Am I mad to want a little pond in our garden?

[Tomorrowtodaynever]

Exactly that. i know nothing about ponds but I like the idea of it. Any thoughts, pls

@teardropsrunning is your barrel pond above ground, or dug in? I’d love frogs but mine is above ground, albeit with ramps in and out.

@ICantStomachWhelksit’s above ground with ramps

Ooh! That gives me hope for a frog or two!

Not mad at all but I'd check the soil first, especially if its heavy clay or drains badly. Digging can be more work than it looks and you'll need to think about drainage, liners and keeping leaves out. You can also use landscape planning apps or programs like this one or similar stuff to plan the overall look before starting, it helps avoid putting the pond in a awkward spot. Definitely worth doing a bit of planning first. Contact a constructor if possible, sometimes they are able to tell you right away if its not possible at all or what obstacles would there be.

I have 2 ponds. One in garden which is tiny, a large plant pot hastily shoved in as saw a baby frog, there were more in there this summer.

There is a bigger one on my allotment with newts in and a dwarf water lily which I hope will flower next year. Started that one in January. Did get a fair bit of blanket weed in the summer so will chop off a bit of rhubarb and plant that by it for shade next year.

I’ve swapped plants for pond plants and made pots from hessian . It has cost me a bit of liner and a water lily which so far. Marsh marigold looked gorgeous earlier this year and the purple loosestrife.

Aren't frogs the best! We love ours, had to get two dead ones out so far and that has been really upsetting. On a positive note our dwarf water lily flowered this year I was beyond excited - when I showed dh, he was just upset it wasn't another frog. The small things matter!😂

How little? We have a truly tiny one, and it’s pleasant but wouldn’t be worth adding if it hadn’t come with the house. We don’t really get wildlife aside from birds bathing in it, and it’s a pain to keep full in summer and sometimes it floods in winter.

Yanbu @Tomorrowtodaynever I have been trying to work out where we can put a pond in our garden and I think I now know where it can go 🤞Our neighbour has one and it is teeming with wildlife.

We have had a very small pond for a few years, it's a (dug in) barrel pond. It gets covered in blanket weed, I'm constantly clearing it. It also got very low during summer and I had to top it up with the hose regularly.

It hasn't been as interesting as I expected, but I am glad we have it as during the summer the birds came to drink and bathe in it.

@Shellyleppard1 Otters! That's amazing! How big is his pond? Does he live in the middle of nowhere?

Our water lily flowered for the first time this year, it's easily the most beautiful plant in the garden. Duck weed is a pain in the arse though.

We put a large barrel pond on the patio earlier this year. Added ramps inside and out, oxygenating plants and a solar fountain. It was lovely for a month till we realised it was becoming a mosquito breeding ground at night when the fountain was off.

We plan to dig one into the ground. The in-laws have one in the ground and their little fountain/pump runs 24hrs. Its lovely to visit, but for them its a lot of work. They won't elaborate, but I assume cutting back plants on the edges, preventing the pond plants from over growing, checking its not getting too clogged with leaves etc.

We had mosquito larvae the first year - I added a bit of one of these and never had to order another - I have a mosquito bite allergy, so I watch the pond closely for any mosquito activity.

www.amazon.co.uk/Summit-Mosquito-Dunks-Control-Standing/dp/B0HDR1RKFW/ref=asc_df_B0HDR1RKFW?mcid=2a55cfbdb85e37889d8554471090c48e&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=818692940531&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2864925056221947220&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045090&hvtargid=pla-2495347848910&psc=1&hvocijid=2864925056221947220-B0HDR1RKFW-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1

@cattac yes we had blanket weed too - I pull it out once a week when I'm trying to spot a frog, I suppose I don't see it as work because I like watching for things - even if nothing appears.

@teardropsrunning Thank you re the mosquito dunks. I did actually add one to our barrel pond but it didn't help. Admittedly, they weren't a newly open packet so maybe they go off?

@Pootles34 funnily enough yes!!! He lives in the country side surrounded by farmland on one side...and a massive dual carriageway on the other 🙃

I don't know - we never needed them after the initial summer - I'd heard that natural predators move in. They don't like moving water either and we have a solar powered pump. We haven't felt it was too much bother at all. Ever if it's only the birds and bees popping in for a drink, it made us feel good.🙂

I have an above ground barrel pond that I set up in the Spring and I love it! I had some teething trouble as I didn't line it initially and the water went manky, so I had to empty it, line it and re-fill. It's been lovely since then. I have a small solar powered fountain and plenty of oxygenating plants and the water stays fresh and clear. I bought some ramshorn snails and love to watch them pootling about. No other wildlife yet unfortunately, other than the obligatory mosquito larvae! But they don't seem to do any harm and I read that they were the bottom of the food chain, so actually quite a good thing to attracting larger beasties. What problems are they causing for others? More adults mosquitos?

@teardropsrunning I don't find the blanket weed a bother, it is just annoying because it is so blankety. As you say I enjoy it as a resource for the birds and anything else passing by which needs a drink.

I just remembered something I did a couple of years ago - I grew watercress in the pond. I took a piece from a pack which had a tiny vestige of root and dropped it in, and it spread. Made a change from the blanket weed!

How did this pond do in the heatwave? I'd be worried it might turn into a giant saucepan...

It was absolutely fine - we have a few fish in both (we have 2 ponds) and neither are in the shade but both were fine. They are both well established with lots of plants of different heights round the edge so this may have helped provide some shady spots. Topped up a few times over the summer but no fish lost.

As long as you don’t have young children.

I've got a half barrel pond, it's in quite a shady area and I put hornwort in it (which also introduced pond snails) blanketweed has never been a problem. I'm now tempted to do this

Forgot to mention it freezes over in the winter and dh spent a lot of time stressing about the frogs being suffocated (happened first year) so we bought a pond heater - it only melts a circle of ice so that the frogs can escape - you might say we are a little obsessed with the frogs.

@teardropsrunning We put a mini tennis ball in our bird bath to stop it freezing in the winter because it can bob about. You might be in a colder area to me though.

We aren't always at home - otherwise we'd try that and pop out daily to crack the ice if needed. Seeing a dead frog was very upsetting...they are our substitute pet.🙄