Any tips for making a tiny frog/toad pond gratefully recd

[TooBadRabbits]

I mean a tiny pond for normal size amphibians. Not a normal sized pond for tiny amphibians

Am in south east. Stepped (4 tier) garden, 3 weed flower beds. North facing so first tier only gets sun late spring to early autumn. Not much room in any of them so looking at less than 1m long and wide

Frequent frog (I think) visitors- one has made his her its home in a rainwater filled window box (a step up from the ignominy-and danger- of the drain) but I would like to offer it something a bit nicer

Oh and there are CATS EVERYWHERE so am going to need plenty of hidey places

So. Shady, sunny, or inbetween? Looked online but everything's a bit vague/conflicting

www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/jan/09/wildlife.conservation

www.froglife.org/info-advice/frequently-asked-questions/creating-or-improving-ponds/

Frogs and toads spend most of their lives out of water so need shelter - rocks, plants etc to hide in. They like shade (they dry up in the sun).

The Bermuda Cove liner is pretty compact:

here

I sank a 1m diameter planter into the ground for my wildlife pond. Old baby baths are a pretty good size for a mini pond too. I've put some bricks and pebbles in mine to soften the steep sides and create different levels for plants. Also added a small plank exit covered in chicken wire to save anything that falls in!

RHS has some good advice here

"Shade over part of the pond helps reduce problems with algae and is tolerated by many pond plants and animals. However, ponds with too much shade are not good for wildlife and should be re-sited or have overhanging vegetation cut back to let in more sunlight"

I have a garden full of cats (one is mine!) so I've tried to create lots of cover. My euonymous is nice and bushy and I've added some mini log piles and small terracotta pots upside down propped up with stones.

I'd figure out where the sunniest patch of your garden is As long as it's open to the sky you should be okay.

Think about some evergreen low shrubbery around it as well as perennials
As well as the euonymous I have clumps of low-growing golden evergreen grass (name escapes me), heucheras, brunnera, big floppy primroses and foxgloves as well as erisymum and scabious to attract bees.

In the water I have a mixture of iris, marsh marigolds, water lilies, oxygenators and other random things (gifted to me from someone else's pond) They'll probably colonise the pond by next year at which point I'll create another baby pond and/or freegle some!

Watch out for duckweed taking over. I bought an aquarium net from Wilko and scoop it out every few days (watch out for pond snails - they go back in!). I believe you're supposed to keep half to a third of the surface clear of plants to allow sunlight to penetrate

I saw an old belfast sink one on facebook earlier...with pond plants and rocks piled up for access in and out.

oh you absolute STARS

I didn't think this had posted last night (phone started overheating and error messages from mn) so thought would have another go today

plenty here to chew on- I'm off to sand a floor and will be back later on

thanks again!

You're welcome!

If you can use rainwater to fill it it's better than the tap and should colonise with water beasties much faster
I've rigged up a slimline water butt to guttering on the shed. The pond started to evaporate in the drought we had in spring/early summer

I've used a half barrel. Keep out of direct sunlight though or you'll have loads of algae

And don't worry about conflicting advice, it just means you can't get it wrong.