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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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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BUMP FOR BL
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
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.
AND BE CAREFUL NOT TO FALL IN.
I HAVE AND IT IS VERY BAD FOR ONE'S REPUTATION.
Last edited: 18 April 2017 15:21:24
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
???