Wildlife pond - pros and cons

[HaveYouSeenHerLately]

I'm tempted to create a mini/micro pond at the end of the garden for wildlife (no fish!)

Has anyone any experience?
I'm in the early stages of research

I've only ever seen one frog in my garden so my aim is to encourage more.

I've been inspired by people using washing up bowls and old baby baths to create their micro-ponds with amazing results (once landscaped) Ideally I'd like to go a bit bigger, maybe 70-100cm dia.

I'm a bit tied for space and the obvious location is fairly shaded beneath some trees. Would this matter? It gets a smattering of sun during the day. The majority of the leaves don't fall in my garden in the autumn.

I like the idea of making a bog garden surrounding, it sounds achievable

We have a wildlife pond. It's only about 4 foot x 4 foot but we have three adult frogs living in it, frogspawn - and now lots of froglets, a newt, and loads of dragonflies and damselflies visit. The pond water quickly gets colonised by creatures.

If it's shady, you might get too much algae growing in the pond but you can buy some hay from an aquatics shop to pop in. Plants might not grow well if it's too shaded either. If leaves fall in, you'll need to scoop them out regularly or they will rot in the pond and form a thick layer of sludge at the bottom.

We chose native british plants for the edges and they look great and need little maintenance. Go for it. I love our pond.

Oh definitely go for it. I have a half barrel fish pond (four comets and giant papyrus) and would love a proper wildlife pond, though am afraid of attracting snakes (Australia), not about my own fears, but killing the dog or cat. There are two kinds of venomous snakes where I live: moderately venomous and extremely venomous. :o

You can keep you pond child safe by covering it with rebar which will rust nicely, bear an adult's weight, and let plants through and wildlife in and out.

Thanks guys

Gosh, having to contend with venomous snakes echt

I'd love a half barrel pond too but can't seem to find one on a budget, they're all selling for loads on ebay...

I should have said my half barrel is slightly less than a half and made of thick plastic. It's a plant container. I plugged the drainage hole with silicone.They are less of a problem for the fish as you don't have to clean and line them as they don't have real staves.

Cons are midges -don't put a sitting area near it!

echt to venomous snakes!

I got my grandma a pond for her birthday - this one - which is about the size you're after: www.watersidenursery.co.uk/shop/container-ponds/fibreglass-container-pond-80cm-wide-920.html

She is too elderly to bend over, but she wanted something where she might get dragonflies. (The crematorium where we had my grandfather's funeral had a pond with loads and loads of dragonflies and it was very therapeutic for all of us to see them whizzing around). I wouldn't normally go so overboard, but it seemed important to get something really nice this once. It looks absolutely smashing and it doesn't seem to freeze in winter (though she is in the balmy south) which was one of my worries. You can get tiny miniature pond plants like wee lilies to put in it.

I should add that I am not sure whether a fibreglass container is as good as digging one out when it comes to wildlife. Don't things like to bury themselves in the mud at the bottom?? (I really don't know a lot about this).

If you have small goldfish, they will eat the mosquito larvae.

That's what I'm banking on, anyway.:o

Thats good echt !

I only have experience of our old duck pond,and it was a midge paradise!

Thanks everyone!

Lovely pond Shove

I was bidding on the perfect liner on eBay and the seller cheekily withdrew it, claiming they'd had an offer elsewhere grr. Will give it a few more weeks and see whether anything else is listed - I wasn't planning to dig until Sept/Oct so there's time yet.

I actually have an enormous thick plastic planter that looks not unlike the link Shove posted (but far less posh!)
I'm wondering whether I could get away with sinking it into the ground!

I went out to check my empty planter in darkness - it's 90cm diameter and 32cm deep. It lacks a ledge but I could fashion something and add an exit plank I think?

to the enthusiastic torchlit trip to see the planter! It sounds really perfect - bet it'd work.