I'm newly arrived from Belgium so can't help with wildlife groups yet but there was a local Vendée one with a stand at a recent local plant fair so I'll be looking them up sooner or later. We also have a pond dug to provide water for cattle rather than as a wildlife refuge. It is now full of bull rushes and brambles and dries out in summer so a man with a bulldozer will be coming to empty all of that and some sludge out later this year and then it can become a proper pond.
We had a natural pond in Belgium and would use an old plastic sieve attached to a long handle to scoop out duckweed. If you go to a specialist supplier of pond kits and plants you may well find they have organic barley straw which can be bundled into an old pair of tights, tied to a stone and lobbed into the middle of the pond. It helps control blanket weed.
The previous owners ran a creche here so had a simple wire mesh fence round the pond and held up with simple round fence stakes. Something similar but using green metal stakes would be easy enough to erect and sturdy enough to keep dogs and small people out of the water while still giving access to any amphibians and small birds.
Later on, as you get other things sorted out, you may have the time to clean up the edges and plant marginal plants to shelter and feed a variety of other aquatic life including insects.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Do you get copies of Living magazine - English, every 2 months, life and events and so on in south west France - Vendée, Charente, Dordogne. It's free and can be picked up at some stores, tourist offices and also online. There's always a feature in there on wildlife and ads for groups to join for many activities.
Joining a local association will depend on how good is your French.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Do you get copies of Living magazine - English, every 2 months, life and events and so on in south west France - Vendée, Charente, Dordogne. It's free and can be picked up at some stores, tourist offices and also online. There's always a feature in there on wildlife and ads for groups to join for many activities.
Joining a local association will depend on how good is your French.
Great tip! Will do that - thanks. Also thanks for previous post - very helpful. I think this too might have originally been for cattle. I'll ask the locals if they have any advice. My French is getting better - they too are suckers for a cute pooch - which helps.
Thanks so much for all the advice. Lovely bunch of people on here ?
I live in SW France. I have a pond in the paddock which often dries up in the summer, probably dug for cows. I've fenced it as I didn't want the horses in it, very muddy bottom. I don't do anything with it. I have a small ornamental pond in the garden that my son dug. It was pretty once but a friend's Lab went for a swim in it and pierced the liner. After a failed attempt at mending the liner I don't do anything with that either and it's got very overgrown. There is a marsh marigold flowering at the moment and toads breed in it.
I have a big garden and lots of flowers and roses, I just haven't time to deal with anything fiddly.
Sorry, I don't know anything about wildlife groups but I have joined a gardening club and I know of 2 others. Mix of French and English. I open my garden every summer for charity. https://www.opengardens.eu/
Good luck with your garden. Is the pond in the garden or in a rougher bit? I don't think you have to do anything really, unless you have a burning ambition to have a beautiful pond. Probably easier to dig a new one from scratch.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Nice to meet you. Thanks for your input. It's in the main part of the garden, but I don't really mind what it looks like. The kids would like some fish, but I think I'll avoid that until I have a better understanding of what is required! And like you, I don't have time for anything too fiddly. It's a beautiful garden and I haven't the first clue how to manage it. (..used to a a tiny patch of astroturf in London...)
A gardening club would be good to join when we're more settled. Will look into it.
Glad not much is required - have plenty of other things to contend with, such as a huge dead cedar tree right next to the house. Not sure how long I can leave that!
Fish are generally about the worst thing you can add to a pond - they can really decimate the populations of amphibians and invertebrates such as dragon/damselflies. Without them you can have a great deal of more interesting pondlife.
Wouldn't be a bad idea to net/rake out a certain amount of the duckweed to see how it looks underneath, and proble it with a long pole to see what the depth (centre & round the edges) & amount of silt/leaves/sludge are like. Obviously be careful you're not scooping out lots of tadpoles etc.
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I'm newly arrived from Belgium so can't help with wildlife groups yet but there was a local Vendée one with a stand at a recent local plant fair so I'll be looking them up sooner or later. We also have a pond dug to provide water for cattle rather than as a wildlife refuge. It is now full of bull rushes and brambles and dries out in summer so a man with a bulldozer will be coming to empty all of that and some sludge out later this year and then it can become a proper pond.
We had a natural pond in Belgium and would use an old plastic sieve attached to a long handle to scoop out duckweed. If you go to a specialist supplier of pond kits and plants you may well find they have organic barley straw which can be bundled into an old pair of tights, tied to a stone and lobbed into the middle of the pond. It helps control blanket weed.
The previous owners ran a creche here so had a simple wire mesh fence round the pond and held up with simple round fence stakes. Something similar but using green metal stakes would be easy enough to erect and sturdy enough to keep dogs and small people out of the water while still giving access to any amphibians and small birds.
Later on, as you get other things sorted out, you may have the time to clean up the edges and plant marginal plants to shelter and feed a variety of other aquatic life including insects.
I'm NOT!
Do you get copies of Living magazine - English, every 2 months, life and events and so on in south west France - Vendée, Charente, Dordogne. It's free and can be picked up at some stores, tourist offices and also online. There's always a feature in there on wildlife and ads for groups to join for many activities.
Joining a local association will depend on how good is your French.
Do you get copies of Living magazine - English, every 2 months, life and events and so on in south west France - Vendée, Charente, Dordogne. It's free and can be picked up at some stores, tourist offices and also online. There's always a feature in there on wildlife and ads for groups to join for many activities.
Joining a local association will depend on how good is your French.
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Hello, BL looking in
Thanks Pansy.
I live in SW France. I have a pond in the paddock which often dries up in the summer, probably dug for cows. I've fenced it as I didn't want the horses in it, very muddy bottom. I don't do anything with it. I have a small ornamental pond in the garden that my son dug. It was pretty once but a friend's Lab went for a swim in it and pierced the liner. After a failed attempt at mending the liner I don't do anything with that either and it's got very overgrown. There is a marsh marigold flowering at the moment and toads breed in it.
I have a big garden and lots of flowers and roses, I just haven't time to deal with anything fiddly.
Sorry, I don't know anything about wildlife groups but I have joined a gardening club and I know of 2 others. Mix of French and English. I open my garden every summer for charity. https://www.opengardens.eu/
Good luck with your garden. Is the pond in the garden or in a rougher bit? I don't think you have to do anything really, unless you have a burning ambition to have a beautiful pond. Probably easier to dig a new one from scratch.
Hi BL
Nice to meet you. Thanks for your input. It's in the main part of the garden, but I don't really mind what it looks like. The kids would like some fish, but I think I'll avoid that until I have a better understanding of what is required! And like you, I don't have time for anything too fiddly. It's a beautiful garden and I haven't the first clue how to manage it. (..used to a a tiny patch of astroturf in London...)
A gardening club would be good to join when we're more settled. Will look into it.
Glad not much is required - have plenty of other things to contend with, such as a huge dead cedar tree right next to the house. Not sure how long I can leave that!
Thanks again all!
Fish are generally about the worst thing you can add to a pond - they can really decimate the populations of amphibians and invertebrates such as dragon/damselflies. Without them you can have a great deal of more interesting pondlife.
Wouldn't be a bad idea to net/rake out a certain amount of the duckweed to see how it looks underneath, and proble it with a long pole to see what the depth (centre & round the edges) & amount of silt/leaves/sludge are like. Obviously be careful you're not scooping out lots of tadpoles etc.
Okay good idea! ? will do just that. Thank you.
???