The tadpoles have moved into their new home where I am hoping many of them will grow into mean, lean, slug eating machines. Thank you all for your advice.
if you want to encourage newts, then Water Forget Me Not is the best pond plant to buy. It produces pretty small blue flowers and the newts will lay their eggs in the soft leaves (which they can fold round the egg for protection). Frogs like it too as it provides shelter. It spreads quite quickly and is easily controllable. The other good one is Brooklime which also has the benefit of surviving through the freezing Winter weather. Both are British plants.
Joey, thanks for the ideas. Are the two plants you mention the kind you can buy? I did look for water forget me nots in the tadpoles' home pond (soon to be the site of desirable 5 bedroom luxury homes) but either they are not there or not in flower yet. I have forget me nots out in my garden so hoped the water one would be in flower so I could identify it. Will do more online research as I would prefer to use native plants from my area rather than buy semi ornamentals.
At your request here is a photo. It is more of a muddy puddle at the moment. The area around it is going to be a wildflower meadow with a path to the compost heap cut through it. The top left hand area is where the pond overflows so I am investigating plants for boggy areas. (Don't suppose there is a dwarf version of gunnera) I know I need lots of dense planting to allow creatures to hide and the stuff I've stuck in to soften the edges is purely temporary until I get appropriate plants. I am also searching for beach ideas to make it as natural as possible. The bottom right hand corner has been reserved for that. The river slate may have to go in time but it gives lots of little hidey holes for insects. I'll need a pile of decaying logs (not sure what wood is best) probably near the boggy area but first priority is finding a home for all the turf and clay scattered everywhere. Any suggestions re the pond welcome. My othe half has plenty of suggestions as to what I should do with the spoil!
Hi Esspee, thank you. Its looking great. Love the slate edging.
Did you want to have any flowers around some of the edges? Perhaps a couple of ferns or an arum lily? As you say a stumpery would look good at one end.
when i first dug out my pond i filled it with tap water, bought some oxygenating plants got two buckets of water from a friends pond and within 6 weeks had a crystal clear pond thriving with wild life.
It did not take long for frogs to visit to which i do have a huge following every year where the courus of frogs mating is quite loud in the garden.
It is also amzing how much the plants you maybuy or aquire will self seed and duplicate which i had to pull out regular in order to keep tidy
Having a pond in the garden attracts many interesting insects and it is very calming watching the activity over a cuppa on an early morning
Posts
Well worth looking at for inspiration.
But every pond should have at least one of these 3
Veronica beccabunga
Botumus umbellatus
Baldelia ranunculoides
Tadpoles feed on algae in the early part of their development, and on invertebrates later on.
In a new pond you may have to provide food for them.
Click on this link and scroll down to find out how to feed tadpoles in a new pond
http://www.froglife.org/info-advice/spawn-tadpoles-larvae/
The tadpoles have moved into their new home where I am hoping many of them will grow into mean, lean, slug eating machines. Thank you all for your advice.
Thanks Tetley, I expect the staff will keep me right. Will research a bit as I don't want any non natives. (Sounds a bit BNP
)
The pond that the tadpoles came from is shortly going to be bulldozed by developers. Would it be OK to rescue some plants from there do you think?
if you want to encourage newts, then Water Forget Me Not is the best pond plant to buy. It produces pretty small blue flowers and the newts will lay their eggs in the soft leaves (which they can fold round the egg for protection). Frogs like it too as it provides shelter. It spreads quite quickly and is easily controllable. The other good one is Brooklime which also has the benefit of surviving through the freezing Winter weather. Both are British plants.
Would love to see a pic of your pond
Joey, thanks for the ideas. Are the two plants you mention the kind you can buy? I did look for water forget me nots in the tadpoles' home pond (soon to be the site of desirable 5 bedroom luxury homes) but either they are not there or not in flower yet. I have forget me nots out in my garden so hoped the water one would be in flower so I could identify it. Will do more online research as I would prefer to use native plants from my area rather than buy semi ornamentals.
Star Gaze Lily, Hi,
At your request here is a photo. It is more of a muddy puddle at the moment. The area around it is going to be a wildflower meadow with a path to the compost heap cut through it. The top left hand area is where the pond overflows so I am investigating plants for boggy areas. (Don't suppose there is a dwarf version of gunnera) I know I need lots of dense planting to allow creatures to hide and the stuff I've stuck in to soften the edges is purely temporary until I get appropriate plants. I am also searching for beach ideas to make it as natural as possible. The bottom right hand corner has been reserved for that. The river slate may have to go in time but it gives lots of little hidey holes for insects. I'll need a pile of decaying logs (not sure what wood is best) probably near the boggy area but first priority is finding a home for all the turf and clay scattered everywhere. Any suggestions re the pond welcome. My othe half has plenty of suggestions as to what I should do with the spoil!
Hi Esspee, thank you. Its looking great. Love the slate edging.
Did you want to have any flowers around some of the edges? Perhaps a couple of ferns or an arum lily? As you say a stumpery would look good at one end.
hi all
when i first dug out my pond i filled it with tap water, bought some oxygenating plants got two buckets of water from a friends pond and within 6 weeks had a crystal clear pond thriving with wild life.
It did not take long for frogs to visit to which i do have a huge following every year where the courus of frogs mating is quite loud in the garden.
It is also amzing how much the plants you maybuy or aquire will self seed and duplicate which i had to pull out regular in order to keep tidy
Having a pond in the garden attracts many interesting insects and it is very calming watching the activity over a cuppa on an early morning
Happy gardening