. There's also some Lady's Smock and a small fern.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
We used to have pond/fish/cat, she fanged the liner with her claws, so it was cover up job. Here we have seagulls etc. having a drink, I though they maybe had a gleam in their eye, so Hubby has covered it with chicken wire on a wood surround, for cleaning etc.
Thanks for the photos Thirtybyseven. Your pond looks great, and will look even better come spring summer with some planting. Just keep an eye on weeds growing in the meantime. Do a search on Google images for wildlife ponds to get ideas of how you want yours to look.
This is the sort of thing I had in mind initially...
Although my pond is clearly much smaller.
The following two pictures have more colour from flowers, so incorporating some of that would be nice if I can find plants which are also wildlife friendly...
I want to make sure that the pond plants will suit the conditions without getting out of control. The pond gets some direct sunlight but not loads. There's also not masses of space for planting around the pond, so if the plant cover gets too dense it might make it difficult for animals to reach the water.
Perhaps the pond plant websites will be able to make some suggestions too.
I won't be adding any fish, so no need to cater for them.
It's been raining this afternoon, so it's got slightly more water in it now
Dense planting won't deter animals from reaching the water - frogs, newts, snakes etc will love creeping/crawling/slithering through the planting - much better than open ground and sparse planting which leaves them vulnerable to predatory birds/cats etc. Frogs especially also spend a lot of time in the summer just lurking in the long damp grass/foliage/reeds around the edge of the pond, rather than actually in it.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
How long and wide is there two ponds there? (English "money" please rubbish with metric!) You dont have to buy specific marginal pond plants, any of the native wildflowers for boggy areas will do, you may have to expend your liner at bit, as they will have to be kept wet. Look at wildflowershop.co.uk, you can buy wildflower seeds specifically for boggy areas. We are NE facing, bottom very boggy after a lot of rain, under a couple of inches, BUT because its on clay, bone dry in dry spells. I would put logs round the edge, more "natural". Dont put so much planting you cannot apreciate the lovelliness of water. As I said before, having caught our last cat making holes in the liner, we were forced to cover the pound with mesh, it doesnt stop the wildlife.