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Small wildlife pond

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  • darren636darren636 Posts: 666
    Fish will also eat anything that fits in their mouths

    Including tadpoles.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,142

    Very chuffed here - two years ago we made a little wildlife pond 2.5m x 1.5m in the garden.  It's been great and we've had lots of frogs and a grass snake visit as well as loads of insects and invertebrates. 

    Today we have our first ever frogspawn image

    This is a pic of the pond last summer

    image

     

    image

     image

     


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • EsspeeEsspee Posts: 274

    I love that Dove, just what I am aspiring to achieve!  What is the plant with the red leaves?  Lobelia?

  • darren636darren636 Posts: 666
    Couple of years ago I was swimming on frensham pond



    Something took my breath away.



    It was a grass snake, swimming next to me.



    It was also at least 5' long.



    Amazing.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,142

    And here's some of the frogspawn

    image

    I hope that encourages everyone who's making a wildlife pond. 

    Two years ago ours looked like this

    image

     You can see where we folded the lawn back - then we put the liner in and folded the lawn back over the liner to the edge of the hole. 

     


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,142
    Esspee wrote (see)

    I love that Dove, just what I am aspiring to achieve!  What is the plant with the red leaves?  Lobelia?

    Yes - I don't know whether it's survived.  There's lots of native hornwort in there, water soldiers, brooklime, spearwort and water cress as well. 

    We use Blagdon Barley Straw Extract to keep blanket weed under control in the summer, along with their sludge control treatment as the pond is quite shallow.  The water is lovely and clear and very healthy.  We bought some native pond snails as well last year to help keep the pond fresh and they're thriving too.


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • darren636darren636 Posts: 666
    Your pond looks perfect, dovefromabove



    I could sit there for hours/
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,142
    image

     

     Here's Hissing Sid image 

    Afraid he had one of the frogs for lunch, but a snake's gotta eat too, and there's plenty left image

    I have got a photo of him eating his lunch, I can post it if you like, but it's not for the squeamish ...


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • darren636darren636 Posts: 666
    Wowsers!
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,142
    darren636 wrote (see)
    Your pond looks perfect, dovefromabove

    I could sit there for hours/

    We do - or rather we lay on our tummies peering into the water for hours and hours ... bliss ... who needs telly image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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