Wildlife pond
Starnett
Posts: 2
Hi
I'm planning to put a wildlife pond in my garden but just wanted a bit of advice.
Firstly, the size. I've only got a small place to fit it. The area is about 1.5m by 2.5m. i would say only the back 1.5m of this area could be dug down beyond 50cm as there is a lot of hardcore nearer to my patio from when the extension was built. I planned to create a natural gravel / pebble beach at the front because of this. So would the other 1.5 X 1.5 area be sufficient?
My only other concern is what to line it with. The area is surrounded by an established clumping bamboo and three japanese maples. I am concerned about roots getting access and puncturing a traditional liner so was wondering what other options you might suggest?
Finally, I would have liked a small waterfall or cascade as I love the sound of water in the garden. But the whole point is to attract wildlife so should I leave this out or include it?
I'm a novice where wildlife ponds are concerned so any advice much appreciated.
Thanks
Andy
Posts
I'm no expert but did make a small pond 3 years ago. I read all I could and got myself thoroughly confused. We too have a rocky garden and could only dig the deepest part to about 18 inches. We couldn't form sloping edges so one side has a foot wide level shallows. I read that wildlife doesn't really need a great depth and all the plants I've introduced are thriving without ledges. placed turf around the edges and poked the liner underneath. After all the initial worries a frog arrived within a week, followed by damselflies and dragonflies. Pondskaters, whirlygig beetles, boatmen, the list goes on. In the third Spring this year we have had frogspawn
Sent that too soon. I don't have any idea about the root problem but maybe somebody else will. I don't think that wildlife are happy with moving water in ponds so maybe a waterfall isn't a good idea. As I said, I'm no expert. Water and cover will encourage the wildlife.
The size and depth is fine Starnett. I've had ponds of all sizes and my current one is about half that size!
A waterfall would be fine in a much bigger pond but in one that small I wouldn't use one. Perhaps you could create a feature elsewhere in your garden if you enjoy moving water. There are loads of good solutions for small water features nowadays.
Re the root problem. I think that's your biggest issue. The bamboo in particular. Without seeing exactly how close they are to your intended site, it's difficult to make a judgement, but you may have to consider lining the pond with concrete. You could try the conventional method of underlay, but adding some extra layers, with a very thick rubberised liner on top, and see how it goes. It might be totally fine
Thanks so far for the info. I was thinking the same that it may be best to have a separate water feature with running water So I think that's what I will do. The bamboo is within 2ft of the pond site and is my biggest concern. I though it way be the concrete route but I'd like to avoid this if possible. Could a preformed pond do a better job of keeping the roots at bay?
The main issue with preformed ponds is getting the shape of the hole right for them, and then getting it level. It can be tricky - and I think it would be difficult in your circumstances because of trying to dig around roots. I've never used a preformed one because of those problems - so much easier to make your own shape!
I'm not sure they would be robust enough to deter bamboo roots either.